My house is magnetic north for cats!

[MichelleCarmen]

EHHH, okay, seriously here, things have SPIRALED out of control!

I started out with one cat, then my husband brought home two kittens last summer, then we adopted another kitten out of that kitty lot because our renter in our rental house wasn''t taking care of him. So, yes, FOUR cats! Too many, but we love them. They are my babies!

The problem is that our house has become a meeting ground for unwanted & stray cats and the above mentioned cats haven''t done anything about it (no hissing, instead just hanging out with all these other cats). We live on a 1.2 acre parcel lot and so do all of our neighbors. . . and we''re on a private drive. I SWEAR people are dumping cats off on our little road because it''s out in the "wild." (as in 2 miles away from the urban growth line. The "City" is just around the corner.) There can be no other explaination.

First there were two strays that showed up last summer. Full-grown cats with their ears clipped (as in a stray that was fixed by the pound or somewhere). Now another tabby has shown up that we have kind of taken care of. He''s loving, unlike the two strays. He purrs and rubs up against us. We had just decided this morning that we have to find a home for him because it''s getting cold and he''s starting to scratch at our screen doors, when all of a sudden, to my husband''s horror TWO KITTENS are sitting up on our deck. What in the world? Our house is a cat magnet!

Also, did I mention the other black and white cat & the pure black cat that both belong to who knows. They just live outside. Part time in our yard! PLUS, a bobcat is running loose in the woods behind us!

Anyway, what do we do with the kittens? They''re dirty and need a home. Everywhere I call, the no-kill shelters, another local shelter, PAWS will not take them. Running an ad in the paper requires us to allow strangers in our house/yard, which I do not want.

Seriously, what do we do?

 

[FireGoddess]

I''m pressed for time but I feel for you and wanted to commiserate or at least try to offer helpful advice!!!

I have noticed a stray cat problem in my area as well (leading up to me rescuing and adopting one of them, who was PREGGERS at the time...talk about adding to the problem!!!)....and I have decided, after seeing even MORE cats and hearing the sounds of, uh, kitty copulation that this HAS TO STOP...so I have contacted the local SPCA and other rescue groups to get trained at TNR (trap, neuter, return) so that I can try and get these kitties neutered at no cost to me so that the cycle can END.

Have you talked to any of the shelters about TNR? This isn''t the fast solution but it will stop the cat population from ever increasing. Also, some shelters run pet fairs at local pet stores and one even offered to have me ''show'' strays there during those fairs. At least this would not have people coming over to your house.

I can''t get into it now - my own furbaby is at the vet for her ''old lady checkup'' and I have to get home in time to get her before they close. Will check back though and see what else I can add...

 

[luckystar112]

Hmmm.....
Can I just say that I LOVE KITTIES!!!!!

Anyway, have you thought about putting an ad on craigslist or something, and then only agreeing to meet at a certain area during the day?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks for your response. The deal is we don't want the cats to return! lol My MIL lives on one of the islands around here and over there, the shelter charges $100 per cat to fix it, so she's paid over a thousand to get all the feral cats by her neutered/spayed. I'm betting the price is the same here since we live close by her. We'll call around, but I want these cats GONE! It's driving me nuts, plus I worry they may spread disease to my cats.

Hope your kitty is doing good. How old is she? My older cat (the one I adopted right after I moved into my first apartment without a roommate - is now 14 or so!) She is so grumpy. lol

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 9/20/2007 6:23:02 PM
Author: luckystar112
Hmmm.....
Can I just say that I LOVE KITTIES!!!!!

Anyway, have you thought about putting an ad on craigslist or something, and then only agreeing to meet at a certain area during the day?

I love kitties too. But, really, I can handle only so many. I have kids, too, so between my boys, husband and four cats, there is barely enough room or attention to go around! lol

 

[wolftress]

Yikes! I wish I could help out and give those cats a home! I would definitely try asking around, advertising etc to see if anyone will give them a good home. It will probably be easier to give the kittens away because everyone loves kittens

 

[alexah]

Date: 9/20/2007 6:27:23 PM
Author: MC
Thanks for your response. The deal is we don''t want the cats to return! lol My MIL lives on one of the islands around here and over there, the shelter charges $100 per cat to fix it, so she''s paid over a thousand to get all the feral cats by her neutered/spayed. I''m betting the price is the same here since we live close by her. We''ll call around, but I want these cats GONE! It''s driving me nuts, plus I worry they may spread disease to my cats.

Have you checked out the Friends of Animals website? You get a decent discount on spaying/neutering if you''re a member... just an idea?

 

[monarch64]

Wow, MC, I don''t have a good answer. My bro and SIL have taken in numerous cats over the last 4 years...they are now at 11! They never thought they''d have children but suprise! My SIL is preggo with their first (we''re all so happy, of course!) and they need to bring that number down a bit and are having trouble doing so themselves. They love all of their rescued kitties very much, to the extent that they''ve had all of them neutered or spayed, but not declawed, my SIL goes to the troubled of putting those little plastic claw caps on all of them. They''ve decided to keep the first 4 they adopted as well as the one they have been taking care of that was my (our) parents'' cat from when my dad became ill with cancer, but the rest have got to go as they live in a smaller home and won''t have time to devote to all 11 once the baby is born. Same situation as you, hard to find a no-kill shelter or friends/acquaintances who are willing to take on a kitty. I''ve even been asking around our area to see if some kind soul will help out their cause to no avail. It''s a tough thing....bless your heart though for wanting to find them good homes. Best of luck to you in paring down the kitty population...

 

[FireGoddess]

MC, the kitty I rescued (Holly) is doing well...she will be turning 1 year old next week!

I wanted to tell you that you might want to contact the SPCA near you - through them I found out that there are free 'spay/neuter vouchers' that are given out in my area. I called and am on the waiting list for 5 vouchers - this basically allows you to get these ferals fixed at no cost to you.

The SPCA will take any cats you trap, however, most ferals are put down if they can't overcome their fear of people since they won't be suitable pets.

That's why I try to find no-kill shelters, but like you I've found that EVERY SINGLE ONE I called has no space. I mean, then what?!?!?! That's how I ended up with Holly. Love that PITA of course, but I can't keep all of them! I feel your pain. Right now I'm resigned to at least stopping their reproduction and letting the rest live their feral lives. But any that are friendly I too am trying to find a better life for them. It's amazing to see the change in Holly. She was always friendly but she's put on weight, her fur is so soft and silky instead of ruffled and dull, and she's an affectionate, playful, purr monster. Does the heart some good, y'know?

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

Glad Holly is doing good. I had a dream the other night that the Bobcat ate the little kittens! lol Now the kittens are gone. I hope somebody adopted them.

Funny enough, my husband always complains that the cats only sleep w/me and we should trade them in for new ones! lol THEN the other day, I came home and discovered the loving Tabby had gotten in our house and was sleeping on my husband''s side of the bed! hahaha When he saw me, he began purring and then got up and went down stairs and used the stratching post! How perfect is that?

 

[Catmom]

MC, I am a registered caretaker for a Spay, Neuter and Return program run in my county. We currently have 403 registered colonies. I totally understand where you are coming from. I have 5 inside cats of my own. We used to have over 12 strays running around in our area before my husband and I joined this program. The neighbors were up in arms and didn''t know what to do except that they too, wanted the cats gone. These programs do work. We are now down to 3 cats that hang around. The rest have either been placed, moved on or died. Unfortunately it''s a tough life for feral cats. It does take a little time for the cycle to work but very worth it. We personally have caught and placed over 35 kittens. Can you imagine if they had been left to roam the streets? My program charges $25 per cat. Each cat gets 3 yr vaccinations: rabies and distemper, microchipping and eartipping, treatment for internal and external parasites and minor wound care. The cats are fed and sheltered by the caretaker. The cats remain fairly healthy with the vaccinations and healthy diet. They will usually not spread any diseases after they belong to the program. I had the best compliment the other day from one of my neighbors who was the most vocal about having the cats carted away. He didn''t care if they were killed or not, he just wanted them gone. He came up to me and told me that he couldn''t believe how there weren''t any cats around anymore and that he really appreciated what we had been doing to controll the population. Of course I didn''t tell him that yes, there still were a few around. I just said how well the program worked. Can you find anyone in your area willing to take on the caretaker roll? If not, even just getting the animals fixed will go a long way in controlling the population. I wish you luck and just wanted you to know that the TNR programs really do work.