Registering colonies, SB 250, etc.

Gesine gives up on this topic here! Registering colonies, SB 250, etc.

Hi all,

OK, I give up! Here, that is.

I wish I could have you all walk with me through the inner city
cat ocean wilds of Oakland, CA. I think then you'd see why I am
so passionately FOR proposed ordinances like SB 250 (which
is a "mandatory s/n, won't harass feral cat caretakers, non-punitive,
etc." ordinance).

I often disagree wildly with Nathan Winograd, and I believe he's not
been "in the trenches" as much as he thinks he has. He's done a lot
of good work, but then he messes it up IMNSHO. And you've already
heard that I have not succeeded in changing Alley Cat Allies' mind
about SB 250 -- they're citing a study that most owned cats are already
s/n -- well, sure, but NOT in inner-city-cat-ocean Oakland, CA!!

I've spoken with several animal control directors who say SB 250
would NOT be used by them to harass feral cat people. What this
kind of ordinance would do would essentially be one more tool for
the in-the-streets TNR person.

And the opponents are nearly all dog breeders!!!!

I'm frustrated since I've spent quite a few hours researching this
recently, many hours in the past, have called & asked various folks
about it, and STILL, backyard breeders are winning.

So. What I ask you all to consider, is, please, maybe some of the
"big names in rescue" like Winograd, might be incorrect in some
areas.

And go in person and TALK with your local exec director of the
main local shelter, and ask about stuff like this.

Gesine

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The Feral Cat Relocation Experience

Well, I have been gone such a long time! I have been relocating some ferals from bad areas in the next city to my yard. Some were ill and all have been speutered with a "program" at most reasonable prices. Ill

ones have been given medication. Cats are in as good a condition as they can be. We let the first couple go about 3 days ago. One stuck like glue to the point I am almost falling from him wrapping around my legs. Another male took off and returned a couple of days later and now seems to stay close. There are four others about to be released. I think I have held them in cages on my patio at least 4 weeks. Trying to keep flies from the food and keeping the cages clean and dry and cool and litter scooped is a major job. Adding this work to my other cat care has been something I didn't have time for.

I have kept the cages dry by using election signs to cover them with zip ties and some hang down from the top on longer ties and can be flipped up over the top in better weather. I have elections signs on the top with large overhangs and can put bent pieces of election signs
tucked under these for an "awning" type of shelter from the sun. I don't want them to bake in hot weather.

Cleaning and feeding has to be managed with cats that are often not friendly. I have a long "grabber" like people use who can't bend over. I use it to remove empty dishes and move things around the cage. Going in I lead with a bowl of food and once that has their attention at the back of the cage I quickly change water and pull the litter box out for scooping. Sometimes it helps to feed in two amounts to have more time to work while they are distracted eating.

I also use those carriers that have a removable door. I put that in the cage and when they go in I put the door on and remove the carrier and the cat for a more thorough cleaning. I also use this to move ferals from one place to another. I even tie a string to the door and pull it shut after they go in the carrier, on some of them. Some cats have a very long reach and their nails are lethal!

We have just completed an area to the side of my cat building in the back that is paved with slates and covered with a tarp from building to fence that acts like a roof. I am using this as a holding area for recovering TNRs because the other cat people have no place to leave them. Their routine had been to leave the females on the street covered over in the back of a pick up truck overnight. A couple of the TNR people do this. Having this space also means I will no longer put recovering TNRs in my basement.

The good news is that there are finally some TNR programs in my area where I don't have to pay $150 a cat at the vet to TNR a cat. Two days ago I even ran into my second cousin that I haven't seen in 9 years. She was there with a feral cat in a trap. Turns out she has four cats and three dogs and is well into TNR. I had no idea she was also a cat lady.

This relocation thing is much more work than I expected. My yard is going to have too many and I am calling an end to it although my friend wants to bring two more pregnant females, after spaying. I hate to insist but they will have to go back where they are. These are tiny yards. Even though we are providing shelters and I am feeding I think there will be too many. And....I cannot take another 3 weeks of this. Not to mention the great cost of food for many more cats for the rest of their lives.

Regarding shelter. Suncast makes an outdoor seat in two sizes to store patio items, etc. One is the size of large chest about 40" long, and the other is half
that. Some stores have had sales. My rescue partner bought me a number of these. They come in tan or white. We are driling six inch holes with a hole saw and putting flaps over them for shelter with zip ties. For flaps I use the plastic doors I have saved from litter boxes. They are much nicer looking shelters than the "tub in tub" design. I can also use a large chest to put food in to shelter it from the rain and snow in my alley. If you face the hole away from the public it just looks like a storage seat.
I think they run $40+.

I had been keeping some cats in my basement and some TNR recovery. I am now fighting a major flea problem in the basement. This is a first. I am almost done moving the last of 6 cats out so I can treat it more thoroughly. I have also decided it is not good to have cats in an "out of the way location" where they cannot be given enough attention. I am rearranging the cat building at the office to hold more cats there. I will remove the large cage in the basement. I do not like having any cats in cages. Their personalities to not improve. In some cases it has been unavoidable. My costs for Revolution and all other types of flea products have been about $1000. This includes Revolution for one month. Vet says it take about 24 hours for Revolution to kill fleas on the cat so one basement feral is outside in a cage until the time is up and I will bring her back in upstairs. I let her out of the basement several times but she always came back in. She is very petite and the other cats would chase her. She may be the original flea source. I never had them before.

Everyday people contact me from my Petfinder page and want me to take kittens or cats. It is really sad. People are calling me from NY, north of NYC and I am in NJ! I try to make suggestions and some appreciate it. Others want someone to "come and pick them up".

I don't know how I have survived without our list all this time.
Heaven only knows what I have missed!!

Pam In NJ

Need some suggestions please

We have been spaying/neutering cats in our yardneighborhood for some time but recently someone has complained to the Health Department (we are in Nassau County NY) about our feeding them

First we received a letter that gave us a phone number to call. I called and was told it is ok to feed ferals, but the feeding must be done in a certain way (feedings must be supervised and no more than 30 minutes: food must be elevated 12 inches off the ground: any food not eaten must be disposed of & dishes removed), although water may be left out at all times.

We did exactly what we were told to do, but now have received another letter today saying that we may be inspected and fined for the feedings.

We have three litters of kittens (obviously we have not spayed every female in the neighborhood yet) and I am very worried. The letter also states that neighbors finding cats on their property have the right to trap and bring to animal control (which is a death sentence).

I was planning to call again on Monday morning to ask what we are supposed to be doing that we have not done. Is that the right strategy? Should I ask who has been complaining? We do the feeding in a back yard that is not visable from the street, so it must be a direct neighbor or the sanitation department (we used to have our garbage cans back there but have moved them streetside).

I am sure no one cares that we feed them, but they are probably upset that they wander through their yards and may use their flower beds as a litter box.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I am absolutely terrified that these animals may be trapped and removed. I am also terrified that our indoor cats may be at risk in some way.

Many of these cats could be tamed and placed in homes, but my husband has said we cannot bring another cat in the house. The kittens are mostly handle-able, although some are still fearful.

Please...any thoughts? Is there anyone in my area with experience in dealing with the department?

I'd also make sure to try and talk, one-on-one and respectfully, with the neighbors and the sanitation people.

The SUREST way to gain support for cats and to defuse complaints, is to identify the reason for the complaints and show that you want to work in community with your neighbors/community. And when you have a well-managed colony, you are on really excellent footing to approach the neighbors. As you said, you've done what you're being instructed to do, and you are probably more than willing to explain how the roaming cats can be deterred from flower beds, how they are actually healthier and safer than some of the other creatures who visit those flower beds, and so on.

I would work on making allies out of the neighbors, because if they know better, they won't resort to bringing in outside authorities.

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.

Aggressive outdoor pet cat

The people who live a couple of houses away from us let their two pet cats (neutered males) roam outside. They come into our yard occasionally, and they also come eat the food I put out for the other feral cats. It irritates me a little, because these guys have a home and regular food indoors, but I figure that as long as they don't eat everything, I'll tolerate it. It's not like I can do much about it anyway.

The problem is that sometimes they are very aggressive toward Mittens, who is the feral cat who regularly hangs around our house. Earlier this evening she was napping on a low wall in front of our house. We saw one of the neighbor's cats in the backyard coming toward the house. So we went to look out a front window to see if he came around to the front of the house, which he did. Mittens was awake and watching him, and hissed when he approached. She got very low to the ground. Will sort of sat and watched her, and then all of a sudden he pounced. She got away and went up onto our porch. At this point I decided to intervene as Will was also heading to the porch. I went outside and did the Mean Nasty Human act, waving my arms at Will and shooing him, and told him to go home. I didn't yell, but he decided not to mess with me and left. Mittens seemed fine after he left, so I don't think he actually hurt her at all.

I feel kind of bad for shooing him away like I did; he is a pet, after all, and I don't want him to be afraid of me. And I'm not sure I really did the right thing, coming to Mittens' aid like that. She has to deal with these cats all the time when I'm not home and not watching over her. I really wish the neighbor would keep their cats indoors. They seem to have more confidence outdoors, and are very bold. There was a time when Mittens was the bully, but lately she has been the bullied, rather than the bullier.

SUFFOCATION HAZARD

from my friend

I have been rescuing feral cats for years and do TNR on a regular basis. The friendly cats are taken inside - some are kept as pets and others are adopted out. I keep four FIV+ kitties in a bedroom, away from the FIV- cats in my home.

A few days ago, one of the FIV+ cats went missing.? I searched high and low (dresser drawers, closets, vents, etc) and figured that he escaped when I opened a door. Then last night, I was cleaning out the litter box and went to add more fresh litter. When I opened the plastic tub of litter, I found the cat dead inside. I was absolutely stunned and saddened as you can imagine. I have never heard of such a thing, I surfed the net and couldn't find any reference regarding this situation. I did see that cats can suffocate if litter gets into their mouth and nose, because it clumps when it gets wet.

The litter that I use is Fresh Step Scoopable in the 28 pound plastic tub. The tub was half full. My theory is that the cat lifted up the loosely fitting top and climbed in. Then one of the other cats must have jumped on top of the lid?snapping it closed. My cats climb into anything that is accessible (kitchen cabinets, drawers, etc) and then remove items.??

The dead cat had litter?all over his face, so he either suffocated from the litter itself or because the lid formed an airtight seal. He started to decompose, but there was no smell. I am sure the scented litter covered up?the?smell as well as it's absorption abilities.

I looked at the outside of the tub and did see a warning regarding babies drowning by falling into a tub partially filled with water. Nothing else.

I know that other litter companies (Tidy Cats, etc) use similar plastic tubs. There must be a warning regarding this hazard to our feline friends. The lids should be redesigned so the cats can't get in or it should be easy for them to get out. I know that this is a freak accident, but something should be done to avoid this in the future.

For now, I would suggest removing the tubs to a place in the home, where the cats can't get to it. Or putting a heavy weight on top of the lid. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.? Thanks.

Trivially! Cats' sense of smell VASTLY better -- cats recognize fam

This is exactly what I am hoping for. It happened again tonight. All

of a sudden Blazen meows at the door - Leo is sitting next to him and
doesn't do anything. Blazen was neutered at 6 months, Leo at 1.5
years (that's when I found him). I poked my head out the door to see
if she was there, she poked her head out from the railing, then sat
at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at me, both ears on alert.
She rubbed against the handrail a few times. I would calling to her
but she didn't come closer so I eventually went inside. Tomorrow I am
setting the trap and bringing her in. What signs can I look for to
see if she is feral vs a scared lost cat?

When I first noticed Blazen in the backyard I thought it was one
kitten. Then when I moved the food dish closer to the house to make
it easier to catch him I noticed it was two kittens. When the bowl
was at the tree line one would always be hiding, but now that the
bowl was in the middle of the lawn they both were in the open. As I
was trying to figure out how to catch them without scaring off one
cat they showed up on my porch staring in my screen door. I opened
the door and made a little food trail. They followed it in, explored
a bit, ran in and out a few times, then curled up under my dining
room table and went to sleep. Since them Blazen runs if we come to
the door - he doesn't want to go out again! So I am hoping this is
him calling to another cat saying it is worth it to come inside.

Daniela

Twilight

From the description of Twilight she sounds like a tame cat who was

either lost or dumped because she was pregnant. Irresponsible people
who have money for everything but their pets often dump preg. females
rather than spay them.... Thank you for spaying her!!

I believe she will let you pet her. A cat who talks to you and rolls
on your patio is tame, not feral, and it sounds like she wants to be
petted. Try petting her on her back, not her tummy, or if you are
hesitant to pet her with your hand, use a long handled bath brush.
I've gained the love and trust of many a stray cat by using a bath
brush........ They love it.

Lorrie

On 07-03, hconrad2 wrote:

  Here is some more information about the cat. I am in no way trying
  to tame her for adoption for myself or anyone else. I have two 1
  year old cats at home that I adopted last year.I cannot have
  anymore cats. I was just curious as to whether or not it was
  possible for a feral to become friendly with the caretaker(myself).
  I became interested in tnr after I found out she had kittens in my
  yard. I know I needed to give the kittens a chance at adoption and
  spay the mom with the intent to return her back to her original
  living space(my yard). The person who took her and her kittens in
  said she definatey was not tame and therefore unadoptable. There is
  no real colony, just her and the father who I see in my
  neighborhood every once in a while. He runs when he sees me.
 
  She is a young black cat who we have named Twilight. since her
  kittens have been gone and she has been spayed(1week ago) she has
  been hanging out on my patio all night and comes up to me and talks
  and rolls around on the ground. I have not tried to pet her because
  I don't want to get bit. I will continue to feed her as long as she
  calls my place her home. Her kittens will soon be up for adoption
  when they are healthy enough and socialized. I am just happy that I
  got to them before the animal warden did. thanks!
 
 

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