What do you get...

[Dianne]

My Mother's adopted feral cat died last summer. Kee-Kee was adopted from the back porch of their house, but soon moved to the favorite chair in their living room. His death left a hole in their hearts.

When Kee-Kee died my Mom thought she should look for another adoptable feral cat. They live on a sliver of land between two busy highways where cars and trucks wizzzzz by all day and all night. None of their neighbors have "outside" cats.

When she put the food dish on the back porch, a middle-aged yellow cat soon appeared. Later a second yellow cat, 2 white-pawed tigers, and a week later a soft gray female. After feeding 5 cats for several weeks, they noticed a kitten, then a second, and finally a possum eating at the food dish.

So, what do you get when you start looking for a new cat? You get 5 cats, 2 kittens, and a possum.

[Christine]

...and a partridge in a pear tree! How precious!

[critters]

Congrats to them!

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Beware of what you ask for!
I too was on a cat quest after Andy died. He was looking for a blue-eyed white cat. Well, one was found in a tree on his supposed to be 25th birthday, so I HAD to have her. She is INSANE. Totally feral and fearless. I am so happy for your mom. She got her dream for the next 35 years

[Dianne]

You're right, "Be careful what you wish for". My Mom wanted to pick and choose which one she would keep. Sorry Mom, winter is coming soon and they ALL need YOU. How do you explain that you have 5 cats, 2 kittens and a possum?

What a beautiful pic of Andy's blue eyed kitty. I think he sent her to you, Karen.

D

[Jean]

Dianne,
Thank you for the story. It kinda renews my faith in mankind. I recently became acquaited with a lady that feeds a colony of ferals. All were probably once loved house cats but are now living in a junk yard just trying to survive the cold Kansas winter. There are over 50 of them and it just breaks my heart.
My first experience with a feral cat was about 3 years ago. I was driving in a rain storm in late May and saw a cat along the side of a road. I got out and jumped the ditch which was full of rain. The cat was swaying back and forth and barely able to sit up. I wrapped him in a towel and I have never felt anything so cold. He barely moved and I raced him to the vet clinic. His temp was only 91 and he was covered with feces.
To make a long story short it took 3 days of IV's and intensive care to save him. He had fluid in his chest and a collapsed lung from being HBC.
When he finally recovered the vet said "Jean, I know you have a big heart but I have never seen such a feral cat." He would literally "fly" around the clinic if he got loose. In addition, the vet techs had scratches and bites all over them.They sent me home with oral antibiotics and I was terrified. He had extremely elevated liver values due to not eating. I was sure he would develop Hepatic Lipidosis. It took me days to get him to even take his first bite of food. He finally started eating off of a spoon and I won his trust.
Today he is a very loving fellow. He still doesn't really trust anyone new but he will let me carry him around and is so affectionate. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to rescue Chadwick. /Jean

[Dianne]

Jean,

That is a touching story about Chadwick. I'm so glad that you took a chance and rescued him. You have a lovely family of pets.

Winters can be mild to brutal here in PA. I bought Mom several flats of WalMart cat food and a bag of crunchies to feed the new pet family. We called it an "early Christmas" gift. She only wanted ONE cat, but St. Francis thought she could take care of more.

The new gray cat with kittens walks with her *tail dragging on the ground*. She will NOT allow anyone close enough to touch her, and I don't quite know what to do other than hydrate her and get her caloric intake up to a nursing cat level.

Anyone with ferals have any ideas about this?

D

[Jean]

Dianne,
Do you think the mother cat is truly feral? Do you have a trap accessible? If she is already showing problems it makes you wonder if she or the kittens will live through the winter.

The last few weeks I have tried to win the trust of a kitten that had been dumped in Walgreens parking lot. I had been feeding him for several days but couldn't win his trust enough for me to catch him. He was living behind the dumpster and sleeping behind the tires of the cars in the parking lot.

A lady I know who does TNR came over and trapped Oliver for me. I was surprised how safe and efficient the trap worked.

Sorry I don't really have alot of experience with feral cat care./Jean

[puremutt]

Critters! your smiling faces make my day! LOL,

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

I've done litters of feral neos. Bottle fed them, legs shredded bleeding as each fought the other for the bottle. I would suggest trying to hand feed or bottle feed an infant to 'socialize' it.

[critters]

You can have smilies, too!! http://handicappedpets.com/help/viewtopic.php?t=20

[Dianne]

Karen,

Ouch! Shredded legs. Yikes.

These kittens are ready for the food pan. No need to bottle feed.

Mom made a bed of straw inside a small shed. She let the door open, and often feeds there and on the porch for the other critters. I'm wondering if the dragging tail could be severe malnutrition. Will look for a crate to catch/trap.

I doubt if we have the final count on cats and possums. New ones seem to arrive weekly! Any guess how many she will get?

D

[puremutt]

DIDN'T KNOW CRITTERS!

THANKS

DOESN'T WORK?

[Barbara Boehmer]

puremutt,

I edited your post and fixed your smilie. It needs to be exactly as it is on the list, with the letters in lower case oops, not upper case OOPS, and with a : before and after, no spaces.

[SandyNY]

LOL! feral cats - i spend 1/2 my day with ferals. If your mom is dedicated to feeding these critters; she should really think about what it is she wants and what it is she can and cannot live with. Some people absolutely cannot live looking out thier window seeing a cat who lives outside - some would rather it live wild inside thier basement. I don't know how your mom or you feel about all these issues that come with the territory.... Hay is the best insulator; or so I am told . I do not have access to hay! You will have to change it when it is wet. ( My ferals can get in and out of a barn with electricity so they have an insulated house with heat lamps within the barn. Oh, yes, it started as one blanket on the floor - now they have a two story house...but that is another story) I also use the heat discs which have to be re-heated every 12 hours. And now the cats also have the thermal mats that use thier body heat to heat up. A good, inexpensive house can be made with two plastic totes and insulation board between them. But it upside down so the top is the floor. hay, old towel,old clothes make good bedding in there. depends on how wild cats are, some won't enter anything without a back exit. Possums LOVE cat food -especialy the canned stuff. Raccoons and skunks also enjoy cat food of any variety. Fox are opportunists and they will eat the cat food also. Mice, too! ( The extended family!) Depends on your area how big a problem this will be. Can cat food freezes pretty quickly in the winter cold - but you may not be able to leave out dry food all the time if you are attracting too many other creatures.
THE DRAGGING KITTY: This could be a lot of things. Sometimes a cat will get her tail caught and injure her tail or back. She may have been hit by a car; she may just be malnurished like you said. Many wild cats actually have severely bad accidents -like car hits- and survive beautifully. It can also be a side effect of a viral infection. If I were your mom, I would be placing my order for KMR> Kitten Milk Replacer. I go thru tons of it and it isn't exactly cheap but it does give the cats good nutrition. I order from Revival animal health and KV Vet supply.Mix powder with warm water in the winter.
I won't bash the traps as I know they are a useful tool. Not all cats are stupid enough to go into them. Some cats are smart enough to get the food out without getting trapped time and time again. Some cats can really injure themselves in a trap. I think it is important in using one, not to just leave it. Once trapped, you need to move it to a safe place ( inside) and sometimes covering the trap with calm the cat down some. Find out about TNR programs in her area. It wouldn't hurt to try to trap some and get them fixed. The most affectionate ferals we have are males that were ultra wild before they were trapped and fixed. When you bring them back, they seem to make a decision to think you are evil for doing this to them or that you have saved them. Once you bring some back, they will bolt and you willl never see them again. If you plan to bring them all in to be housecats be aware that wild male cats do spray and mark thier territory.The behavior may continue after neutering. Females can also spray. Many ferals roam... sounds like you may be talking about a more secluded area. Some ferals will come to your house to eat for weeks - then move on. With the kittens, she maybe able to win thier trust by playing with them. either a string on a pole-type toy or even throwing things for them to chase when she is feeding. Let us know how it is going. What is the count at now??