Expert: Jessica - 10/12/2010

Question
Hi, I have about 20 adult cats living in my yard that I have been feeding daily since they were kittens. They are feral/stray and do not let me pick them up yet trust me enough to stand close to me when I approach them and a few let me pet them. They trust me a lot yet they have never been indoorsdue to my 2 indoor cats being unsafe to mix them without immunizations. Unfortunately I am under threat of a lawsuit with a lawyer who owns the house nextdoor and tenants complaining of them using the lawn as a litter box and on the roof. I need to move also due to loss of a job and need of back surgery. I live alone and somehow need to get them into good homes ASAP and cannot afford to feed them anymore even though I still do. I am hearing they will never be able to be a house cat at this age without any prior exposure to being indoors. I am also hearing they will go roaming for miles if I give them away for barn cats if able to get away and spend endless miles looking for me since I am all they have known for 4 years. I am wondering how true this is and if they can be socialized to go into a home and adapt ok? if so how long would it take to work with them to get them ready? Time and money are not on my side or theirs and the animal rescues are all overloaded so far and do not respond to my messages. Any ideas? I need to get them spayed and neutered ASAP also I am resisting trapping and euthanization and cry every day at the thought of traumatizing them. The humane society does not have the finances to help me trap them and would only euthanize them if I trap and deliver them. I am considering moving my cats indoors and myself into my motorhome and bring these cats into my house temporarily to try and socialize them and wondering am I wasting my precious time. My house is going to foreclosure and short sale soon so people will start looking at it inside in another 30 days maximum. I can't show my house with 20 cats inside and the smell they will create unless I can socialize them faster and find homes. Any ideas appreciated. I wish I could get them onto a refuge for cats, that is where they belong at this point. Do you know of any in california 1 hr north of Los Angeles. Thanks again Mary Harper and my cats thenkyou  too.  

Answer
Hi Mary,

I'm very sorry to hear this.  Ferals can be made into house cats, but not in 30 days or less.  It takes many months for most adult cats to be reasonably calm.  Some will never relax enough to be a pet with anyone other than their feeder.  Very unfortunately, taming these cats to get them into homes will not be an option for you at this point.  If you can find a feral rescue org to work with that can help you foster the cats, this might buy you some time.  If they assess the cats and feel they may be adoptable with a little work, volunteers might be willing to help socialize them.  If you don't know of a feral rescue org yet, I would call around to local vets and see if any work with a trap-neuter-return org in the area.

Getting your hands on the cats without trapping them will be impossible.  I certainly understand your reluctance to traumatize them and betray their trust, but this will be your only way to neuter and move them, so it's a necessary evil.  However, don't have the Humane Society do it, as you are correct that they will euthanize the cats.  A trap-neuter-return org can help you.  

Unfortunately, I don't know of any sanctuaries that take feral cats.  If you can find barns or established colonies that are being monitored that the cats can be integrated into, that sounds like your best option to me.  It is true that cats often leave and try to return to their old grounds before they have a chance to become established in a new colony.  If there is any volunteer that would be willing to keep the ferals in a garage or basement for a couple of weeks before releasing them into the new barn or colony area, that would be fantastic, because this may help reduce the cats' old homing instincts.

I hope it all works out!  

Jessica