Mass spay/neuter?

gretchen

gretchen

New Member
Our neighborhood has lots of cats. Lots. So far I know about 20. They all run loose and don't belong to anyone,they just live under sheds and in the woods. I've heard there is some sort of cat birth control that can be put in food - is this true? Are there any spay/neuter services for them if I were to trap and transport? They are welcome to come back and live here and I'll handle any after surgery care,and I'll also pay for pain meds. No idea how I'd administer,though,since they are only semi-tame.
 
frequentflier

frequentflier

happy to be living
gretchen said:
Our neighborhood has lots of cats. Lots. So far I know about 20. They all run loose and don't belong to anyone,they just live under sheds and in the woods. I've heard there is some sort of cat birth control that can be put in food - is this true? Are there any spay/neuter services for them if I were to trap and transport? They are welcome to come back and live here and I'll handle any after surgery care,and I'll also pay for pain meds. No idea how I'd administer,though,since they are only semi-tame.
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What county are you in? There are many rescue groups that may help you trap, spay/neuter/ vaccinate them and release them if you are willing to feed them. Feral Cat rescue in St Marys, Friends of Felines in Calvert.
 
Dakota

Dakota

~~~~~~~
gretchen said:
Our neighborhood has lots of cats. Lots. So far I know about 20. They all run loose and don't belong to anyone,they just live under sheds and in the woods. I've heard there is some sort of cat birth control that can be put in food - is this true? Are there any spay/neuter services for them if I were to trap and transport? They are welcome to come back and live here and I'll handle any after surgery care,and I'll also pay for pain meds. No idea how I'd administer,though,since they are only semi-tame.
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I'm not sure where you live but Tri-County did have a catch and release grant that paid for ferals to get fixed. I think if you want a 100 percent sure method of controlling the population, that is the way to go.

I have posted about this in the past when my mother-in-law's slut of a cat kept getting knocked up. She had so many litters of kittens I have seriously lost count, I think 7 or 8. My husband and I ended up getting involved and after we snatched her last litter of kittens, he (my husband) showed a strong temper with his mother and insisted food and water stop. He got her trapped and fixed. Kudos to him for doing what he did because even the Humane Society wasn't able to catch her after months of trying and sadly way too many nice friendly kittens get put down every year for lack of homes so a nasty one doesn't stand one iota of a chance.

With the slut, as soon as she woke up from surgery and seemed to have her wits back, she was released. She lives on the farm and stays close by. It would certainly ease your mind to not have to deal with after surgery meds going that route.

Call the Humaine Society and see if the grant is still something you can work with....
 
L

LostNFound

Member
Birth control for the food? If that was true why would there be a stray cat problem? We'd throw laced food everywhere and be done.

If you contact a rescue they will explain how YOU can help. They are overwhelmed themselves. You can trap, neuter and release. I have worked with a local rescue and thats how I know. First off - you have to starve them a little if you are to catch them, they wont just walk into a cage to eat- they need to be convinced you are bringing food and not going to harm them- takes weeks sometimes to build that trust. Then after trust building - you can start trapping. Theyd suggest you trap as many as you can at once. Of course they leave it to you to figure out how to do that- plenty of youtubes by larger rescues if you are so inclined to learn the finer points of catching.

Once caught - you need to have a vet lined up- as you cant let the cat out of the cage til its been vetted and has a good place to go for a few days after surgery- a barn or garage on your property? Relocating is harder than just releasing. Once all have been spade releasing is actually better for your neighborhood. Whether someone relocates them or shoots them all- eventually new strays will move in. If you keep an established colony, you will prevent new strays- and if your colony is all fixed- no new ones.

There are colonies all over this area- fed and vetted by decent people that have the money and resources to follow through. Someone comes daily to feed them and structures have been put in place to act as shelters for them. You are thinking of a job that would take more than just yourself - and I do stress you are on your own. The rescue people are great- they want to help- as you do- but they offer little more than what I just gave you.

Its heart breaking how bad the problem is around here (and plenty of other towns all across America and beyond) It should be a law to spay and neuter and I believe a moratorium or something put in place to prevent ANY breeding until millions of pets arent killed or left to die due to over population. But thats just me.
 
L

LostNFound

Member
frequentflier said:
What county are you in? There are many rescue groups that may help you trap, spay/neuter/ vaccinate them and release them if you are willing to feed them. Feral Cat rescue in St Marys, Friends of Felines in Calvert.
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They will suggest how you can do just this- no one is going to do it for you. Ive been in contact with both of these rescues. Lovely people- got a wonderful sweet cat from them once- but they offer zero services. Lots of advice but no one is actually going to help out. Im sure they would if they could but we need more people helping then there are available Im afraid.
 
L

LostNFound

Member
Your husband is a gem! Kudos to you for stopping such stupidity.

Well pet clinic in St Mary's will offer the lowest price possible if you explain what you are doing. If you are in Calvert - theres a clinic there that will do the same- offer a great price. The rescues know who to call and can offer that advice as well. If theres a grant out there- even better. Just be aware of the work you will need to do if you actually are able to start a catch and release in your area.
 
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frequentflier

frequentflier

happy to be living
We moved a feral to our new house. She had been vetted and "dekittened" before we moved. I could not leave her there. She was always difficult to trap. Food wasn't getting her in the trap so I tried catnip spray and had her in 15 minutes!
We will go days without seeing her and them she shows up for food. We fed several other cats when it was cold and snowy though I think they belong to one of the nearby farms.
 
frequentflier

frequentflier

happy to be living
gretchen said:
Our neighborhood has lots of cats. Lots. So far I know about 20. They all run loose and don't belong to anyone,they just live under sheds and in the woods. I've heard there is some sort of cat birth control that can be put in food - is this true? Are there any spay/neuter services for them if I were to trap and transport? They are welcome to come back and live here and I'll handle any after surgery care,and I'll also pay for pain meds. No idea how I'd administer,though,since they are only semi-tame.
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If you are in Charles Co, I just bumped a thread for you.
 
Dakota

Dakota

~~~~~~~
LostNFound said:
Your husband is a gem! Kudos to you for stopping such stupidity.
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I was very proud of him for handling the situation the way he did. His father had been trying and we suspect she was defying him by feeding the cat behind his back hence the reason my husband did have to step in and get mean about it. The cat's mother was dropped on the farm pregnant and only 1 kitten survived, which is the 1 she has now that went to create multiple litters.... mom was later hit by a car, just like her other kittens. It could have played out much worse than it did but it still was pretty bad. His mother felt bad because we were starving her and took her kittens away but now that the deed is done, she can live a better life. When the Humane Society was working with us to trap this cat, they caught something like 11 others we didn't know existed... sadly if they were not claimed by owners, they were put done. It is just the way all this works. Sometimes you cannot save the world.
 
gretchen

gretchen

New Member
frequentflier said:
We moved a feral to our new house. She had been vetted and "dekittened" before we moved. I could not leave her there. She was always difficult to trap. Food wasn't getting her in the trap so I tried catnip spray and had her in 15 minutes!
We will go days without seeing her and them she shows up for food. We fed several other cats when it was cold and snowy though I think they belong to one of the nearby farms.
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I'm in St. Marys. Tell me more about this catnip spray! Do you sell it at Peppers?
 
Dakota

Dakota

~~~~~~~
frequentflier said:
We moved a feral to our new house. She had been vetted and "dekittened" before we moved. I could not leave her there. She was always difficult to trap. Food wasn't getting her in the trap so I tried catnip spray and had her in 15 minutes!
We will go days without seeing her and them she shows up for food. We fed several other cats when it was cold and snowy though I think they belong to one of the nearby farms.
Click to expand...

I have 1 that got dumped on us... we found her to be living under our deck early in 2005 and it took a month to trap her…. Well 2 days after my husband got involved. I thought for sure she was 8-12 weeks old when I took her to the vet and later found out she was at least 6 months old and maybe even as much as 9 months old. The vet used cat nip spray on her. I thought I was in over my head when they told me she had a respiratory infection that required month long antibiotics but we managed. She has become a full time house cat the last 2 years and has no interest in going outside. Although she is guessed to be 11 in October of this year, my vet feels her poor kitten health is now catching up to her. I have her on cosequin extra strength for her joints and it really helps, without it, she wouldn’t be able to get around.

The kitten we have may have been part of that mass 100 plus capture in Mechanicsville several years back that just managed to get away. We really don't live far from that location, only about a mile as the crow flies.

gret,

You might want to also consider ear tipping on the ones you capture. 20 is a large colony and you'd want to be sure if you have additionals later so ear tipping/clipping, whatever it is called, seems like it would help keep things managable.
 
b23hqb

b23hqb

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
Could they do this program in neighborhoods with massive welfare/child assistance payments receiptiants, and only on them? That would prevent a whole lot more welfare pups/kittens.
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Anytime someone feeds feral cats they will all congregate in that area. Any female in heat will be quickly impregnated. Then the cycle continues and the colony gets larger.

A few years back I saw a few piles of dry pet food in a parking lot of a city park. The food must have been put on a schedule because there were dozens of cats plus a few dozen raccoons all chowing down in harmony.

Feral hogs are a nuisance in some parts of the country. The entire herd has to be trapped otherwise they just reload. On the plus side the trapped piggies can go to the market. Hmmm bacon.

 
spr1975wshs

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
DoWhat said:
Yes, it is called antifreeze.
Ask Ken King about it.
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From the Maryland SPCA site: "It is against Maryland law to kill a cat by any means other than humane euthanasia (performed by a veterinarian)."
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
I believe it to be more humane to capture the feral cats and turn them in for humane euthanasia rather than catch and release after a vetting. Having them spayed/neutered and inoculated for rabies does not protect them from becoming road kill or infested with parasites and diseases.
 
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