You want cats? Here's 50 of them...this is from my feral colony

[joeybee12]

Disclaimer, I call this a feral colony, but I'd say about half to 2/3 are actually abandoned cats that were once pets. It really sucks. It's on BLM land, and I have permission to feed...there's nothing here they want to preserve other than a small area in this 100+ acres that has native grasses. Started with a mother and two kittens because I saw them and Mom looked really bad. The area is surrounded by a mobile home park and several apartment and condo complexes, so that's how the guys make it here. I think someone was feeding elsewhere and stopped, because I've gotten about 12 new guys in the last few weeks, including the kittens you see...the mothers who are bringing them out are ones I have not seen before, even fleetingly, like some of the skittish ones. I need to do a large-scale trapping and fixing round-up soon, but want to wait until the kittens get bigger...the free clinics will fix small cats, but it's better to let them grow a bit.

And on a final note: Please Remember to Spay and Neuter Your Pets!!!

[sammytko]

1. Nice looking cats

I feed about 20. Fixed three so far and waiting for the main mom to wean her litter and going to catch and take her in.

[joeybee12]

2. You may have better luck with the kittens than the mom, at least that's

been my experience...some of the older ones will never, ever go near the traps...the younger ones and the new ones go right in. Seems like the longer they've been on their own, the warier they get.

[flvegan]

3. It's yur fawlt all teh songbirds are ded!

[joeybee12]

4. Yeah, there are no songbirds there so the cats must have gotten them!

Or maybe it's not the right area for them to prosper, as in it being a barren desert.

[flvegan]

5. Wut about teh lizzerds and froggies?

Murdererderer!

[joeybee12]

8. Every once in a while I put a furry baby bunny down there to watch them

rip it to shreds!

Series-ly, there aren't even any coyotes that wander into this area...the few shrubs you see are just about all there is.

[joeybee12]

9. Every once in a while I put a furry baby bunny down there to watch them

rip it to shreds!

Series-ly, there aren't even any coyotes that wander into this area...the few shrubs you see are just about all there is.

[Demoiselle]

6. All the best to you and those lovelies..

And good luck with the trapping, spay and release...We had a harem of cats under our front porch. It took a while but we did manage to turn off the fertility machine and home all the kittens.

[applegrove]

7. Poor cats. Good for you!

[joeybee12]

13. Thanks...I know there are few I will eventually snag on my own and

bring in...problem is no rescue groups are taking any in, and I've had so much trouble in the past when I've tried this, althoguh eventually with luck. I have two older cats (out of 3 older cats) with CRF, so I don't want to stress them out anymore with new additions on my own.

[hippywife]

10. That makes me just want to weep.

All of those beautiful babies left to the elements and the wild. They should all have loving homes.

Thanx for caring, Joey. :hug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. Me too! Poor kitteh babies. :^( Thank goodness for human angels!

[joeybee12]

12. The sad part is pretty much all the rescue groups are not taking new ones...

they can't adopt out the ones they have. The only place taking in cats and dogs is the county shelter, and while they do adopt out, they are over-run and it's NOT a no-kill shelter. I've found homes for a few, kept one gal for myself, but most are gonna have to stay here...at least they're fed, and when they're fed, they can ward of illness better.

[hippywife]

22. Thank you for taking care of them, joey.

It makes me feel better that someone is looking out for them. :hug:

[joeybee12]

25. Thanks...one of the good things is that the area is so big, they don't

wander out of it and onto roads...that's tough when you see an animal by the side of the road.

:hi:

[cwydro]

14. Some pretty cats there.

Good for you.

In Key West when I first moved here, there was a huge feral problem. Over the years systematic trapping and fixing has pretty much eliminated it...but of course, there are always more.

Fucking asswipes who get animals and don't care about them. Leave them behind and worse.

[joeybee12]

15. Yeah, they think the cats are just gonna make it on their own...

not only are there cars to wporry about, but cats raised indoors are not adept on foraging on their own.

[Peregrine Took]

16. I dislike the term "feral" and prefer "homeless" which is what they are.

I tried to adopt a whole family of "ferals" one time but only wound up with the mama cat and one magnificent male baby. I sent them to the vet, had them neutered and adopted them both. I had them for 12 years and 'must say they were the most wonderful pets I ever had.

Nothing to be afraid of - they were sweet, grateful and the most charming pair of felines ever.

"Little Boy" was devoted to his mom. He grew to be over 25 lbs and was just huge - the size of a small to medium dog.

One time he treed a female raccoon in our backyard in the Beverly section of Chicago. He was so wonderful - 10 years later I still can barely look at his photo.

[joeybee12]

17. I think you'll find most feral colonies have a majority of once-household pets...

mine certainly is, although the true ferals, whcih I do have, are easy to identify because they are ridiculously skittish. Then again, a few I know are ferals (born in the wild), have gotten used to me and are in varying degrees of friendliness.

[Flaxbee]

18. beautiful cats, and a great thing you're doing... I just discovered

a feral colony near our grocery store... apparently a few years ago one woman caught many of them, did the spay-neuter-release thing for the truly feral ones and then let them go back to their territory (and she kept some that had obviously been pets before). Unfortunately, seems not every fertile cat was caught, and there's a new set of kittens and juveniles. Sigh. I fed them today, and the people at the grocery store said that a couple comes by to feed them every day, and the folks at the grocery store also care for them - food, deli leftovers (salt, I know, but at least it's food), water, a shelter and a little underground area where they can hide. I'm going to try to locate some people here who have trap/spay-neuter/release resources and see what I can do to help from afar, so to speak (I travel a lot - I'm not terribly dependable with my time). I just found out that these cats get fed every day and have shelter so I can at least sleep a bit better tonight - I've been worrying about these cats ever since I first saw them about a week ago.

I'm so glad you're taking care of those cats, joeybee.

[joeybee12]

20. Isn't it awful...every time you look around you see abandoned cats...

not sure where you live but there are probably groups that can help with catching the guys...I would check with the Humane Society or the ASPCA.

[TK421]

19. I'm glad you posted this Joeybee, because we have had this cat prowling around

the deck outside our apartment for a few months now, and I met it up close just last night. My landlord invited me down for some grill food and this cat came right up to me, rubbing up against my leg ( this cat has been on our deck upstairs before many times...I hope it belongs to someone ) It kept trying to get into my apartment, and we have one cat here already since that is all is allowed now. This cat was very friendly, very vocal with a very low pur to it...constant. It was grey and white and had a big bushy tail, so I don't know what kind of cat it was. I feel terrible because as much as I want to feed it, I know it can't hang around on our deck :( It kept climbing up on the overhang on my landlords back property, but I couldn't do anything

what do you do?

[joeybee12]

21. I've got a few fairly friendly near where I live...one decided to come in

yesterday...a big male, and I only have female. One of mine growled like crazy...the wimpy one who gets bossed around by the other gals...and chased him out. I would take a photo of the cat and post it somewhere at your complex where everyone sees it..maybe a common mail room? See if it's anyone's. If not, maybe the Human Society can take it because he sounds like a friendlyc at that would make a good pet.

[TZ]

23. You are a good person Joey

I don't know why cats seem to inspire such cruelty in some...Thank you for helping these guys....:loveya:

[joeybee12]

24. Of course...cuz I only cheer for righteous and God-fearing sports teams!

Hah! :P

[TZ]

26. LOL

For being a kitty helper I even forgive you for rooting for Belicheat...:P