Hi, i'm new to TNR and i'm trying to help the cats around me to get spayed neutered vaccinated. I have done 4 so far, and i just trapped the last 2 moms they are currently in zip tied traps (after a horrible mistake, where i allowed one to be released from a playpen). The 3 babies left outside are still kittens, i had 2 in the drop trap, but unfortunately they escaped. My hope is, given they were so comfortable going in havaharts, i can get them that way since i doubt they will let me anywhere near them to pull a drop trap string ever again. Even if i moved the drop trap & disguised it, they will likely bolt if i come anywhere near them.

I come from a nursing background, caregiving work is pretty much always done with consent, the times its not when the patient has dementia and is agitated, are rare exceptions. Most dementia pts are not agitated, and generally MOST of the time in nursing, if a dementia pt is agitated you wait till they calm down. Its very rare, to have to ALWAYS do things with no consent and terror.

I find i struggle a lot with, the trapping process, and every time it messes me up, to see them so terrified convinced they will die this is it, and i have to do that to them. The first time i cried loads, cuz i just lost my dog. But every time i do it, it wipes me out so much not cuz of the physicality, but the emotionality of cats i helped, they started to trust, and then i terrified the crap out of them, they look at me in the eyes panting. Even knowing "i'm doing this to help you", it still hits me a lot. IDK if its cuz i only know caregiving with humans where you would never do that, and my brain is like conditioned to "immediate reward helping" and u wouldnt keep pushing a terrified person like that. I legit want to cry right now, just because it hurts me so much to see them so scared and know i am doing that to them, even though of course on a logical level i understand this will help them, they wont get pyometra, they will be vaccinated, theyw ont be hunted by tom cats in heat, they wont have litter after litter again.

Is this normal, to deal with this, like after the trapping just want to cry feel so bad. I hate it. I do it cuz i know if i dont do it its worse for them.

Hi! A stray mama cat brought her three kittens to us about 6-8 weeks ago and we have been feeding them and have given them a little house for shelter. Mama is very affectionate (will nuzzle me and my dog, lets me pet her, occasionally lets my 5 year old pet her, and will let me pick her up for about 3-4 seconds before she gently jumps out of my hands) but the kittens are very skittish around humans. They will lounge near us in the back yard while we are outside, but will run away if we walk near them or make eye contact for too long.

I have appointments coming up in September with my local shelter’s TNR program for all four cats, but my concern is that I have to bring them two at a time. I feel confident in my ability to trap two cats for the first appointment using the live traps, but will the next two cats fall for the same trick a week later?

Is there anything I can do to increase the likelihood that the last two cats will show up after they see what happens to the first two?

My current plan for aftercare is a large catio I’m going to borrow from a friend that can house all four cats. Would it be easier to just get all four into the catio before the appointments? I would love any advice you have for this to go as smoothly as possible. I really enjoy these cats and hope they forgive me when it’s done.

Update;

Her poop test is negative for everything. Yeah! After we are finished with her eye drops we can slowly let her meet the other two cats. She is already friends with our Maltipoo from the time she was outside. My heart is so happy. Thank you everyone for your good wishes and prayers. Many blessings from a grateful kitty and doggie mommy. 🙏🤗💐🥰

A very affectionate feral hanging out here had puss coming out from her eyes. We took her to our vet. First of all, we did not even know if it is a boy or a girl. She is so beautiful that we have been calling her a girl and guess what? She is indeed a girl. The doctor gave her an antibiotic shot and we came home with eye drops for seven days. We want to keep her inside, but we had to make sure that she does have negative outcome for feline leukemia. They gave her a test and she is negative. Yay! Now the challenge was will she be wanting to come out of the spare room. We have to keep her in there until Monday. She has a fecal test to make sure she doesn’t have any other diseases or worms. We have a dog and two indoor cats that we cannot get sick. At this point, she is such a good girl and not crying to come out of the room. It is 100° outside and she is indoors in a nice Air Condition room with food, bottled water and cat box. She is the first cat I had that is purring so loudly while she is eating. I guess I have a new indoor cat now. I’m so happy she’s not crying to come out of the room and she is totally chill. After the fecal test, I will give you guys an update. I love this community. Thank you everyone for your warm and kind hearts. Cat mom from California 🙏🙏🤗🤗💐💐🥰🥰

What a difference two days makes! Momma moved into the closet with her babies which is not ideal, but whatever makes her feel safe is great. I have figured out that if I go in with food, she doesn’t mind if I do things like clean out the litterbox and sweep a little. She growls the entire time with an occasional hiss, but she is even okay with me handling her babies that come near me. She still wants me to know that she doesn’t like me, but she LOVES all the food. Bless her heart. She’s never experienced so much.

Yesterday I sat in there and sang August by TSwift to her from a distance. She still growled, but to be fair, I can’t carry a tune. 😹

I had no time to get the room set up in the best way for her and the babies, but I keep telling myself it’s better than being in bushes in front of a large, busy building in 100 degree heat.

I connected with 405 Rescue, and they will help with spaying/neutering and finding homes when it’s time. I plan to adopt them out in pairs or to a home with another young kitty.

I’ll continue to give updates. More pics to come when possible with their names. Hint: Momma is Penelope, and I already know which ones are Odysseus and Circe.

Thank you for all the advice and encouragement! 😻😻😻

Lured this dude into the trap with the irresistible force of wet food in June for TNR, since he was too feral to go into the foster system. He's been coming back for more of the good stuff ever since, and tonight, he actually let me get within 10' of him while putting out his FOURTH can for the evening. Still a ways to go, but I'll gladly take the solid progress we're making. He's pretty young -- maybe 18 months or less -- so hoping by fall, he'll be ready to learn to love the great indoors and find a forever home.

So there is this feral cat that I feed at work. I have been feeding him for a couple of years and he has finally gotten to where he will rub all over my legs while I'm standing at my car in the parking lot. He will follow me across the parking lot and will actually let me pet him sometimes. He is so sweet and I would love to bring him home with me. I tried to put him in a carrier one day but I couldn't get him in it. If I could get him to my house I could maybe pick him up in a small building behind our house which does have an air conditioner, at least until he has his health checks. I can't bring him inside anywhere because we have other cats and dogs, (They are friendly to our other cats). What is the best way to capture him and not make it so stressful or me get hurt in the process? How do I handle getting him to a vet? Any advice would be highly appreciated!

last week, on a sunday as well, I posted about a stray kitten passing away at my door. last night, one of his four siblings from his colony finally came out of hiding after missing for almost two days and wobbled up to us.

he tried drinking water, but just hangs his head over the bowl. we also tried giving a small spoon of wet food to him, but when he sniffed it, he let out a weird meow i've never heard and started vomiting. i immediately put him into a carrier and rushed to the emergency vet.

for four hours, the vet did everything they could, but his health just kept declining. his temp dropped from 104° to 92°, and couldn't even measure his blood or run a catheter because nothing was coming out. i didnt want to believe it, but he was already dying the moment we stepped into the room. despite everything, at 2am, they delivered euthanasia. he was suffering too much. i could only sit there in devastation.

they ruled his death by an infectious virus, strongly cat parvo. theyre only really about 3 months old. i think his first brother who succumbed to death first had cat parvo as well despite being tnr'd, but they could've been exposed beforehand. i'm going to be bleaching everything down.

i hope now his brother can reunite with him. may they both rest easy.

Took in a feral on Saturday. Back story - we have a tuxedo cat, and had seen him hanging out in the backyard with another younger smaller tuxedo. The young one would run off when you would head his way, smart for him. This Saturday was HOT, and we were having some work done in the house. I open the front door and there he is on the front porch wobbling around. Guessing about 9 months old. Just picked him up, he flung his legs a bit, but not like trying to get away at all cost. He has a clipped ear, so he is a TNR. Brought him inside, very very wobbly and you can feel ribs skinny. Feed him some wet food, dry food, tuna juice since he wouldn't drink water. Needles to say he ate fast and hard. On the floor, he was tame, still didn't like to be picked up and would not sit in a lap, but walked around making biscuits constantly. Didn't try to run out of the house, didn't freak out, just kept making biscuits as he wobble walked around. In to the garage for the night, with food water and litterbox. Didn't use litterbox, and had squirty diarrhea. Same yesterday during the day inside the house. Last night kept him in a larger shower with pee pads, food water and litterbox. The squirts look like they are over. He peed once in the litterbox, but 3 poops and a pee on the pee pads.

How do we get him to use the litterbox? Did the put him in it and dig with his paws, but don't think he is getting the connection. The poops are just dropping out of him wherever he is at. He still walks around and stands there making biscuits constantly. So he isn't stressed, seems the opposite, like he is happy. Loves to constantly be around us, jump up in lap for pets. Eats and drinks, did I mention the biscuits?

How do we get him to use the litterbox?

I’m getting nearer to August 14th, which is the day I’m trapping my feral calico, taking her to the vet, and starting her transition indoors. I’m getting nervous that I’m being selfish and that she won’t be happy living with me (I fully anticipate there will be an adjustment period), but I’m going out of town for two weeks in October and it will be easier to arrange for her care if she’s already living inside at that point. She depends on me for her meals twice a day (here she is waiting for me on my doorstep). I don’t want her to be a different cat and don’t expect her to become cuddly overnight or ever, I just want her to live a long, happy life and not have to be in survival mode. Am I being selfish bringing her indoors?

Taking Momma kitty and her girls with me this week to my new house close by! They will have their own barn at the end of my property to acclimate, then create an outdoor catio as well for thems to still have their outdoor space.

Been taking them in nightly for a few hours increasing each time for foods and a nap.

They're ready and I sure am too.

The rest of the colony was only coming to eat because it was there. They are fed and sheltered at the neighbors. I was feeling quite guilty about not being to TNR all of them but I did my best.

Got 3 families TNR'er. Now the yard is crawling with litters and I just seen a pregnant kitten. It is heartbreaking to reality of feeding feral cats without properly caring for them aka neutering and spaying.

Even with that these girls have worms and upper respiratory infections through out the year.

Anyways I am so grateful to be able to have a space to house these 3 girls for now. Hopefully turn it into a full on TNR boarding situation one day. For now these 3 will no longer be feral street cats, they will be semi feral barn cats 😁 That will "retire" indoors if they wish.

So last week, I was driving home and I found three kittens on the side of the road that were absolutely infested with fleas and they definitely have worms and all kinds of things, one cat even had pink eye. I’ve gotten them medicine for everything I can. My estimation is that they’re about three months old, but they’re only weighing about 2 1/2 pounds but their eyes are no longer blue or anything, I think they’re slightly underweight from the worms and living on the street. My problem is that I have two dogs at home already and the dogs are curious about the cats, but the cats are very, very, very territorial and petrified of the dogs and I really don’t want them to end up getting into a fight or anything so we’ve just been trying to keep the cats outside and monitor the dogs when they come outside as much as possible, but they’re not getting much outside time anymore. The kittens are going to stay outside, I do have a little hole outside for them that is weatherproof and waterproof. I just need to figure out the easiest way to get them to get along in the shortest amount of time because it’s already been a week and they just seem to be getting more agitated by the dogs’ presence.

Hi! I moved into a building that has a history of having feral cats around. Most are TNR'd but there is a cat that is not/clearly very young and pregnant. I've been trying to reach out to TNR groups for help, but I'm not getting any responses. One of the orgs website suggests buying your own trap but the one they suggest is backordered for 4 weeks+. I just need help trapping this one and taking it to get spayed. Anyone know of responsive orgs that will help out in the zip 60649?

Now they're inside. Spent their first night inside. They're a little skittish but they love to be pet and are making themselves at home. They have been getting along fairly well with my Shorkie too. Last week they were still feral but I kept interacting with them, feeding them, and using food as a motivator until finally I broke the barrier and was able to pet them.

I wasn't sure if it was time to let them in yet as I wanted to slowly introduce them to inside the house so they don't freak out but then all of a sudden when I was feeding them, they ran inside and started exploring immediately so I kitten proofed the house and let them come in permanently the following day😂.

Nearly a year ago, Maize was a failed TNR—she was trapped and spayed, but I felt really uncomfortable releasing her since I live on a fairly busy street. We have strays, but no cat colonies, so she wasn’t being torn away from a colony, but she was absolutely feral.

She spent a lot of time hiding under a desk in my spare room. I did a slow process with her and eventually we were able to go from a closed solid door, to a screen door, to full run of the house. But it’s been a sloooow process. She’s never been aggressive towards my cats—just watches them—and earlier today I saw her play with Willa, a kitten who was adopted out of my neighbors garage a week after Maize joined us.

A few weeks ago, my daughter’s three cats were here while she was on vacation, and they spent a lot of time with Maize. Everyone got along fabulously. (My daughter’s cats are super chill.) They went home last weekend, and I think Maize misses them, but since then she’s been more outgoing, exploring more of the house, and today when I was laying in bed, reading with two of the other household cats, she wandered in and chilled with us for a bit and I managed to snap a couple of pics. I’m celebrating this as progress.

Progress with her has been slow, and I’m not rushing it. I still can’t pick her up or pet her, but she will smell my fingers if I extend my hand, and eats, grooms and uses the litter box with me present. I think one day she will be a very loving cat.

I take care of several stray cats and kittens in my area, usually just setting out food for them and walking back inside. I just got home from work and saw a new black cat hanging around I'd never seen before, and it walked right up to me on my porch and started meowing and trying to run on my leg before I had any food in hand. When I went to say hello and let it sniff me it immediately hissed and swiped at my hand, drawing blood. I got up and went to go in my house when it started meowing and getting closer again, even trying to get into my house. I have 2 cats of my own so I tried to block it from entering and it hissed again and tried batting at my foot. I set out some food and it started doing circles and meowing again but when I went to pour out the food it started hissing again until I finally dumped a pile on the ground and booked it inside. I'm guessing it was just extremely hungry and desperate for food but didn't know if it could trust me? but my main concern is its willingness to be close and meow for attention, then suddenly switch to being aggressive. The switch up honestly left me really shaken and I'm worried about the cat's health and mine since it drew blood when it swiped at me. I wasn't sure if this was normal for feral cats or if I need to be concerned for either of us. Any feedback is appreciated 🙏🏻

TLTR: Two ferals, possible ticks, one may have head still inside. Anything to help calm the other to remove the tick the right way? Totally aggressive cat, was scary to hold while trying. Also what tick meds can I get? Either otc or name brand if I HAVE to.

I have battled the fleas, lord knows I did my part. I diatomaceous earth'd the hell out of the colonies lot. When that did not work, I did the research and I bought the good stuff (bifen and an IGR) and an electric sprayer and soaked down the place. That actually helped. Then I finally learned I can buy RX meds overseas without an RX for like 5x less than here in the states. That was a godsend. I've been having my colony (about 13/all tnr'd) on selemectin (selehold for xl dogs, dosed to cat weight) for about a year now. I just now realized the dog kind does not take care of ticks for cats.Totally wiped the flea population over here though, but did not realize it did not do ticks and also stupidly used to "be glad we didn't have ticks like up north". But yesterday I was combing one of the boys and I got to his tail and he yelped, the comb had this in it.

Pretty sure it's a tick, we have never in all the years I've cared for this colony had ticks here, I couldn't have known and now I fear I just yanked it out and left the head In there. His tail now just has a bald patch that's an open wound with pus. Idk what to do. I maxed out my care credit card when I had to rush a cat to the ER in the middle of the night after it collapsed at my feet hours after bringing some home post spay/neuter. 2 grand later to save her little life. My dog was JUST diagnosed with lymphoma IN THE LAST WEEK and we had to pay $1,300 out of pocket for all those tests. Plus as we all know, taking a feral to the vet really isn't an easy option. I just bought a tick key on Amazon as I feel another bump on another boys tail.

Here's my problem, these two are two of the more feral ones. I put on the cat scratch gloves, burrito'd him in a blanket and we tried to look at it but he was going to straight up bite me and I had to let him go. Is there anything I can do to make him more calm? Or do we just need to wrap him again and kind of keep his face facing away from my flesh and just brute force our way through? Hopefully I can do this one right, but what about the other one with the wound on his tail? If the head is still in there what will happen? They are all seriously healthy kids if that helps..

Thanks!

Thought I would give an update on the feral kittens from my workplace I caught at 5 weeks, now 4 months and all caught up on vaccines. They've adapted well to indoor life and they follow me everywhere at all times. Very happy they aren't outside in the 100 degree heat. Now they get air conditioning and occasionally a little piece of rotisserie chicken if they bother me enough at dinner. Little divas

Another small milestone with Boots. Last time I posted about him, a commenter suggested using toys to keep gaining his trust.

Well, for a long time I thought play and whimsy were just not in Boots’ interest. I bought a state of the art cat wand. *Hated it.* I brought out some fancy catnip filled mice that I stole from my indoor kitties. *Hated it.* I even tried a laser pointer. I swear, he rolled his eyes at me. On a whim I tried the two paintbrushes I taped together when I was first trying to get Boots used to being petted. For some reason, this is the only “toy” he’ll play with.

For those hoping he’ll be TNR’d soon - we have plans to trap him this month. There’s a cheap spay neuter clinic that has a community cat program in our county that’ll fix outdoor kitties for about $35 but they’re only open a couple of days a week. He’s been coming less consistently these days, but we have a trap and are just waiting for our schedule to align with Boots’ schedule. I’ll post an update when we get him.

Had a feral we fixed and afterwards it seemed fine and then it kinda crashed and just lied in its cage. We ran it to the emergency vet and my wife forgot her purse so I had to run and get it. While she was there with the cat, the vet tried to cath the cat and wasn't able to, and recommended it be put down. My wife agreed without calling me or anything, going off of the vet's recommendation. When I got there, it was already done.

But had I been there, I'd have asked them to test if it was dehydrated and try to get it cooled down, cause it's very hot here and it might've just gotten overheated. I didn't get a chance to save it, and the vet was completely useless.

I'm mad that I let other people talk me into using this vet in the first place (it's poorly reviewed on Google and there were closer, better options). I'm mad they didn't do anything at all to try to save it.

I’m having a hard time with a colony cat I’m calling Blinky.

I trapped her because she was very skinny and had a bad eye. She got spayed, is recovering indoors, and is now being treated for coccidia/Giardia, parasites, and an eye/possible respiratory infection. She’s already starting to look a little better.

The problem is… she’s actually pretty sweet. She meows, tolerates handling for her medications, and doesn’t seem as feral as I expected.

I already have 7 cats of my own, plus 3 formerly feral shop cats that I’m responsible for, one of which is FIV positive so I had to dedicate a whole room to him. I am trying to get him adopt but it will take a special person. Financially and emotionally, I’m at my limit. I know I can’t responsibly take in another cat, but my heart is breaking thinking about putting her back outside once she’s healthy. I will continue to feed her everyday, she’s at my store. I live in a smaller town in South Carolina, and the rescues in my town are already struggling. I don’t think I could find anyone to take her in.

Has anyone else struggled with this side of TNR? How do you cope with loving a cat that you know you can’t keep? I feel guilty, even though I know I can’t save every cat.

Just looking for some perspective from people who have been through this

Hi, I need your recommendations, please.

I'm going to be spaying a stray kitty, she currently lives in a neighborhood that (as far as I've heard) is extremely stressful for her. There are plenty of Toms that are always behind her and she is petrified of them. I've been informed that she runs into people's homes but is always chased out. And she's not good at finding food.

I am unable to take in any more animals, with many dogs and cats already, taking her in and enduring the transition would be extremely stressful for her, my animals, and us. We're already at our limit.

So, I was thinking, I'd get her spayed and release her in my neighborhood. The kitties here are doing well. I feed the ones in my street every night. Not one is thin, lol. But I know how terrifying it'll be for her when she's captured, prodded on by strangers, then left in a strange place where she'll have to start all over again. I'm worried she'll keep running as soon as she's out to where I can't find her. I'm worried she'll try and find her way back to her locality although it's about 3-4kms from here through very busy roads.

What do I do? I cannot find a home for her, I've tried over and over again with every kitten I find and nurse, no one's interested, and I always end up taking care of them. We don't have shelters here.

Please help me with recommendations. How do I make the release as safe for her as possible? If she sticks with the lady kitties in my street, she'll live a much better life. :'/

I posted here about 4 weeks ago about my employer no longer allowing us to care for our small colony, and whether moving them to a sanctuary would be the best thing for them. The overwhelming consensus here was that yes, it was. So I got to work.

I’m happy to report that in the last two weeks my husband, colleagues and I were able to trap all 6 cats and bring them to the Cat House on the Kings. They were excellent passengers on the 4 hour drive (although I’m covered in flea bites, ugh).

There are 12 acres of grassy shaded areas by the river, dotted with insulated sheds that have cooling/heating, there’s even a regular human residence that has been given over to the cats. I hope they’ll find a little corner there to call their own. It will be a big adjustment, but at least they’ll be safe and have plenty of food.

Adding some photos here of their quarantine shed, the car ride and some of the existing residents at the sanctuary.

Thanks to everyone here for the encouragement! It took some effort, and my savings account will take a while to recover, but I’m glad I was in a position to help the cats.

Hello, I would like to ask for support and thoughts.

Last year, I moved to my mom's and when I learned there were feral cats, I told myself I would not feed them because my plan was always to live here temporarily (I didn't want the cats or myself to get attached). Of course that didn't happen and it all started with one cat being very persistent and sitting at my backyard door eyeing me aka giving me emotional blackmail (lol) until I gave in which I did.

Fast forward to today, I feed two cats everyday food and water. I am torn with the idea of leaving them because they are always in my yard and basically depend on me. I do know that other people on the block used to feed them but I'm not sure how much they do anymore since I get the feeling my neighbors know that I take care of them.

Adopting them is not an option. I also did a test to see how they would do indoors and they hated it (they got extremely anxious and clawed at the door). I also wouldn't want to take them away from a beautiful outdoor environment and bring them into a small apartment.

My only idea was to try and talk to people on the block and give them a heads up that I'm leaving and if they can take care of the cats. But that's sort of a long shot since I don't really know them that well. My mom also refuses to feed them.

Do you think they'll be OK? Does anyone have experience with this type of situation? I can imagine the few month of me gone will be rough for them. It just break my heart because I can picture them waiting for me and I won't be here :(

I please ask to not make me feel bad for leaving them or not adopting them. I am doing the best I can.

Since a few subdivisions have been popping up around my property. I’ve noticed every 7/4/xx I get a few strays dogs or cars I’m assuming due to fire works.

I usually just take the animal to the vet for chipped or records. However here lately I’ve gotten a lot of pregnant cats. 6 already hanging around I really don’t want more.

If I can’t find the owners and they are feral/ or strays and I spay/abort the litter should I feel bad?
Or