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What can I do about feral cats in my yard?

What can I do about feral cats in my yard?

If the cat is wild or scared and will not let you go near them, you have a few options. First, you should call the companion animal officer at your local council and ask whether they can assist (for example, some councils hire out humane cat traps to residents. These traps do not harm the cat and are food activated.

What does it mean when a cat becomes feral?

A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors. A feral cat is not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors.

When does a stray cat become a feral cat?

Stray cats can become feral after living outside for a while, without any kitty to human interaction. Feral kitties are fearful and won’t let you pet them or come near them. If the cat is not shy and they greet you without hesitation, it might also be someone’s outdoor or lost pet.

How to take care of a feral cat?

How to help them 1 Offer food If you don’t mind accepting responsibility for the “community cats” you can help keep them healthy by offering food. 2 Provide winter shelter Feral cats may be used to the outdoors, but they still need somewhere to fo when the temperature dips. 3 Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release

What happens when a cat runs away from home?

Cats sometimes run away and go missing, and sometimes they return home. They can be gone for several days or disappear entirely. For a cat guardian, this is an emotional and upsetting experience. We often trust our cats to return home, but what happens when they don’t?

Why do some people feed their feral cats?

Feral cat caretakers have some of the biggest and strongest hearts of any people I know. And not because they spend their own money and time to make sure these kitties are fed, but because they treat all of the cats they feed as their cats, just like their pets that live at home. I know this firsthand.

Can a feral cat be returned to its original home?

But the feral and semi-feral cats, you want to return them to their original home if at all possible after Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). In some cases though, especially if there is conflict with the property owners, finding a barn home (or another colony) is the only way to ensure their safety.

Where are the feral cats in my yard?

A few months ago we realized that there was a family of feral cats living under our shed. We fed them and trapped 2 of them (we are working on the others) to spay/neuter. They have been in our yard almost every single day since we first noticed them. They play, climb our trees, eat the food we leave for them, and stare at our cats inside the house.

Why are there feral cats in the United States?

Why are there feral cats? If they don’t have early contact with people, the kittens of stray or feral cats will become feral themselves, too fearful to be handled or adopted. Since a female cat can become pregnant as early as five months of age, the number of feral cats in a neighborhood can rapidly increase if cats aren’t spayed or neutered.

What to do with a feral cat in a barn?

Wherever the new outdoor home is going to be, you need to have a place to confine the cat. This can be a tack room in your barn, a kitted out gardening shed, or even a pet cage like you would find at the shelters.