October Wrap-Up

October is coming to an end and the chill of autumn is definitely upon us. Now is a good time to summarize our efforts so far as we prepare to enter colder, darker months.

National Feral Cat Day was a success and our blog post about living with the poop problem a large feral colony brings was well received! We also went door-to-door in the neighborhood with handouts containing information about community cats and how to live with them, and we let everyone know that we are working to bring the population under control. We also distributed information about this blog so that community members can better follow our progress.

The number of cats continues to fluctuate as our master list is updated and refined. This month, we realized we had one cat listed twice. We also removed a cat from the list after not seeing it for a long period of time. Then it showed up again, so we had to put it back on the list. After all of these fluctuations and others, the total number of cats in the colony has been reduced by 1 from our last update. There are now 51 cats. Of these, 44 of them are fixed, which is 86%! That is another big step up from the 77% in our Mid-October update!

With the seriously reduced number of unfixed cats in the colony, we know that trapping will become increasingly tricky. The remaining unfixed cats are also more skittish of the traps, which is why they have made it to the (almost) end.  The colder weather and shorter days will also be a factor, but we aren't discouraged! We like spending time outside and in the yard. Monitoring the cats almost happens naturally as a result of that.

Tricky Trapping

This article is for other people out there trying to control feral colonies in their own communities. We include information on trap types we've tried, baiting, and our own "Kitten Filter" designed for catching cats young! Trapping a wild animal is no simple feat, especially when you're targeting specific members of a population.

Time and Patience

The most important tool at your disposal is time. Whether your tactic is to take a large number of traps and trap cats en masse or if you're only doing a few cats at a time, trapping consumes time.  There will always be cats that do not go into the traps on their first encounter with them, even if the bait is temping. These cats require repeated attempts in order to be conditioned into trusting the traps. This may require watching cats you've already had fixed go in, eat, and exit a trap you have set while you watch and wait.

Traps

We currently have several different traps in our arsenal. Our favorite are our two TruCatch® 30-LTD (image on the left). These traps have two doors, one on each end, and each door operates with a different mechanism. This allows for more control and variety in the methods you may employ. The vet techs also appreciate the two doors.

We also use a Havahart® Large 1-Door Trap (image on the right). This trap is just as sturdy as the 30-LTD, but it only has one door, which makes it less versatile (Havahart does manufacture several 2 door traps, but this one was loaned to us by a neighbor). The door also utilizes a spring in its design that can wear out and is tricky to set. The 30-LTD has a chain which could potentially break, but the doors are locked shut by gravity instead of a spring.  This method is safer for the cats too, as a spring-loaded door closing on a small cat could be fatal or at least cause injury. (They also hurt if they close on your arm by accident while you bait the trap.)

This is the drop-trap that we built and have had success with. The cats aren't nearly as skittish about going under this trap, but several cats can fit under it at once. We would never try to trap more than one cat per cage. That would be dangerous for us and the cats. It is constructed from PVC pipe and chicken wire. We built a door into the side to make transferring a cat from this trap to a cage much easier (cover trap with towel and put up against door, cat moves to safer looking dark space). Some large cats bang this trap around quite a bit during their initial freak-out and attempt to escape, the PVC makes it easy to add pea-gravel or sand to give it substantial weight (but can make it harder for the user to move around).  It is useful to have a second person around while using this trap so one person can hold the trap down right after the catch while the other sets up the trap transfer.

 Bait

Bait, as you can imagine, is a very important tool. We find that cheap, soft food provides strong enough encouragement that most cats get over their fear of going into the traps. A very cautious cat might watch the entire colony go in and out of a trap but still won't go in for regular dry food. The strong scent of moist food really brings them to the yard and attracts them to the traps. We have had even greater success microwaving the food to heat it up which makes even it stinkier. The first night we tried warming it, we saw three cats that we had never seen before come over to try the traps.

When a cat is trapped, it will freak out at first. We cover the cage with a towel to help, but they still thrash around quite a bit. We put the bait in small plastic dishes to try and avoid injury. Cleaning up cat blood from the floor as a result of a cut doesn't sound like a good time for anyone.

Kittens

One of the most important methods for reducing the number of cats in a colony is catching them while they are young enough to be adopted out. Unfortunately, when young cats start venturing out from their "nest", they are already approaching an age when this is difficult, so time (the most important tool) is already against you. They are also at the bottom of the feeding totem pole. They may have to wait for every other cat in the colony to eat before they get their turn in the traps. To work around this, we made what we call a "Kitten Filter." This is simply a piece of coated, welded wire fencing that we cut to fit the trap door. Then we broke one of the welds to make a slightly larger hole. This is much too small for any full grown cat, but perfect for a young kitten.


The drop trap can also be used for catching young cats by utilizing a short support stick. It will create a gap that is too small for adult cats to feel comfortable crawling under, but a kitten has no problem!

Feral #28

As we're making good progress fixing the cats in the colony, each new trapping brings us one big step closer to our goals.

"Fearless"

This lady isn't afraid of anyone or anything. She walks right up to other cats and swats them out of the way when she's coming through. She was supposed to be the first cat we ever caught, but we were new to trapping. We slipped up, and she got away! We also caught her early this spring in the drop-trap that we use, but we let her go because we were after the kitten that got caught in the trap with her. Those experiences made her one of the most trap-skittish cats around, but the chilly autumn weather must have changed her mind enough that she risked it all for some bait food. This was our chance and we got her! She has had at least two litters in her time, but now she doesn't have to go through that anymore.

Ferals #26 & #27

This was a pretty successful night of trapping. We trapped a couple of cats that we wanted to get, and we got to update our list, moving a couple cats around that we had listed twice. Look for updated numbers at the end of the month!

"Super Tiny Tabby"

This little cat is the last one on our list that was born in Spring 2015! He is very small compared to all the other cats his age and is very skittish. Just like we thought "Pale Spotted Tabby" was a boy because she was big, we thought Tiny here was a girl. It took him a long time to get used to going into a trap. His size made it easy for him to go into a trap with other cats too. That made it tricky to get him in the trap alone.

"Blind Eye Lynx Point"

This cat is also very skittish. Her eyes glow red in the right light, which we've read about being a thing in Siamese style cats. It is a genetic characteristic and it makes them not able to see in the dark as well as other cats. This and her one blind eye must be a factor in her skittishness. She was mother to a litter of kittens in late summer that local Animal Control discovered. Homes were found for all of the kittens!

Find the Cats

Here's an exercise for everyone who wants to see what it's like trying to keep track of all of these cats: Can you spot all 26 of them in this image?

Click the image to enlarge or click here.

Poop!

In honor of National Feral Cat Day, today we are going to discuss:

The Art of Feral Cat Poop Exclusion

 

In our limited experience chatting with other people working with feral cat colonies, it appears that the vast majority of feral cat colonies have 15 cats or less. The one we are living with is not one of those colonies. Frankly, we envy those colonies.  The frustration produced by a colony this size, for us, boils down to one aggravating problem… the poop!  OMG, the poop!  60-ish cats produce a LOT of it.  The cats are not destructive like the 6 raccoons that also live in the neighborhood. They do not get into the trash (they are fed too well for that) and we do not care about the cat paw-prints on the cars (one regular visitor brings a car cover with him, a good solution). We do not care that they use the yard and outdoor furniture for lounging purposes and they, unbelievably, don’t make much noise. They only spray a few locations, and while it does smell, it is not nearly as problematic as the one we are here to address today: the poop!

Nothing is full proof, but we hope this article helps someone out there sick of poop in less-than desirable places.  We’ve tried a lot of different things!

Some days I walk outside and it feels like this.

There are plenty of suggestions online regarding how to deal with this problem. For example, Alley Cat Allies (the organizer of today’s National Feral Cat Day activities) has a nice page on “How to Live With Cats in Your Neighborhood." Their suggestions are very well thought out, as well as the suggestions on many other similar pages. However, while they may work for smaller colonies, many of the suggestions are impractical or do not work with a colony this size. So today, we present you a list of things that work and do not work for us, in the hopes that it will help you.

Rule #1.  Do not landscape with mulch!!! Cats naturally want to dig and bury their excrement. They will happily use anything you landscape with that makes this easier. In fact, they seem to go out of their way to use it. You might as well landscape with cat litter. Avoid dry or loose dirt patches and anything similar as well. 

If they really need to go, the cats will go just about anywhere.  Grass, for example, is ideal enough.  I suggest this wonderful device to protect high traffic areas… the Orbit Yard Enforcer. Get yourself a pack of rechargeable AA batteries while you are at it, you’ll need them. This version is built much better than the Contech Scarecrow which is cheaply made in our opinion - we had to rebuild it from stronger parts after 2 weeks. It also has more options and a better range, but the sensor isn’t quite as sensitive (which is both good and bad). The Ultrasonic Yard Sentinel is also somewhat effective, but not quite as good.  We have two that go up in winter when the hose and sprinkler need to be taken down. Clearly, some of the cats can’t hear it (related to their color and age as it turns out). As an aside, all of these devices are completely useless on the raccoons… they occasionally dig out the sprayer, and can’t hear the noise, even with the ultrasonic device set to raccoon.

 

Kitten Poop is Not Cute!

Landscaping rock (not pea gravel or breeze – which is too small and litter like) and pavers are also a pretty good deterrent, but as said above, when they need to go, they will. Typically, they look for an ideal hole in the rocks. In our case, this is usually where something is planted, and they poop on top of that instead. Cactus are not even safe from some cats. For a plant that draws particular attention, we suggest “decorating” it with branches sticking out of the ground around it. Cheap and mostly effective, though not necessarily attractive.  

Some smells that are supposed to deter cats do not deter most cats, it seems. Plus, spreading scents needs to be done religiously as they wear out or wash away. Also, it becomes inconvenient. We’ve tried many suggested scents though. What actually works: ground cayenne pepper. (Bulk 1lb+ bags can be found online.) We don’t use this often, as it really does need to be done frequently to work. 

Acapulco Orange Hummingbird Mint

Some plants do deter the cats; mints in particular, and not just the herb.  We planted a very successful and wonderfully stinky hummingbird mint last spring.  Do not plant cat mint (catnip). Also successful, but for other obvious reasons: a ‘shin-dagger’ agave. Rue is said to deter cats, but ours has been urinated on so often, it’s struggling to live. It may just be one or two cats that can’t smell it, but that’s hard to know.

Chicken wire set on top of the dirt is not useful past about 1 week (useful for fencing only). Lattice fencing may be useful on top of the dirt though.  We just don’t have a place in our landscaping to try this out.  

We will not build the cats a litter box, as is often suggested. Perhaps if there were 10 or fewer cats we would. We cannot even imagine what sort of hell a litter box for 60 cats would be like to clean. Scooping off grass is preferable.  

Cat scat mats may be an option, but these nice, spiky plastic mats are expensive and small. Great for a few potted plants only. We highly recommend putting a bit of effort into some welded wire fencing to make your own giant mat. Cut every other wire, and bend it up. (See photo for details.) The cats will still walk on this mat (they are very good at avoiding the wires), but since they can’t easily dig in the dirt without being poked, it seriously cuts down on the poop! Also, what you plant may eventually hide the wire.  

Deterrent mat made from welded wire fence.  Just clip every other short wire and bend up.

The spiky mat is under all that green growth somewhere.

Finally, we have to recommend a box of latex gloves, a large spoon  (or one of these), maybe a paint stir stick scraper, and a strong stomach. Why? Because NOTHING is perfect. The cats need to go somewhere, and they will. If you need to keep them out of specific places or high traffic paths, these are the only things we have found that work over the last 3 years battling the poop.  So, good luck, and happy scooping. 

 

Mid-October Numbers

With National Feral Cat Day almost here, we thought we'd give a quick update of the clowder numbers. We will be posting some great information in the next couple of days about life in an area with a large feral cat population and some details about the tools & techniques we have been utilizing in our recent efforts!

The total number of documented cats has risen to 52. This is up slightly from the count at the end September. Our latest baiting and trapping techniques have lured out several cats we had not seen before (one of which was already ear-tipped, fixed by our neighbors). Our initial estimate of sixty cats seems to have been a very good guess and starting place.

The total number of fixed cats is now at 40. That puts the documented cats at 77% spayed and neutered! This is another big step up from the end of September when it was 61%, and even more since the beginning of September when it was only 26%.

Ferals #24 & #25

Two more young feral cats fixed and vaccinated! Don't forget to check back on Friday, October 16th for a special set of National Feral Cat Day blog posts!

"Poopy"

This cat is the clowder's version of Pig-Pen from the Peanuts Cartoon. She does not groom herself well and is usually covered in self-filth. We mentioned all of this to the vet before they took her in for spaying. The vet thinks she has a bad case of worms. They shaved her rear end, put some cream on it, and gave her a de-worming medication.

"Mini-Buddy"

This boy reminded us so much of "Buddy" that we had to give him a name in homage. He is not necessarily as curious and forward as Buddy was as a youngster, but he has the same physical characteristics. Enough so that if Buddy wasn't fixed, we'd think he was the father.

Featured Colony Members: The Dirty Tortie Trio

In this Featured Colony Member(s) post we would like to introduce three cats we refer to as "The Dirty Tortie Trio." There are other Tortoiseshell cats in the colony, but we refer to these three specifically as "Dirty Torties." They have a strong balance of Tortoiseshell and Tabby which gives them a unique look. All three of these ladies were fixed by our neighbor at some point through a TNR program, so we have no interest in trapping them.

"Angry"

If "Buddy" is the Unwitting Alpha of the colony, made so by us, then Angry is the Assertive Alpha, made so on her own accord. If there is food nearby, she will swat at other cats first and ask questions later.  She might also swat at you first and ask questions later.

"Stink Eye"

This lady will burn a hole right through you with her gaze, unless she thinks you've got something she wants. That's when you see her more angelic alter-ego (the image on the right). On multiple occasions we have heard people walking by on the sidewalk talk about getting the stink-eye from this cat.

"Other"

This cat is so generic that we there is no good nickname for her except "The Other One." Perhaps in time she'll earn another one.

Feral #23: The Cat Formerly Known as Balls

We went ahead and got this guy after another round of damp, chilly weather. He almost always shows up, but usually later in the evening after we have already trapped cats for the night.

"Balls" or "The Cat Formerly Known as Balls"

This boy was one of the Featured Colony Members . He had a rough kitten-hood, and developed a very bad upper respiratory infection that glued his eyes shut. We thought he might not live through it, but he did (like most do). We can tell based on our interactions with him that his vision is still very impaired from that infection (not a common problem), though his eyes have improved over the last year and a half.  He sees better at night and squints less then, but he only seems to see contrasts well. His deficiency has made him extra skittish and the other cats push him around when it comes to food, but he maintains a healthy weight (unlike some of the truly overweight, fixed cats).

Ferals #21 & #22: Fuzzy is Fixed

It was pretty chilly around here with clouds and no sunshine. We weren't sure how successful we would be at trapping because of it, but we got a couple of good ones!

"Fuzzy"

Fuzzy was a Featured Colony Member awhile back. She is always around, and because of that, she wasn't super high on our priority list. She is also very old and she seems to fight off all other cats, so we weren't really concerned that she was mating. However, she had become quite fat since the last photo of her. We weren't sure if it was because she was eating so much of the food we've been baiting cats with or if she got pregnant. The vet let us know... she is just fat.

"Forty-Five"

We first noticed this girl after we fixed "Black White Spot Two." We were still compiling our list of cats and she was going to be number 45 on the list, so instead of just nicknaming her after her appearance to be "Black White Spot Three", she got a number-nickname. We thought she was a male at first because she has a very similar demeanor to "Scarface," a mating male we had fixed earlier, but the vet set us straight.

Feral #20

We've made it to feral number twenty! This guy won't be last one we have fixed, though.

"Bi-Color Orange"

This boy is from a Spring 2015 litter. He is getting pretty big and we're glad we got him before his male instinct to roam took over. He should now just be a homebody. You can see a picture of a younger him here in the first post we made on the blog where he is checking out the traps with his friends.

Kittens #2 & #3

We forgot to take a photo of the first fall 2015 kitten that we found and took to the humane society. These two kittens were found along the fence, both unattended by any adult cat and we were able to pick up both by hand. We put them in a pet carrier with a pee pad and a good helping of wet food. We will be taking them to the humane society in the morning.

Kitten 2

This poor thing is the perfect example of the hardships of feral life. It had no idea what was going on when we found it because its eyes were all gunked shut. We used a damp cloth to try and clean them out, but even after the gunk was gone, things still looked bad. Hopefully the folks at the humane society will be able to treat them. This kitten went to town eating the wet food we put down in front of it.

Kitten 3

This kitten is in much better shape and looks just like the first kitten we took in earlier this week to the humane society. Nothing special really, just a run of the mill tabby. Didn't hiss or run away, was just cold and really seemed to want some wet food. Should be easy enough to socialize and adopt out!

We talk about the ferals a lot and sometimes forget that they all got dealt a rough hand in life. Even with the TNR program's effort to control population and health, they will die to terrible things like exposure to the elements, predators, infection and disease. In the urban environment, cars are also on that list. These kittens will hopefully find great homes and forget the hardships they were born into.

*Update* - These two kittens were successfully turned over to the humane society for socialization and eventual adoption.

Ferals #17, #18, & #19

This is a good group of cats to have caught and fixed to start October! A couple of active reproducers and a young cat we didn't have on our list yet.

"The Pale One"

This skittish lady was quite the active reproducer. She was pregnant this spring and again in the late summer, but we never saw any sign that she actually cared for her young (no swollen nipples, and spending full days in the yard, not leaving to nurse). We believe that she may have given up the kittens to one of the other nursing mothers in both the spring and the fall.

"Gray Mama One"

This blue girl has also been pregnant in the past with no follow up signs of actually caring for the kittens. She may have also given up them up to another female that was already nursing a litter, or just abandoned them outright.

"High Tail"

This cat knows how to strut! She was walking around with her tail straight up in the air looking high and mighty. There are no other cats in the colony that do that, they all stay low to the ground. We saw her and said,"We don't have that one on the list yet," as she walked right into the trap. She must be new to the idea that she isn't the center of the universe.