Feral Cat Program

[WhiteTailsMinis]

while Barney - our current barn cat we got from the Amish as a newborn is quite the mouse catcher - well we think he is since we never ever see one anymore - - we have something new happening at White Tails.

We saw a program on RFD-TV about a Feral Cat Program - an Association where they rescue these wild cats - spay/nueter and health coverage - then they rehome them - basically to farmers for their outbuildings and barns.

Holly - always on top of things - did some research and found a local outfit here in the county. The woman was extremely excited we found her.

They called last night to say that 4 (FOUR) five month old kittens were just about ready to come to us! wow - let's see if Holly can spoil these WILD cats like she does dear old Barney (who now by the way comes up to the house and just wants to be held and kissed - thank you for ruining the mice catcher Holly LOL).

They bring them in "condo towers" complete with kitty litter pans ....... they stay in these cages for few weeks to get acquainted with us and the surroundings. Oh gosh - hope Holly is prepared for litter pans as Barney and the lab go in an empty stall and cover it up - LOL We clean it out along with other stall cleanings.

Then they (the people that bring the cats) come back in few weeks and remove the cages.

Has anyone else done this program? Does it work? Do the cats stay around?

oh, and yes - they ask for a donation - so while you don't pay adoption type fees like from shelters, you do offer a donation.

Last year, we had no cats at all and the mice were so used to us that we had to stomp to scamper them away - although now we're much better at keeping food contained and such so that might also help.

Just curious if any of you knew of this program and had been successful with it yourselves?

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Wow what a neat program! I bet they will be just fine. Especially if they have been spayed and neutered, they should have the wandering need anymore. Have fun, they probably been handled a lot since they have been captured. Have fun spoiling kitties!

 

[jleonard]

That is different from the program we have here. I volunteered at our local vet clinic for several years working with their feline trap and release program in which they go to barns, neighborhoods, shopping centers, etc that are being overrun by feral cats that just continue reproducing.They trap them, spay/ neuter and vacinate, then release back to where they came from. Most of the time they came from barns who's cat popluation just got out of control.

I don't have any advice as to how to get your new kittens to stick around, but I'll bet they won't be too bad, considering how young they are. I'm sure you'll have them spoiled rotten in no time

These programs are great, I'm glad to see they are beginning to spread

 

[HGFarm]

That sounds like a great program!! However, good luck taming feral cats that are that old already. We had rescued some feral cats a few years ago... a couple tamed, and a couple NEVER did. They were younger than that by a little bit. One is extremely friendly but he had been seperated and was with a family with kids, in the house, and they literally just packed him around for a couple of days and smothered him with attention. You would never know he was feral.

But perhaps being confined, someone will be brave enough to don their suit of armor, LOL, and attempt to gentle your new barn kitties. Sounds like the folks with the program need to advertise more with farms and stuff, and that is great that they are already fixed, etc...

The only problem with ferals, is if they ever need vet attention for some reason, you have to trap them if you can not tame them, and find a vet willing to work on them.

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

The only problem with ferals, is if they ever need vet attention for some reason, you have to trap them if you can not tame them, and find a vet willing to work on them.

That's something I hadn't thought of - vet or medical treatment - very true.

As for taming to handle and pet on - - I"m not too worried about that - the more you spoil them, the less they want to hang in the barn and do their job - as evidenced by the spoiled one we have now. He comes up to the house and meows outside the doors. He's supposed to be working in the barn. LOL

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I have done this on my own (not through a program) and it worked, so long as the cats were kept confined for a few weeks and got to know where the food/water was coming from.

 

[Miniv]

It's great to know that other areas are doing the same thing..... Our county humane society No Kill Shelter is a part of a feral program too.

It must be working because they've been doing it for a number of years.

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

Sounds like a great program!!!! I would like to see something like that around here

.

 

[Tammy Breckenridge]

Hi there!

I have had great sucess with the TNR program in my town. I "adopted" 2 ferals from our program. Sadly the first guy hung around for about 2 months then disappeared. The 2nd guy is a great mouser, shares his time between my front porch swing and the barn, you can scratch his head but not much else, stood down a pit bull that wandered into my barn, the only down side he brought home a few friends that I had to have spayed and neutered, but they also help keep the mouse problem down. Thank fully he himself seems to have rolled up the welcome mat and no new cats have wandered up in the last year.

Oh and he even made a move with me 2 years ago!

Good luck!

Tammy

 

[HGFarm]

That's great that more areas are doing this program. My cats are all pretty tame, but are still excellent mousers. When we were out on the big ranch, I kept food out for the cats all the time- 24/7. They still hunt, so it doesnt matter. It's just in their nature to do so- even if it's just something to play with to them. Oh, and then they bring you the cool 'presents' that are not dead yet, LOL

 

[Maxi'sMinis]

Marlene that is very kind of you to take all these needy kitties into your home. I bet after they settle in they will be just fine. Good luck and good mousing! Post some pics when you get them.

 

[CyndiD]

That sounds like a very great program!!!

I wish there was something like that around here, we do have a mobile spay/neuter clinic that comes around a couple times a year and they prefer barn cats and are VERY reasonable in pricing.

 

[Aristocratic Minis]

We have feral cats living in our hay barn. They are smart and they are WILD. They cannot be caught at all and are too smart for the live traps we have tried. We would like to catch them and have them vaccinated and neutered, but they are so wild we have been unable to do that. They are super alert and run like the wind when people approach the barn. My DH started to feed them in hopes he could get close enough to capture them. It has not worked. They hiss and make a racket and run when they see DH. I must say, however, that there are no varmints around the barn and they can catch birds on the fly. They are clever hunters and who knows how many generations they have been wild.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I caught three feral cats, have one more (very smart) here at my house...Neutered all three and got rabies shots into them and turned them loose. I have a cat "condo" outside that I built where I can let them recover from their surgery until I let them go. They now follow me everywhere but only one allows petting, the other two keep their distance. I haven't had a mouse in my house since they came. Usually I trap dozens of mice in the winter, we have an old farm house. I provide igloo shelters and food and thawed water for these kitties. We need more TNR programs local, I dropped quite a few bucks into neutering feral cats even using certificate spays like SNAP it can be costly. For farms like us, we get drop off animals every month. Sad. My one feral cat (the smart one) leaves me a kitten from every litter she has. I have no idea why, just brings it in and drops it off on my porch. I would rather she gift me some mouse heads or something, however I have taken great care of all of my kitten "gifts", they have all gotten decent homes.

 

[mydaddysjag]

We used to trap, neuter and rabies and release. We worked with out local SPCA to do it. I know that the ones we took to the barn where I board are still there, and are pretty tame now. My BO's best mouser was beaten up beyond repair by a coyotee, and her other cat was older and not getting around well anymore. She had us bring her 4 cats. They were about 6 months old, and wild as wild can be when we took them there. At first you couldn't get within 50 feet of them Now, they will come up to you to be pet. Some still aren't nuts about you coming up to them though. Their way or no way I guess? I think what helped keep them around was that they were siblings of the same age, and grew up together. Being in a "pack" together and neutered seemed to keep them from wandering off. She does leave cat food out for them in the barn and they still hunt just fine.