About a year and a half ago a local spay and neuter
organization asked for volunteers to help feed a local feral cat colony. I didn’t know anything about feral cats, but
being a cat person, I called the volunteer in charge of the colony. 
I learned that there is a colony living behind a nearby
hardware store, and that volunteers feed and manage the colony. I also learned what makes a cat feral rather
than stray. Basically, stray cats are
cats that have become lost or been abandoned.
They’ve had interaction with humans, and can be approached and
petted. Feral cats are much more wary of
humans, and usually cannot be approached or petted. They are often cats who are the offspring of
stray cats.
Because feral cats cannot be adopted into homes the goal is
to humanely manage a colony through providing adequate food and water, a TNR
(Trap-Neuter-Release) program, and providing medical care for any cats that may
become injured. The goal is basically to
keep them healthy, and to keep them from reproducing.
Estimates vary as to the number of cats in our local colony,
but most of us believe there are somewhere around a dozen cats. One gentleman who is retired largely heads up
our little group of feeders, with about five of us taking a day or two a week
to feed the cats. He’s also the person who coordinates with the local T-N-R
group to make sure any new cats are spayed/neutered, and to get medical care
for any cats that any of us notice with an injury.
Most of us have never met in person; we just exchange emails
to work out feeding schedules and to discuss what’s going on with the
cats. We’re all cat lovers, so we’re
happy to work together to get them fed, adjusting the feeding schedule as
needed to make sure they’re fed on holidays and any time one of us is out of
town.
We’ve all managed to find a favorite cat, or two, and we update
each other whenever we haven’t seen a particular cat in a while. One volunteer builds shelters for the cats
during the cold weather, and most of us take them treats when we feed on a
holiday.
It’s not a complicated or official system, but it seems to
work. The cats look good, and the colony
doesn’t seem to be growing. While none of us are able to pet the cats, or even
get very close to them, they do seem to know and expect us. They sit and wait just a few feet from the feeding
area in the mornings. It seems like they
know we’re coming, and maybe know they can trust us, even if it’s only to bring
them food every day. 
I would love to be involved in something like this. But instead I just foster cats. I have 4 foster kittens right now, as well as 2 adult cats of my own. I love being involved in kitty rescue. :)
ReplyDeleteKitty rescue is awesome! I just put us on the list to foster kittens for our shelter once "kitten season" starts.
DeleteAw. I love that you're taking care of the kitties. It's not something I would ever even think about, but I suppose that's what's so great about being part of a community. People watch out for the needs of others and fill in the gaps most people miss.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful thing about being part of a community; we all think about and are drawn to different things.
DeleteInsightful post, and I feel that much smarter about cats now. I'm glad I stopped by your blog today! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! That makes me feel a little less like a crazy cat lady. :-)
DeleteYay! Kitties! We feed a couple of them in our neighborhood as well.
ReplyDeleteAww, glad you're feeding them!
DeleteI did not know the difference between stray and feral, so thanks for the education!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know either until I got involved with this group.
DeleteI didn't even know there were feral cat colonies. You learn something new everyday!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the colonies either until I started helping with this one.
DeleteMy sweet grandmother got after me once for feeding the feral cat that lived on her property. I don't care what creature it is ... I can't stand the thought of a living animal starving or dehydrating when I have the means to help it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping over and commenting on my blog. I really like your writing style and I look forward to following your blog!
Susan
www.freezerburned-suddenlysusan.blogspot.com
I know what you mean. I just can't stand the thought of animal suffering like that. It breaks my heart.
DeleteThank you! I love your blog name.
What a very nice thing to do. I have had feral cats as barn cats...they are great hunters and worthy of human thought and provisions. I have not heard of Feral Cat Colonies. This was another informative post. Thanks for stopping by for my Letter F fiction from forgotten fotos. I appreciate your comment.
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
That's great that you were able to take them in and give them shelter and a job like that. I didn't know about the colonies either until I got involved with this group.
DeleteThis sounds like a very nice thing to do! Lovely post about it. :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love finding fellow Carolina writers.
www.carolinakel.blogspot.com
Thanks! It is always nice to meet a fellow Carolina writer/blogger.
DeleteYou and all the care-takers of these cats are so giving. Cats should never be kicked out in the wild, become wild themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible to see domestic animals becoming wild like that. They shouldn't suffer for people's negligence.
DeleteWe had a lot of feral cats where I lived in NC at one time. Only trouble was they were interbreeding and ended up with all kinds of defects. I'm not sure feeding them is such a good idea, although I don't like the idea of putting them down either. But some of the defects these cats developed were horrifying.
ReplyDeleteI think the TNR programs cut down on a lot of the inbreeding, but I could see where it could be a very big problem without that.
DeleteAw Danielle that's a great thing! I've worked with ferals in the past and done some colony management/relocation when they were threatened. Sounds like a great group of people in their corner :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you've done that. From what everyone says we most likely won't have to worry about relocating this colony, which I guess is good.
DeleteWhat a wonderful service you are doing. I've heard of other organizations like yours. Great job. I had 2 feral cats at the ranch that I fed and gave warm shelter in the winter. They came in the barn at night but evaporated if I came near...... but they always ate the food. Ha
ReplyDeleteThat was so nice of you to give them food and a warm place for the winter. They do just seem to disappear if you get too close. At least they trust the food.
DeleteGreat service you do Danielle! Lilke I wrote in my C post, I know there are people that feed the feral cats down at the place we walk Koda. I'm sure its probably some type of organization similar to yours. How can you tell when a new cat shows up and then how can you "target" that cat to get them neutered (i.e., if you set traps, how do you know that cat will go into the trap, make sense?) Just curious; sounds like a wonderful thing you guys all do!
ReplyDeletebetty
Basically we (I'm not sure how all groups do it) determine a new cat has shown up by someone noticing a cat they don't recognize. That person will email everyone else (and try to send a picture if possible) about the cat to see if anyone else has seen it (in case it normally shows up at a different time of day, etc). If no one is familiar with the cat, then they move on to trapping. Trapping can take a while, so those of us with full time jobs don't really participate. We have to stop feeding them for a day or two, and put something very enticing (like tuna) in the trap. Someone monitors the trap, either by checking on it several times a day, or sitting in their car in the parking lot and waiting. Because of that, trapping is only done in mild weather (not too hot or cold). Once a cat is spayed or neutered, s/he is ear tipped, so everyone knows that cat has already been fixed. If they trap the "wrong" cat (like one that's ear tipped) they just let it go and start the process over. Once the trapping is finished we usually give them a treat to help make up for it.
DeleteAnyone who loves animals is in my good books Danielle. The lady down the road from us does a similar thing with the cats that hang around the back of the restaurant strip. I've subscribed to your blog so I can keep up with your posts on the challenge :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I guess a strip of restaurants would attract a colony. That's nice that she feeds them. Thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this! It's so good to see that the cats in the pictures look healthy and happy. What a wonderful thing to do for them. :)
ReplyDeleteThey do seem to be pretty happy and healthy. :-)
ReplyDelete