I’ve recently rescued a colony of cats! All are getting along really well except for 1, who is so scared, constantly over reacts in a violent manner! She’s been in a mesh tent for a number of weeks, looking pretty comfy…many of hte kitties have spent nights lying beside the tent to keep her company. While she was in there, she’d often hiss & spit at the cats (& me at times) if we came close. It’s obvious to me that she’s EXTREMELY frightened, and when she hears a noise she strikes out without thinking. She once scratched me (very minor) & looked very remorseful immediately after. I let her out of hte tent 2 days ago for hte first time and things did not go well! She attacked a number of cats, including many that had been very nice to her while she was in there. Last night she put a claw into one of hte kitties eyes, so now she’s back in the tent. Any ideas how to get her safely mixing with the others? Only people experienced with feral cats please answer!
Em…it’s a MESH tent…so she can see the others, & they see her.
Mesh tents are much kinder than crating in my experience, though more expensive. More room for stretching and exercise, particularly if they are going to be in there for awhile!
And of course she’s fixed! I’ve rescued so many from teh street here, there is no way I would not have them desexed, that’s what causes the feral cat problems to begin with!
She was desexed within 24 hours of being trapped! And she’s known these cats all her life, they are all from the same colony and has been interacting with them through the mesh for almost 2 months.
I should have been clearer on 2 things…
1 I have lots of experience taming ferals….I’ve now rescued close to 30!
2. I’m not worried about me…she doesn’t attack me, just hisses & spits, but clearly doesn’t want to hurt me & responds incredibly well to my voice.
She’s just incredibly frightened & overreacting to some of the cats, even though they are being nice to her. I don’t think she poses a threat to me at all & despite her hissing & spitting I actually think she’s a sweety.
She loves playing…and I often involve her with play with the other kitties while the front of her tent is open…I put dangly toys inside then out to the ohters, then in, then along side of tent etc, which works well!

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What is your view on them, what do you think should be done to/about them?

I get the idea that where you are from changes this, was just wondering if I’m right, so include … where you are, what pets you have, experience/knowledge with feral cats, why you think what you do, etc.
Hmm, I think this is interesting, here in Australia we think of feral cats as a whole differently I think, but I also think what we call a feral cat you might not even have over there. What you are talking about sounds like a stray, which I think there is a fine line between, that blurs, but a stray would be one that depends on humans at least partially and quite close in their geneline were pets. Here we have feral cats that live in the outback and all over where there are no humans and because there are few natural predators, they are completely imbalancing the food web and endangering all our little animals. These are far from being able to be tamed or even fed by humans, they’ve lived in the wild for hundreds of years, and neutering them wouldn’t help with the 20+ native creatures they kill every night. I dunno, I was hoping someone from Australia might answer to see if it’s only people that I know that think of them in terms of wildlife-killers rather than pets run-amok.
Dan, I suppose if all the cats were sterilized and fed, then the issue would be resolved, but as others pointed out .. if only a few were missed the population could bounce back. However, it would be completely impossible. I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but I knwo there is at least 1 feral cat per square km in Australia, and there are a LOT of square kms. Which means a LOT of cats, and do you realise what it takes to sterilize a cat? You have the cost of the medicines, equipment, and staff, and any older cat risks dieing from the anasthesia already. It just isn’t an option (same with feeding them).
BUT, that being said, I love cats and it’s horrible to think of these cats as different to our own, but is the life of one cat more important than the lives of the thousands of native animals each one hunts to the brink of extinction? I don’t know it’s a tough question, I can’t figure out exactly where I stand.

P.S. I have one ex-stray cat and an abandoned dog and cat.

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i NEED HELP TO KNOW HOW TO GET RID OF ALL THE YUCKY FLIES HANGING OUT WHERE WE ARE FEEDING 4 OR 5 FERAL CATS…MY BOSSES DAUGHTER PURCHASED SEVERAL CLOSED IN FLY KILLER TRAPS, (fLIES ARE DROWNED AS THEY PENETRATE THE OPENING AT THE TOP)…. THAT IS PUT ABOUT 4-5 YARDS AWAY FROM THE FOOD…IT SEEMS TO WORK, SOMEWHAT, BUT NOW WE ARE "OVERRUN" BY FLIES ANYWAY…PLEASE HELP!!

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My parents have a large backyard where they’re growing many vegetables. They have a major pest problem, mostly gophers. We’ve had cats in the past and they were instrumental in keeping the pest problem under control. My parents want to adopt two cats who will be living outdoors. They are planning on going to the humane society to adopt but would like to know how old the cats should be and what genders.

It would be so helpful if someone who has knowledge about outdoor cats could share their advice about this. I have heard it is best to get feral females. Would I ask the humane society specifically for feral cats when I go there?
Thanks - yes the yard is fenced, there are a lot of mice too.
Parents live in residential area outside of Los Angeles. So, seems like humane society is not best place to go?

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My son and his friends learn in school that feral cats are causing our native birds to become extinct. They have decided to start hunting the feral cats in the wood area near our home where there a lot of them. Animal control has been asked to trap these animals but refuse to. Can my son get in trouble for doing this to save the native birds?

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I am about to plant a vegetable garden in my back yard. Our neighborhood has several feral cats, which I normally don’t mind, since they keep the rodent population down. But I don’t want the cats using the garden as a toilet.

I read somewhere that planting catnip will keep the cats sedated and less likely to "go" in the garden. But then I’ve also read that it make cats hyperactive. And I worry that it will just attract cats to the yard, rather than keeping them out of the garden. Any suggestions or wisdom?

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…they would be put down due to their wild, fearful behavior.
Why is it OK for feral cats to be fixed and released?
They are not a natural part of the echo system like the wildlife is, like bears, wolves, foxes and etc.
Feral cats can become a nuisance to people when they go into people’s yards and pee everywhere, and what about the small birds that they prey on that might be a protected species?

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I’m currently feeding 2-3 stray/feral cats (outside my house) but I’m already worried about winter time that will come soon ( I live in Indiana and winters are long and very-very cold!). What could I possibly do for this cats in order to provide them a warm shelter and good care? I was thinking about either building a cat house somewhere around my house (where could I find a project?) or buy one…any suggestions?! Please help, thanks

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Recently several feral cats I feed in my yard have come down with eye problems. Gunk, weeping eyes, second eye lid swollen and red. I have one in the house (domesticated) that has been to the vet, however it is spreading to all cats outside with no ocntact from the cat inside the house. Any one heard of something that could spread to so many cats (5 and mybe more) within a couple of weeks?

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I would like to help feral cats in Mexico City if I move there.

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