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| Should I be doing this? This is a question only you can answer. As for me, the reward is I don't have a lot of scrawny, starving cats laying running around the outside of my house. The number of litters born in my back yard each summer went from 3 to 0. Lastly, I enjoy, as do some of my neighbor, seeing them hang around. As for the effectiveness, surf the web for "Feral Cat" and you can read all the pros and cons and results. The downside is, it costs money, your money and s not tax deductable. The risk is, most cities consider you the owner of any cats you feed, feral or otherwise. Keep good records and it is advisable to ensure vaccinations have been given and documented. What does my operation look like? Strictly speaking I am small time and my focus is my neighborhood. My setup consists of the following: 1 live animal trap 1 pet cage 4 cat carriers (I buy these often and pick up at garage sales when possible) 1 feral friendly Vet 1 dedicated credit card (Vet bills, food, equipment) 1 home office and 2 bathrooms 1 computer with printer 1 phone 1 email address and web site As many pet related affilliate programs as I can join (just added) Not being a rich person, I established a monthly budget for my activities and use a dedicated credit card to track. I like to pay off the credit card each month using what I have budgeted. However, this is not always possible as I will catch momma and all the babies when the opportunity arrises and then may have to cool it awhile until I have paid off the card. (Hint get one that offers cash back or airline miles. May as reap some reward for your expense) I have also started joining affliate programs to try and offset some of my costs. I have a Vet (Family Pet Care) that now gives me the same rate as they do for the Feral Friends organization and has all the attributes I mention under "Feral Friendly Vets". However, they no longer take walk-ins. I guess their workload has increased. For each cat I take to the Vet, I ask that they examine the cat and perform a PS Exam and LXFecal. If tests come out bad, I ask that the cat be euthanized. If the cat's health is okay, I ask the Vet to spay or neuter and vaccinate for FVRCP, FELV, Rabies. This many services raises costs, so if you can afford it, then at minimum spay/neuter and if all possible vaccinate for rabies (keeps you out of trouble if the city catches on to you). I put out canned cat food on a regular basis and monitor who stops by. Most of these guys look the same but after time you can tell who is new. When I notice a new arrival has been visiting regularly, I plan to trap using the methods and advise I talked about on the other FAQ pages. (FYI feral cats will eat dried food also no matter what anyone says. This is cheaper and important especially if you are managing a colony) Once captured, I transfer the cats from the trap to a pet cage in the garage until I can make an appointment with the Vet. I transfer the cats from the pet cage to a pet carrier for transport to the Vet and back. I always wait until the cat is very active in the cat carrier before I release. Note: the first one I ever did I simply, brought home and left the door open so it could leave when it woke up. That was a mistake. They wake up and try to leave whay before they are ready, then try to run and fall all over the place and leaving them defenseless against other cats or animals. If possible, keep them another 24 hours after you pick them up from the Vet. I always wash everything down with bleach after a capture and release (trap, cage, carrier, ...) I keep kittens in bathrooms until mostly tamed and them move to my home office. Adults I want to try and tame I also keep in my home office. (Caged initially) I regulary create and print "Free Cats/Kittens" ads to pin to bulletin boards offered by many pet supply stores like PetSmart and also post in any ad papers that offer free ads for free offers. I have also added an adoption page to this site. I have not had any luck getting call backs from or acceptance of cats to no-kill shelters. They are all swamped which should give you an idea of the magnitude of this problem. If I get a take on adoption, I ensure they know the tepermant of the cat, provide all Vet papers and give then the cat carrier to keep. |
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| Family Pet Care 1501 Handley Dr FtWorth, Tx 76112 817-451-9387 |
