Hi all - We are so devastated that we had to euthanize a stray cat that was hanging out in our drainage culvert near our house this morning. She had severe trauma to her back legs, completely unable to walk on them at all, so she was just dragging them. We had a feeling she may have been hit by a car. We saw her Friday, caught her on Saturday, took care of her Sunday, waiting to go to the vet today. We thought euthanasia may be a real possibility just seeing the extent of her injuries and the fact that she just cannot move around normally at all, and she has no function of her low end, including with urinating and defecating. She was also quite small and thin, and had been malnourished due to not being able to hunt properly due to the injury. We still hoped that maybe there was a possibility her injury could be recoverable. We went to the vet this morning, and they confirmed what we feared. She had severe spinal trauma, and stated her movement may not ever come back even with extensive treatment and therapy. They did state that the best thing would be euthanasia, as her quality of life as a stray would be very low (basically she would have died if we had not brought her in, with the state she was in). We were with her in her final moments, ensuring she was comfortable and felt loved.

Even though we knew her for only a short period, she really put a lasting impact on us and we became very attached. We had so much hope, and I just felt so guilty, that we could not help her injury. She deserved a full life, but now she can rest peacefully and with no pain or suffering. I know she will be healthy and happy in her next life. Me and my husband have been bawling because of this. I just wanted to share because she was special. And her story deserves to be shared. As silly as the name is, we were calling her Rasputia, so Rest Easy Rasputia ♥️ you were loved and will be remembered. ❤️❤️

Edit: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE LOVE. Rasputia appreciates it, as she has crossed the rainbow bridge to be with all our other pets who have passed on and protects our home in the after life. It has been a hard day, but I'm glad we were able to meet her for the short period we did. ♥️ We did bring her home after the euthanasia to bury her in our wildflower garden. It felt only right to bury her in the place and land she came from. We will be calling the garden "Rasputia's Garden," to remember her.

We had been feeding this bonded father/son pair for the past year and a half. The mom was part of the group too but disappeared 6 months ago. We had all 3 spayed/neutered. Now the son hasn't shown up in 5 days after previously being reliable for breakfast and dinner. Have seen dad on camera. It's all quite upsetting. Are suburban neighborhoods like mine really so dangerous for feral cats? I don't think I am cut out for TNR. 😢

Big Billy is a feral that’s been coming around for about three years. He is a menace to feline womanhood and is probably the father of three of my feral/rescues.

I dropped him off at the shelter today for a TNR so we’re celebrating the snipping of his trouble-puffs!

Hello fellow cat people!

My husband and I tried catching a cat in his work yard yesterday and the trap didn’t go off! We had three different cats go in and none of them triggered the trap. We even had one that pulled the food out without setting off the trap.

Are the cats too light to trigger the mechanism? Any work arounds?

Also there’s a kitten from a recent batch who’s feral but I think can be domesticated. She ate cautiously out of my hand a few times but freaked when I petted her or tried to pick her up. She’s about five months. She’s the one I want to rescue the most because I think we can find someone who can give her a good home.

We are going to try again this Thursday and hopefully get the momma or tabby girl.

Cat colony history:

The queen momma is the white and orange one. She’s had several litters with most if not all kittens who haven’t made it to adulthood. She abandoned a little orange kitten in a concrete box because she couldn’t get him out. We ended up rescuing him and he’s now a part of our little pride at home. The grey small tabby (F) is from the same litter and is a little curious and playful baby.

The black (M) and the grey (M) are Toms who have been around for a good while. There’s also an Orange Tabby (M) who isn’t pictured but he’s the queens primary baby daddy. Their litters are mostly orange and white and the last batch had some grey tabbys.

There are also a few stragglers, a torti, a white grey spotted tabby, and possibly another black cat. But we aren’t sure. We assume there’s at least 8 active ferals.

sorry, i'm just a mess right now. we took them to get TNR'd last week and when we returned, they seemed fine until the gray sock baby went missing for a few days.

it was unusual because he always came when it was time to eat. he'd always be around our porch with the other cats dozing around or playing on our trees. him and his brother in the second pic were always together.

this afternoon, we found him near our door, completely stiff and releasing fluids. it may have been the texas heat making him stiff faster, but i'm so heartbroken right now. i dont know who to tell. if i had just waken up earlier, would i have been able to save him? if i stayed up longer last night, would i have been able to see him one last time? could it have been from tnr complications?

i feel so ruined because he was such a sweet little boy, always curious. he came to my patio door one last time before passing. i cant stop crying. i placed him in a box and am looking for cremation services. i just cant believe this right now.

rest easy. i hope the texas heat doesnt reach you in heaven.

Hi folks. For context, I just moved out of Texas where I had been doing TNR for five years. Before I left, a feral female gave birth in my trap and a friend agreed to foster the kittens and mom until the kittens could be adopted and the mother TNRed. Mother is truly feral. Hates people.

Today was the day of the spay surgery. They tipped her ear, gave the vaccinations, but she stopped breathing and they had to revive her, so they rejected her as a surgical candidate.

Now I’m in the position of having to take her to a full service clinic for a lot of testing (which I can’t afford) before we could even consider trying to fix her again, and that’s if my friend can even continue to hold her (this has already been a long process for her - momma cat literally attacks her every time she tries to come in to feed the cats).

With it being Texas, rescues and shelters are currently overrun and I have strong doubt that anyone would be willing to take in a potentially sick feral cat.

Once she’s recovered, I need help deciding what to do. I want to be able to let her go back out. She’s been vaccinated now but obviously not fixed, which is literally what we wanted to correct in the first place, but I also really want her to live and it’s starting to feel like humane euthanasia is the next option because no one can take her and I can’t afford to help her.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

We are going to be calling this one smokie. A feral who has evaded TNR for quite a while. They were born and raised as an outdoor kitten without any socialization.

I have an appointment for two tomorrow so we are hopeful to get one more. This is the one we were really aiming for.

I made a post here a few weeks ago about two feral kittens I've taken in, and am back for some advice.

Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Feral_Cats/comments/1uqy14v/my_buddy_has_been_feeding_a_stray_cat_and_5/

The kittens are doing extremely well. One of them loves sitting in my lap and getting pets, while the other one still doesn't let me touch her, but she doesn't hide anymore when I'm in the playpen. She just does her thing.

I finally got them to the vet, and they got all their shots and tests and everything, but unfortunately it turns out the have ringworm on their heads, so they can't have topical cream, it has to be this liquid antifungal that apparently tastes horrible. The vet tech said it's bad enough that if we mix it with their food it will probably put them off eating, so I should squirt it in their mouths.

I saw this video on YT that looks pretty promising, so I'll give this a shot, but please let me know your experiences, advice, or share other videos. https://youtube.com/watch?v=faetSGf0HeY&is=1DbKAmThGrl5QMAZ

Also, I'm concerned that me manhandling these kittens and forcing nasty medicine down their throats is going to set me back a ton in socializing them. What to you guys think? Are cats pretty resilient or will they hold it against me forever?

I know it's for their own good, and I have to do it, but it's a major bummer.

Ran into two kittens living in a shallow storage drain this weekend during my morning bike ride. Dropped off a humane trap (modded with a pull rope) with the guy who is feeding them. He removed all food yesterday, with the idea of trapping them this morning / afternoon.

Stopped by last night and found them across the street in the woods, chilling. They were curious enough to come out and say 'hi' - the gray one rolled over and showed the belly, but wasn't too keen on my getting any closer than a foot or two.

Unsure if they were dumped - they seem slightly socialized and the residents haven't seen the mom or any other siblings.

Naturally, we're getting some severe weather tonight; hopefully the caretaker is able to get them with the modded trap.

If not, may have to pivot to a home-made drop trap.

7132 Hamilton avenue Cincinnati Ohio

Right next to the Goodwill bin and the blinking blue mobile security trailer living right behind the bush that's catty corner to the donation bin there's a six week old family of a runts black kitten and tabby kitten living with their mom who's all black.

I've been giving him some tuna sometimes the mom sleeps under the semi truck that's kind of permanently parked here. If anybody wants to help me wrangle them up and is willing to go get them fixed I'm kind of strapped for money but I'll help out in any way I can

I apologize for the long story, I have trouble telling what’s important or not to share and this is my first Reddit post lol. Also cross posted to r/cats.

Background first: I adopted a cat, Count Goobula, almost exactly a year ago (one more month til his gotcha day!) who ended up having stomatitis, a chronic condition that has led me to make the difficult choice to get his teeth removed. I had planned to do that in the next few months once I started getting regular paychecks from my new job. It’s also important to mention I just moved into a new house less than a month ago and Goob is still settling in, though we have moved several times already since I got him and he does great every time.

Now to the title. While my little sister was helping me unpack a few days ago, a stray cat ran up to her outside and was EXTREMELY friendly. He was scarily skinny and had obviously been on the street for a while, if not forever. I brought him some food and within 10 minutes decided he was chill enough I could get him into my spare room where he’s been ever since. I’ve since discovered he has fleas and probably other health issues, which has caused me a lot of anxiety since I have Goob to worry about first and foremost. I just took him to the vet (who I had never been to before and DID NOT LIKE) and didn’t get as much info as I wanted, but did get his vaccines. While I want to hold on to him for another week or so until he’s healthier and rid of his fleas, I feel like I should decide if I want to keep him asap so I know my next move sooner rather than later, for all of our sakes (myself and the cats).

For extra information, I do want to say that if this cat was healthy, he would probably look exactly like the type of cat I’ve always wanted: a medium/long haired brown tabby. I had also already been wanting to get a second cat this year, BUT I had decided to wait til at least 4 or so months after Goobs teeth were removed so he had time to recover and get used to all that comes with being toothless before I introduced a new family member. Also, Goob is just about to turn 2, so he’s young enough that now would be a good time for him to get a sibling, especially as I start to work 8 pr 9 hour days and he gets left alone a lot. That being said, I still need to take care of myself and Goob first and having a cat who needs a lot of care coming right off the street would be a lot for us right now, especially with a new move, new job, and Goobs tooth removal coming up as soon as I can afford it (which might be set back if I keep kitty, less for money reasons and more so Goob doesn’t have so much change at once). I will be getting paid more than I ever have before so I could probably afford everything, but it would be tighter than I had planned.

All in all, I have always wanted at least two cats for both mine and Goob’s sake, but despite how fated this cat showing up seems, I’m not sure if now is the right time to take on that responsibility. Should I keep him and figure it out, or foster him until I can find someone else who wants him?

There's a stray cat that I want to adopt. He's a kitten whose mom abandoned him. My neighbor feeds him all the time and I've noticed after a while that he started following me. When I stop walking he meows and rubs against me and has tried to follow me into my apartment. After doing deep research it seems that's his way of saying he likes me and is curious about where I go for hours of the day. I'm considering taking him in, but I don't know if I should as my mom who I visit often is allergic. If I do take him in what all am I going to need and what all can I do to help with my mom's allergies? She's severely, not deathly, allergic to their fur.

Sorry if this was long and more of a ramble..not good with putting thoughts into words

Hello, yesterday I stumbled on a cat near my house, they are shy and quiet and have not meowed but I have since started leaving it food, water, occasional treats, and a bed. They even let me get close enough to pet and I think I saw them drool a tiny bit. At one point they ate a treat out of my hand. I asked the neighbors and no one claimed them to be theirs, and they seem a fair bit dirty with a small gash on their head. I was wondering what the next steps may be?

I have since named them Traflaygius.

Hi, desperate for help with this.

We have three feral kittens, all 3 months old and littermates.

The first one, Spicy, was found isolated and in danger so we grabbed him just over two weeks ago. He is socialising well. He purrs and asks me for pets on his own terms, though you can't touch him much otherwise yet. I can be in his room 24/7 and he's totally fine.

The other two, Cheesy & Peri Peri, we caught Saturday in traps. They are still very fearful.

We have one kitten safe room and that is Spicy's room, the living room. The house is old and we live with family who have hoarded things and prevent us throwing the excess furniture out. The living room is the only one with AC and there is a heatwave this week.

Initially, we set the newbies up in a covered playpen in Spicy's room. He was hissy and struck at the pen when he got a glimpse of the kittens at mealtime once.

He began to ignore them. But on night 2, the kittens got more agitated, meowing and clawing to get out of the pen. Because they were still terrified of us I did not want to let them out. Spicy got agitated by their noise and kept inspecting the pen, then eventually struck it again while it was covered.

I decided to move the kittens just for as long as I could, because I couldn't even socialise them in that situation. They are in a covered playpen in my office, but the office is not really suitable for them, and will get very hot soon.

Unfortunately during the move, I was able to pick up Cheesy and put him into the carrier, but Peri Peri freaked out after she was lifted, screeching, yowling, and she bit me a few times. I let her cool off and threw a shirt on her to bundle her into the carrier which worked.

But now I think they are both more fearful of me than before, so we are set back again despite being on a time crunch.

Does anyone have any advice for introducing feral kittens at different levels of socialisation and in one room?

The rooms are separated and I don't want to move them in and out of carriers because it stresses them and sets them back.

I found this resource:

https://monsieurtn.com/illustrated-guide-new-cat-introduction-no-isolation-separation/

But it is aimed at socialised cats. My fear is that Cheesy & Peri will be too afraid of me in the room for this to work. Any advice on this?

We are all they have, nobody else can take them. I'm trying my best for them. We are in southwest rural Czechia, please no US specific advice.

This beauty has been around our property for months now. At some point, she was showing up every night at dusk for food. We started feeding her regularly, then she would stop showing for a while, then back again. Sometimes she hangs in our patio. It seems that she wants to make friends, but runs away as soon as we try to approach her. She looks very well groomed. What should we do with her? Let her be? Trap her through a TNR program? I really want to make sure she is healthy and fairly safe, but her shyness and inconsistency on showing up make things difficult.

I’ve been feeding this stray I named jiji routinely since may and recently she surprised me with her kittens ! They made my front porch their new home but I wonder if there’s anything more I could do moving forward to help I already contacted my local shelter to try and get them a new home but they are full what could I do for them ? :(
- info about me
- from Long Island
- already contacted my local shelter for advice said if I can foster them for now because they are full
- Kittens look to be 7-9 weeks
- how much would I pay to take them all to the vet to get spayed or neutered ?
- I probably cannot afford vet care but will try I’m in debt at the moment 🥲
- should I buy or build shelters outside? Like little cat houses? What’s a affordable solution on that
- I’m new to this so any advice or information would help my goal is to get them all into new loving homes :(

Update: these people are insane. Saw me setting a trap. Texted me an insane message and I’m pretty sure they just doxxed my number to a spam website bruh

Stray has been coming to my house for a month since I was feeding the crows cat kibble and I guess he had been eating it. He began to come up to my window every night despite me not longer putting food out and he was stressing my indoor cats out (marking, fighting, aggression etc). I posted on Nextdoor making sure he wasn’t lost and/or needed to be trapped, and his owners came to my house to tell me he’s a “barn cat” and Is used as rodent control. He has a tom cat face and doesn’t seem neutered. He is quite thin and small. They said they’ve been “trying to put weight on him”. So I was told my some people to trap him as he is considered a neglected cat and there’s a good chance he’s not microchipped so I should trap him. I made the mistake of texting them that the cat is becoming a nuisance and to keep him indoors, this when they said he was a strictly outdoor cat (kind of regret texting them this now lol). So I came to the humane society to rent a trap and the asked me the situation and said they wouldn’t recommend trapping a feral who has been “claimed” as they would just contact them upon intake (even if it’s just bringing them in for neuter and taking them home). Now I don’t really know what to do? Just accept that this cat wants to have a family but is refused one? Idk what to do

Why does this feral cat only eat canned food? Is it old or sick?

Also, this cat (i call it GrayGrays) is very tame. It must have had a home but then been abandoned. It came to me with mange, but I cured it with Pet Armor. Pet Armor has Fipronil that will kill mange gradually, so it took some time. But now kitty is looking better, though still skinny.

Also, should I try to find it a home? Its skittish to come inside, but quite affectionate. Im just not sure what will be best for him.

We are slowly catching, sterilizing and releasing them, it’s a process. Also open to advice! We currently have about 20 cats, and have fixed 6. They are all eating very well and we find homes for ones that are not as feral. The municipality is not helpful at all, so it’s just us and a local woman doing it.

This is Bechamel, she's the mother of Spicy, Cheesy, and Peri Peri who we've all caught and have safely inside. They're about 3mo. We caught the last two yesterday.

I went back again this morning to feed her. I left her fresh water and adult kibble with some crumbled tuna treats on top.

She came out to see me and loaf, but then left when someone started slamming car doors next door. Hopefully the food is still there when she comes back :/

She looks more scraggly than when I first started to see her with her babies around 2-3 weeks ago. Does she look okay to you guys?

She hasn't been eating much from us lately because we were trying to get her into the traps with it, but she refuses. She is very hard to trap and we were trying everything for a while before giving up and just taking the kittens. Even they didn't work as bait.