Feeding Strays Cats

Trev M

Yay or nay, I cant help feed the scrawny little buggers around the neighbourhood. This year Ive noticed the numbers have defnitely dropped in our area? One dies in our back garden the summer before and since then I have to feed them .... I was like fred west digging the hole for him the neighbours were real suspicious.

the dee

I'm all for feeding strays - that's how our little princess ended up adopting us. I find it hard not to take full responsibilty for them though once I get to know them. If you can and can afford it maybe consider catching them spaying them and releasing them. Then there'll be no new kittens to share in their hard life.

If you live in Dublin the Blue Cross do discounted neutering. I'm sure other charities do elsewhere.

If you don't want to take that much responsibility then be warned - if you feed them they'll keep coming back and possibly multiply in your back garden.

DAWNRISER

We feed the local stays (we call them The Others) as our own live in an outdoor enclosure and we dont have the heart to feed ours and leave the others looking on.
We have since had about 8 litters and homed about 6 and also neautered 8.

It's hard work but very rewarding, poor little babies need someone.

Just be carefull if you are feeeding them leftovers not to gice them anything with Garlic or onions , these can be poison to cats!!

Trev M

The others ...thats hilarious!

Nah we buy cat food to feed em. Catching them would be mad tricky, these things are pretty wild. Time is a big thing aswell for us. We suspect there's a new litter somewhere close so extra feeding is on the cards, Do you take kittens away from the wild cat after a while and get them done?

mike65

In my lifetime a few passing moggies have been adopted though none for a long time now. Getting the cat 'nobbled' is vital or they'll always be more of them.

Mike.

bitemybanger

Why do you think strays are strays??
If nobody but thier owner fed them they would not stray,
If others feed them they wont associate home with food

the dee

It's hard to know if you're feeding a stray or someone else's cat sometimes. But there are plenty of homeless cats. You can't deny that.

Trev M

Well I believe they are not being fed by an owner cause they are in poor condition, srawny dirty and unhealthy looking, suffice to say if they have an owner they are pr*cks becuase they have neglected the poor animals.

kerrysgold

I also feed anything that wanders into the garden lol.
If you were willing to get them neutered/spayed, you could borrow a cat trap from a rescue to capture them, you could ask and get advice on doing some TNR (trap, neuter, release/return) on http://petsireland.invisionzone.com there are a few people on there who have done it on quite a large scale and can offer advice and probably loans of cat traps as well.

Trev M

wow kerrysgold that is well good , thanks for that link Im definitely gonna look into this , very much appreciated.
Trev

DAWNRISER

Hi we have neautered a good few who are very wild and would NEVER let you even rub them.
And its a great opportunity for the vet to give them the once over!!
Anything serious would be picked up then.
It can be difficult but with patience and experince you can catch them. We have cages and are getting dab hands at it at this stage.
Should you ever need help just pm me.
We just had another 2 of "The Others" done.
It very satisfying, when summer time comes and you know the population won't be increasing that year!!

Again if you need any help or advice pm me.

greenkittie

Just make sure they are strays, its not nice to steal other peoples cats!

Lorrs33

greenkittie wrote: »

Just make sure they are strays, its not nice to steal other peoples cats!

I've actually done that, lol, but in all fairness, her owners never fed her. I'm all for feeding strays, I had a whole army of cats where I used to live