Tortured By Feral Cats

32 cats is far too many. I don’t care how much you love cats. Can anyone really take of 32 of anything? Are you really bonding with each one of them as an individual? That’s more like a collection. Aren’t there 32 teams in the NFL? It’s like the Puppy Bowl, but with cats and every team is playing. Marg, this is not directed at you and you have my deepest sympathy. The commenter “Poochu” (obviously a fake name)that suggests your dog somehow asked for it is a cat fanatic and did not consider you had to put down your beloved pet before saying something so idiotic. I’m sure if your one cat fell off the fence and got mauled by your neighbor’s 32 dogs, it wasn’t asking for it. It just happened. Loss of a pet is a sad thing. I think the founder of this site would agree with me, the villain here is your neighbor, trying to take care of 32 somethings and doing it poorly. Keep in mind that these 32 things didn’t include the countless things we all must face in life. Unless you live next door to a animal sanctary, 32 is too much.

I’m sorry for your situation Marg, but Michael is exactlly right, it’s a people problem, the cats are just doing what Mother Nature made them to do. Here is a couple tips that may help.

1. You can break a cat from doing anything with a water hose or squirt bottle and not harm the cat.
2. If the neighbor sees you out taking pictures of your damage, and the cats are theirs, they may start thinking lawsuit and maybe offer help.
3. If you had a dog just slightly bigger than a small one, the cats will not come into your fenced area or around any area where the dog is tied and left at.
4. I’ve never heard of a cat just attacking anyone for no reason but the squirt bottle will stop that.
5. It looks like you best bet is to buy a trap, catch them and take them to the farmer. If the neighbor doesn’t claim them, there is nothing they can do about it.
6. If you can’t find some way to relocate them, try to at least get them spayed and neutered or you will have more cats. Search for some help with animal lovers or groups that may can help. If you have a local Vet or one nearby, talk to them, maybe they know of available help or perhaps they will offer some help.

At least the cats will take care of any rat, mice,
mole or snake problems around and you can be thankful for that. The rats and mice in a house can do much more damage than all the cats combined. If it were not for all the wild, feral and domestic cats everywhere, we would all have to pay out a lot of money to take care of the rat/mice problem or pay out a lot in taxes for a city to have a rodent control program.

I recently read about some place in India, I think, that was starting a program to breed 26,000 cats to control the rodent problem. Maybe you could keep one cat around to help out and if you give it a chance it will make a good friend and be one of the most loving little creatures you will find.
Good Luck

First off let me say how sorry I am to hear of you plight and maybe I can offer this as a possible solution to your situation.
1. go to you neighbor and tell them in no uncertain terns that as they will not take responsibility for all the cats they are feeding, that you at serving notice to them that you are now holding them financially responsible for damages caused to your property from the cats urine and feces. ( you most likely will have very little real recourse at this but perhaps this will throw a scare into them)
3. Suggest to the neighbor that you will assist them in trapping ALL the cats and remove them to farms where the cats can live out their lives. ( you stated , you have found farmers willing to take them)
Get several traps set them out in several locations and trap as many as you can for removal.

I know this sounds like a not very easy answer but in your situation I can not think of another avenue for you at this time.

As for cats urinating on your porch you might put down moth crystal sprinkled around. You will have to r-sprinkle after rain as the moth crystals wash ways. I am sorry I can not be of more help.

Dear Marg,

nice to read your article, but as a dog loving person, does not your pet puppy bark your Cat loving neighbour’s sleep away in the wee hours?

Is it not torture when your pet puppy or your earlier dog went after the free living feral kittens and cats?

These are kittens and cats not Tigers or Lions to complain of “TORTURE”.

Co-Existence is the “Mantra” for a peaceful life with Neighbours.

Marg, please remember that the cats are not the enemy, although you are feeling victimised by them in fact the cats are the losers here because they are homeless, unwanted, unloved and apart from the neighbours who make an effort to feed them, I’d say largely unloved. How sad to go through their short lives always being a nuiscance. I can’t offer a solution to your problem other than carrying on with the TNR to prevent the colony growing. Getting rid of the adults won’t stop your pronblem because more cats will take their place.
As Michael said humans have created this problem by their fickleness, it’s so easy to acquire a kitten, but perhaps an adult cat isn’t so cute and cuddly so out goes Fluffy when she reaches maturity and in comes a new kitten, Fluffy wanders away and meets Tommy and a colony is established.
If people would only understand cats are for life and the importance of neutering there wouldn’t be anywhere near the number of unloved and unwanted cats relying on people like your neighbours for subsistance. It’s a very sad state of affairs.

Believe me, when the time comes for neutering, and you have house cats, you don’t have a choice. I remembered my husband & I once taking Babs to stay overnight because of the howling. I must say nowadays the prices are up. They should have a program for people that has pets and live on a fixed income, the people need the pets and society should acknowledge that, good for the cats and the owner too.

Thanks for sharing, Marg. Your problem is with people not cats.

People fail to neuter their cats. People abandon their cats.

The cats breed, this is instinctive – survival.

The local shelters can’t help.

The local city administrators don’t help.

Blame the people. I am sorry for your predicament.