What do you think about fixing neighborhood feral cats, especially when they're are 8 coming around the house?
Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at
3:53 am
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Filed under: Cat Behavior
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That is a very good idea, wish everyone would start fixing them. There would be a lot less homeless cats running around living a life they should never have to live.
I’d have them trapped and euthenized. Sorry but they do no one any good. As you said.. the kittens get really sick. They disrupt the natural environmental balance (as they seem to need to go beyond their farm to hunt). They will only teach their siblings to come to your house. You’ll never catch them all and neutering/spaying ain’t cheap. Are you taking post surgical responsibility for them as well?
I love cats. I hate irresponsible "owners" who think their feral nature as an excuse to ignore proper care.
its a great idea. it will stop reproduction and uneccessary sickness.
My veterinarian will spay/neuter feral cats and release them back into the wild. In fact, that’s how I got one of my cats. When he was brought in for neutering, he bit the vet and had to be quarantined for 10 days to make sure he didn’t have rabies. The staff at the hospital decided to try to tame him and find him a home. He was very skittish for a long time, but he’s been a valued member of our household for 7 years.
Check with your local human society and/or animal shelter and see if they are aware of any programs that provide for spaying/neutering of feral cats and releasing them back into the wild. You can also check with the ASPCA, rescue organizations, and individual vets in your area. They should also be able to assist you in capturing the cats in a humane manner.
I think it is a fabulous idea. Find a vet in your area that is willing to do it, and you could release them the same day as long as they are awake from anesthesia.
Thanks for taking the time to care about this. I have neutered my fair share of strays that were re-released. They may not have a home, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from not reproducing.
Fixing them is a great idea. Releasing them back into the wild. Not so much a great idea. Cats are meant to be taken care of by humans. They should not be left to their own defenses in the wild. There are numerous things that can hurt or kill them. A better suggestion is to have them picked up by the humane society. Hopefully they will be able to find them homes, they can take care of all their medical problems and they can spay or neuter them.
We actually did this when we lived in Florida. We caught about 5-6 male and female cats in a span of about four years in humane traps that we were able to get from the area SPCA, and we took them in to be fixed. We "adopted" them by feeding them, getting them to gain a little trust, took them in and had them fixed. They were much healthier after that, too. We rarely had surprise batches of kittens roaming our property (wooded, plenty of owls, hawks, snakes … you name it) for us to catch and give to good homes.
If I remembered right, the SPCA gave us a reduced rate for the surgeries because they knew about the feral population issues in our area.
These cats were adult cats, feral their whole lives. There would be almost no way to bring them indoors and domesticate them. So we did the best we could by feeding them and keeping track of them; catching them annually to take them in (sedated) for shots etc.
We never got to pet a single one of these. Closest we got (besides in a cage) was about 10 feet. But it was worth it. They were nice outdoor companions.
Definitely do it. It is a very responsible and compassionate thing to do, since you will be preventing the suffering of sick and inbred kittens. There are organizations that will help you. Local animal shelters may provide traps and spay/neuter assistance. If you need a reference to a local organization that can help you, try contacting the link below. Good luck and many blessings for your efforts!
Very good idea.
As Bob Barker says "spay/neuter your pets"
… or in this case the neighborhood pets.
yes if you can catch them there is sometimes people who will do this for free in yoru communicty find out and then catch them for the toerhs to fix.
It’s a wonderful idea! Check with vets around your area…they might give you a good price cause you’re trying to help!