socialize enough, which is very likely, you may end up with another cat in your ownhousehold.Before removing a cat from a colony, you also need to assess the colony’s socialstructure. Feral cats have complex relationships with each other. Friendships may formand last a lifetime. There are also hierarchies with dominant and submissive cats.Removing a cat from the colony can upset this balance, plus you may be depriving the catof her closest ties. It’s important to try to get to know the colony well before making adecision.Another factor is whether the colony is relatively safe or facing impending danger.Will their site be destroyed by new construction? Have there been incidents of violencetowards the cats, even after they’ve been spay/neutered? There are almost always somerisks present in an outdoor setting, so you need to be realistic about whether the situationwarrants trying to re-home at least some of the cats. A secure situation might tendtowards leaving well enough alone while the presence of undue danger would weigh infavor of introducing a feral to the indoor life or, perhaps even better, relocating him tosomeone’s property to live in an outdoor cat enclosure or cat-proof fenced yard.Finally, what about the cat himself? Is he old? Alone? Handicapped? Sometimes aferal cat does well in his territory for many years, but as he gets on in age, can’t handlethe rigors of living freely outdoors like he used to. A comfortable retirement in a secureenclosure or yard or in someone’s warm home could be just what’s needed.If none of these factors point towards bringing in a feral, it may be best to allow thecat to remain in a setting that suits his nature and which he already considers his home.• Socialization techniques for feral teenagers & adultsThere are experts at socializing ferals sixteen weeks and older who will work withthem intensively for however long it takes, even a year or more, in order to completelytame them and make them fully adoptable. These people tend to have years ofexperience, work in shelter settings and are extremely dedicated.For the caretaker who does not have the same kind of time or expertise, the objectivein socializing a feral, especially if she is well beyond four or five months old, is morelimited. The goal usually is not to transform the cat into a traditional pet who can bepicked up, stroked and enjoys being around most people. Instead, a more realistic aim isto teach her how to adjust and feel comfortable in a human home and not hide and be infear for years to come. Beyond this, how far the cat progresses towards being a normalhouse cat will largely be up to her, not you or whoever takes her in. One day she maydecide you’re okay and come and sit next to you on the couch, letting you pet her. Butthis may take years, if ever. This uncertainty must be accepted at the outset or theexperience can be a frustrating one - for you because the cat is not acting like you wantand for the cat because she’ll sense your frustration and not feel at ease. More thananything, socializing an adult feral means learning to appreciate and love her for who sheis, and allowing her to develop as she chooses.The key to a successful socialization is how the feral is introduced into her new home.All too often, people let the cat loose right away with the predictable result that she findssome obscure, unreachable place to hide, then only comes out late at night to eat. If notaddressed, this pattern can go unchanged for years. The way to prevent this is to start the140
cat off in a cage for a period of two to four weeks, using the Feral Cat Setup described inChapter 12.The Feral Cat Setup gives the cat a place where she feels safe, which is essential. Inunfamiliar settings, feral cats prefer to be in a covered, enclosed space rather than a wideopenone. That’s why if you just let them loose straight off, they’ll go run under the bedor into the closet and stay there. By starting the cat off in a cage, you choose the hidingspot, not the cat. This gives you control over the situation and the socialization process,which includes establishing a regular feeding pattern and training the cat to use a litterbox. It also gives the cat a sense of security because she’ll soon learn she’s safe whenshe’s in the cage and, in her mind, protected from you by the bars. Keeping the back halfof the cage covered at all times with a sheet will increase her sense of comfort.The cage should be placed in a part of the home neither too isolated nor too busy.This gives the cat an opportunity to learn the new sights and sounds of a human homewithout becoming overwhelmed. Remember, she has never heard a phone ring orsmelled dinner being prepared. By being in a well-situated cage, she’ll also be able towatch you and learn your patterns – such as the fact that you won’t attack her when youwalk by. Learning all these little things are crucial to the socialization process and won’tnecessarily happen if you simply let the cat run and hide anywhere she wants.You and any others in the household should talk to the cat often so she learns to knowand trust your voices. This period in the cage also allows the feral to get to know andbecome comfortable with any other resident cats, who can interact with her through thebars of the cage after she’s been treated by a veterinarian for any problems and cleared tobe introduced to the rest of the cats.The cat should be kept in the cage until she grows visibly comfortable in yourpresence, but no less than two weeks. The desired comfort level is evidenced by the catno longer darting into the feral cat den whenever you walk into the room. Instead, she’llremain perched on top of the den or lying on the cage floor. She’ll also, when you putfood in the cage, come out to eat while you’re still in the room rather than waiting untilyou’re gone. A minimum of two weeks may seem like a long time to confine a cat in acage, but considering this early process will shape the cat’s relationship with you foryears to come, it’s well worth it.Once the cat is comfortable in your presence, leave the door of the cage open onenight before you go to sleep, but don’t change anything else. Above all, don’t try to coaxor force the cat out of the cage. Just casually leave the door open and let her come and goas she pleases. Do this at night before you go to bed because she’ll feel safer venturingout for the first time when it’s quiet and dark. Introduce her gradually to the rest of thehouse, preferably one room at a time, waiting until she appears comfortable before givingher access to new parts of the household. If you discover the next day that she’s out andabout, do not take the cage away but leave it just as it’s always been. This is her safe spotand often the cat will continue to use the cage for some time to sleep and for using thelitter box. You should continue to feed in the cage as well.If four weeks have passed since the cat was first confined in the cage and she is notacting at ease, open the door anyway as described. Past a month, the stress ofconfinement can take away from whatever progress towards socialization the cat hasmade. It’s better at that point to let her out and gradually introduce her to the household,one room at a time.141
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TNR HandbookThe Guide to Trap-Neute
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Table of ContentsForeword by Susan
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Chapter Ten: The Neighborhood Cats
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ForewordOne of the first ferals I e
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Introduction“If we keep ‘em in
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2. What is Trap-Neuter-Return?Trap-
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c) Fewer nuisance complaints. As me
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and as their hunger grows, they wil
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3. The TNR Process - An OverviewEve
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After you’ve determined how many
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for this purpose. Once you can talk
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like the board of a homeowners asso
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information provided because of the
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act to discourage cats from enterin
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epel. It operates on four “C” b
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• Free-standing fencesPurrfect Fe
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• Type of feeding stationThe perf
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Amazon (www.amazon.com) for “Le B
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will be drawn to this easily reache
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a search for “heated water bowl
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interior warm enough to prevent or
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food works best for your budget, th
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steroids, tranquilizers, anesthetic
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weather, loud construction work nea
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• Feralvilla Outdoor Cat ShelterD
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• Styrofoam boxesRestaurants and
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Another option is the Snuggle Safe
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apart. Knowing the correct number,
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4. Schedule the spay/neuterAfter yo
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three more traps than the number of
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Tomahawk Live Trap- Neighborhood Ca
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11 inches in height. In our opinion
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trap are attached. The transfer doo
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Feral cat densNeighborhood Cats Fer
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drop trap (code: KITDT) - see Figur
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That said, not every community offe
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practice. In our experience, there
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saving one day. Also remember, you
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intrusions you and others make into
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doing so. Don’t check too frequen
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Winter trappingSome trappers in nor
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around and inflict a severe bite or
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The bottle-and-string method is use
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you let her go right away, there is
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If you might have to care for unwea
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Unless a caretaker objects on relig
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- Page 128 and 129: “snap” test, it produces a resu
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- Page 140 and 141: long will show signs of being socia
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- Page 156 and 157: 18. Feral Cat ResourcesBooks Implem
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- Page 168: In memory ofBobby Kergis1952 - 2011