u/WebIllustrious8769

I know black cats are at the most risk around Halloween, but cats of all colors can be at risk as well. This is the first Halloween that I am caring for a feral cat colony. And I'm just wondering, do you take any precautions or do anything extra to keep them safe around Halloween? Or are they pretty fine on their own?

Any tips, tricks, advice, or personal stories/examples are appreciated!!

Y'all, a new kitten arrived at my colony last night!! He/she is SO cute! About the same age as Tangerine's kittens, (who I still haven't found names for 😬) but this little guy is white with black markings!!!

I think he looks like little ink blots and I really wanna name him or her something to do with ink or similar themed. I'd love a gender neutral name bc I don't know her gender yet. I'm so excited to meet this little baby! She let me get about a few yards away to put food down, and when I left, she immediately went to eat the food!

So the HOA has gotten complaints of some cats roaming and pooping in people's yards. No one has claimed these cats as theirs, but that doesn't mean they're unowned. My dad has mentioned to the HOA that I work with ferals and do TNR and trap cats, etc. I have a few ideas of what to do, but I want to post and see other point of views and thoughts and ideas.

So the options on the table:

- call animal control (don't wanna do this unless absolutely have to. I'd rather handle it internally.)

- trap and take to the shelter for stray hold and see if anyone claims it. (But if no one does, I'm not sure what happens to the cat)

- check for microchip (no matter what option, if we catch the cat, I will scan it and follow microchip procedure if it has one. But so many cats don't.)

- make a flyer about how there are roaming cats in the neighborhood and we are going to begin trapping and bringing them to the shelter , and if your cat is trapped, you can find it there? And put them in everyone's mailboxes?

I also want to know if there are any cat deterents you know of that might be an option for the people who are bothered by it? Like something they could put in the yard to keep the cats away?

I am very aware of all the factors here - these may be loved pets, it's not safe for them to roam and cats should be indoors only, it's bad for the environment and the neighbors, animal poop is part of being outside, some people may not know cats shouldn't be let outside, cats taken to the shelter may eventually be euthanized, etc

But there's a bit of a time crunch bc I am their advocate at this point, as no owner has stepped up. And the HOA and my dad are solution oriented, not animal oriented. So I want to find the most humane and empathetic approach, but I need to know if there's anything I'm missing!!

EDIT: So I did some research, and apparently, the county animal control doesn't pick up stray cats as of 2015 and tnr is the only real option. But I know people can be cruel and creative if nothing is done, and I worry about BB wounds (or worse), or poison, or other methods of removing cats quickly and quietly.

I'm going to start fostering, but I'm not sure how to navigate the pet policies with apartment living. If you have one foster, and it gets adopted out, and you get a new foster, do you update the apartment management? Or do you just leave it, bc you still only have the one cat? Even though it's a different cat?

And if you have one foster, and then get another one for only like a couple days, do you have to disclose that one?

I don't want to over share to management, but I just want to make sure I don't get in trouble.

I'd love something Egyptian or Greek, but I'm down for all ideas!!! It's been three days and I have no clue what to name her, nothing seems to fit!

She's an absolute sweetheart who wants affection and pets, but like any kitten, she likes some space and wants to explore everything! She's a confident little baby who loves her mama (Tangerine) and she meows CONSTANTLY if I don't give her attention. She has a little hiss when she is startled and she looks like a snake when she hisses, haha!

Now that it's summer, the bugs are out again. And I'm having an especially hard time with ants. Whenever I set a trap, the ants take over in minutes. No matter where I place the traps.

And the cats won't go near, which I can't blame them for bc it is NOT appetizing lol

I tried putting a "moat" of baking soda around the trap, and it worked for keeping the ants out for about an hour! But after that, the ants decided it was just powder I guess bc they swarmed once again.

Plus, when I went to clean the set up, the baking powder got in the trap, contaminating the food. And I'm not willing to risk toxins to my cats, so I had to clean the whole trap before using it again.

I can't be the only one who traps in the summer so please, what do you guys do to keep bugs away??

One of my ferals had kittens recently (I have since had her spayed) and I've been monitoring them for a few weeks or so. I want to get them TNR-ed. (They are on a waiting list for going to the shelter, but there are so many kittens on the list that I don't know if they'll get in for a while so I want to get them fixed.

They have to be about 10 weeks old or 2lbs before they're good candidates for TNR.

How old does she look?

I'm trying to trap one of the last unfixed cats in my colony. She shows interest in the trap, and will even go as far as having her two front paws inside the trap as she eats. But that's it. She will ALWAYS pull back out. And she's very easily distractible, so anytime I think she's going to go all the way in, another cat walks by or a car revs in the distance and she loses her focus and back out and walks away.

I have tried all the typical tips.

- she doesn't like wet food, only kibble

- I've tried both covered and uncovered traps

- I've put the trap in different locations on different nights

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I've considered a drop trap, but I'm not sure that would work. I think what would work best is a bigger/taller trap, because she seems to be wary of the door and roof being so low, and having to duck down. Problem is, I don't really have the money to get a bigger trap. I rent the ones I use from the local shelter, but they only have one size.

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Does anyone have any ideas on how to trap this interested but non-commiting cat???

So I had thought this kitten was pregnant bc her belly seemed bigger. Turns out, she wasn't pregnant, what I was seeing was her lactating nipples! (Which were hidden by fur of course)

Anyway, the night I went to trap her, three tiny copies came out of the bushes. I couldn't believe it. She had kittens!!?

Sweet babies, she brought them over to my car and let them play. Two of the kittens came right over to my shoe. 🧡🧡🧡

Everyone meet Tangerine's little Cuties!!!!!

Okay, so I was browsing online for cat enclosures/cages, and I came across this listing. They look so similar to the stacking wire cubes I bought off Amazon for like $30, but this one is priced at over $100! I figured they must be sturdier or something, bc the wire cubes I have would need like, zip ties or something to make sure they don't break apart. Well, I scroll the listing, and it shows you use zipties to keep it together!?

Does it seem like these are the same thing just advertised differently? (I included pics of both)

What do you guys think, bc to me, this seems like overpriced cubes, with some cat accessories thrown in, and definitely not secure enough for a cat enclosure!

I finally trapped one of the older toms in my colony for TNR. He has had eye problems for months. I finally saw them up close yesterday when I trapped him, and I'm convinced it's an infection or something. When I picked him up from the vet, they said the vet looked at his eyes, first thought it was an infection, but then decided it was old scarring.

I'm looking at his eyes now, and they look wet and red, almost as if he is crying blood, and I'm just not convinced that's scarring.

I really need a second opinion bc I want to get him proper care, but I'm not sure what he needs care for.

Here are some photos (the bright gold eye is from the flash of the camera)

EDIT: I am taking him to a different vet this morning for a second opinion. They said that since he was sedated yesterday, he won't be able to be sedated for at least 7-10 days. So they're going to look at him while in the live trap, and see if he's amiable for an exam or treatment. Hopefully we'll have some answers soon! 🤞

I am a caretaker for a small cat colony in my area. There is another caretaker who leaves kibble and refills the water consistently. We have never met, but we both care for this colony. I only know of them bc I will find fresh kibble and refilled water. It works really well bc I can't come every day, and I still know they're being fed.

Here's the issue:

I am in the process of fixing all the cats in the colony. I've already done five, but I have four or five more. The ones I've caught were the really food motivated ones. The ones left are trap weary, not food motivated, or only eat kibble, or don't come every day, etc. I've tried a few times to trap, but with no success.

I really think part of this is because they're not hungry enough. I know all TNR groups recommend withholding food for like 24 hours before trap night. This is the trouble. I don't know who this other caretaker is. I don't know how to keep them from feeding. Bc I can remove the food, but I imagine they'll replace it, since they have kept them fed every day for the past months I've known the colony, and probably long before that as well.

The only thing I can think is maybe I could leave a note, like in an empty food bowl, briefly ecplaining that I'm trying to catch a cat to take it to the vet, and asking that they don't feed until ___ date (post trapping). But I'm just not sure that would make any sort of difference.

Any ideas?

I care for a feral cat colony, and have TNR-ed 5 of them. Recently, a little white and orange kitten has joined, probably a few months old. It's been about a month and now it's looking like she may be pregnant. Her belly appears to be getting rounder. I was already planning on trapping her, but now it feels more urgent.

I've been following the 24 hr recovery time for toms

And the 48 hr recovery time for females

However, I read that for females recovering from spay aborts, the recommended time is five days.

I work full time. And I've tried to arrange TNR nights and recovery times for days I have off. But I can't take five days off of work. I imagine a lot of other people who do TNR work full time, so how do you guys handle longer recoveries?

I'd appreciate any tips or advice!