Pesky feral cats

[EweSheep]

Nope, can not shoot them...illegial in the city.

Nope, can not get anything from the vet for anything to put them to sleep for good.

Need to trap them and take them to the animal shelter. They are trap savvy and no amount of fish or stinky food they LOVE would make them get into the trap.

My aunt is so overbounded with feral city cats and need them to go pronto! She wanted to feed them something that would make them sleepy that you can pick them up and put them in the dog crate and off to the shelter they go.

Antifreeze is OUT of the question!

Asriprin?????????? If they die of overdose, that would be better if they just go to sleep and they would be gone.

Mom was thinking of heart meds but I think cats can taste them...they are bitter!

So what should we do?????? Need some kind of natural sedatives that would just placiate the most feral cat.

Animal control is being stretched to the limit of four people working there and they told my aunt to take a number because there is a month long wait to trap and put cats to sleep. They are overworked and over logged with unwanted cats.

Any suggestions??????

 

[EweSheep]

Oh hubby said they can shoot them with hollowed nosed with a pellet gun but I do not think pellets will kill a cat. Also it would give more of a chance for them to escape than anything at the sightest noise.

We need to put something in their cat food they woould readily eat with greed.

 

[allieloveschickens]

I usually get my cat sedatives from the vet before we go on car trips, though usually I have to bring him in so they can weigh him before they give me the meds, but perhaps you could get some sedatives from the vet. I wrap the pills in bacon, or they sell cat treats that will hold pills- or you can powder them and mix with wet food. Hope that's helpful. On a side note, do the cats attack your chickens? we have some feral cats around that sneak in and steal my cats food a lot- my BR girls aren't old enough to be out free ranging, and I will not let them out unsupervised even when they are older- but would a cat attack a full grown chicken? Makes me nervous...

 

[EweSheep]

I had one big feral cat came in and killed one of my Orp banty hen. I was MAD!

My aunt has two queens that are expecting very soon along with their litter of five to six months old. They are wild as well. Diseases are rampant, the upper respiratory and feline AIDS and some congential genetic diseases.

The only thing they will come close are the food, the canned food so anything has to be medicated would be in the cat food. I know the doses would be higher or lower depending on their intake of food. But we want enough to knock them out just enough to pick them up.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I wouldn't mess with any additives to the bait, and certainly wouldn't hazard trying to handle a sleeping or drugged feral animal.

Try using catnip with or without other bait. Hang a cheesecloth bundle of catnip at the back of the live trap, so it cannot be touched from the outside. Even better, block the back & sides with boxes, blocks or straw bales so there is only one way in to the goody.

Try also putting the trap up on 2X4s and set the bait under the trap. Set a heavy block on top so it cannot be tipped over.

Contact your city & county commissioners to let them know about the problem. Contact a nosey news station that likes to do these kind of stories. Get publicity for this problem, of feral cat populations, of city folks dumping their unwanted cats in your area, of folks not spaying/neutering their cats.

I think the catnip helps because once I was trying to catch an entire family of strays in my yard. The Mama cat got away when I was transferring her from the trap to the carry case. I was certain she would never allow herself to be trapped again, but tried anyway adding the catnip with the bait. The first time she was trapped she was frantic, pacing back & forth and yowling in protest. The next time she was trapped -- the next morning -- she was laying on her stomach with her paws folded, a blissful look on her face, going "OOOmmmmmmm..."

 

[LynneP]

We have hundreds of feral cats around us. We feed a few and they keep us free of rodents. I'd rather spend the money on them than on poison.

 

[aprophet]

google barrel trap most times they are used for rats and mice ( think 55 gallon barrel) I cleaned a couple trailer parks out of their feral cat problem with havaharts and barrel traps for the spooked ones

 

[EweSheep]

My aunt called and said that they didn't go in for catnip. Only the canned cat food. The traps are still empty.

It would have been ok if you live out in the country but if you live in the city, it is a MAJOR problem that one person could feed the entire block of feral cats. My aunt is one of those "kind hearted" but she knows it is a very serious condition these cats are suffering, can not find homes for the kittens, etc. I would not be surprised if the animal control comes up and knock on her door to stop feeding those feral cats.

They are really making a mess of her house, spraying on everything outside, on her back porch, on tables and chairs you are going to be sitting on and you would not sit there for long, the smell will chase you out of the back porch deck. She only has two indoor house cats and they are neutered. No problems with indoor cats. The outdoor cats, if she calls them out for food, there is at least 40 of them. Most of them have those upper respiratory infection (gunky eyes and noses, coughs, wheezing, feline AIDS).

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
whatever your aunt is feeding them is the best bait for you to use. havahart makes a trap open on both ends this model works better then the one that is only open on one end

http://www.havahart.com/store/live-animal-traps/1045

Dig a small hole in the dirt put your bait in this hole set the trap on top of the bait center the trigger over the bait either put a cinder block on top of the trap or run a rebar stake through the trap to keep animals from flipping the trap over

 

[JosieChick]

Feral cats are a problem in many parts of the country. It sounds like your colony has gotten a little out of control but with the help of people around you I am sure you can humanely control their population. There are many resources on this website: www.alleycat.org. Many areas now have free spay/neuter days for feral cats and could help you decide who to humanely euthanize and who to trap neuter release (TNR). TNR is the most humane solution for feral cats and helps prevent the vacuum effect (when you remove cats new cats move in to take their place because there is a source of food and available shelter) Trap and kill does NOT work, they tried it on an island off the coast of Europe where cats had been introduced to control a rodent problem and with poisoning/shooting/trapping etc it took them 58 years to eradicate the cats and there was a recent article stating that a few hunters had seen cats on the island again! My feral colony only hunts the food bowl now, I don't have problems with them hunting birds etc because they are well fed, healthy and spayed and neutered. It is illegal in the United States to shoot a cat anywhere, they are protected by the federal government, feral or house pet. Feline aids (FIV) and feline leukemia is actually equally prevalent in feral populations as it is in house cats, a national study was conducted a few years ago. Most feral cats will stay healthy if trapped, neutered and vaccinated. Having a caregiver that observes and removes sick cats for euthanasia usually will get a colony healthy. Please consider looking at Alley Cat Allies website for more info on humane solutions to your feral cat program and effective methods to trap them. Have a great day!