Feral Cats at Allotments in Birmingham, UK

by Betty
(Birmingham, UK)

Female feral cat at the allotments

Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

Female feral cat at the allotments

I am the site manager of a fairly large allotment site in Birmingham, UK. We have some feral cats which nobody objects to. I put food down every day for them. The food is donated by other gardeners and myself.

The cats do a good job of killing vermin on the site and I think they deserve to be fed by us, rather than only relying on the mice and rats they catch.

Last year the Cats Protection League lent us a trap and then arranged for the cat we caught to be neutered and returned to us. We shall soon be doing this again. There is no charge for this service but we help by fund-raising for them.

Although I do love cats, I also love my dogs who absolutely HATE them so I will have to make do with looking at the beautiful photos on this website!


Update: 22nd Feb 2010...

feral cat in Birmingham UK
Photo by Betty

An update about the cat I feed at the allotments -

She is getting really brave now. As soon as she hears my car pull up near the allotment, she comes running and waits outside the polytunnel for me to feed her. She sits just out of arm's reach while I fill her plate and quickly goes inside once I come out. It's hard to believe she is 'wild'!

I took this photo today, it's similar to another one I posted but a little closer.

We have always had a problem with rats and mice on the allotment site and some people put poison down. (I don't)

I worry that one of the cats might catch and kill a rat or mouse which had already eaten the poison. Does anyone know if the poison could be passed to the cat?

Betty

Feral Cats at Allotments in Birmingham, UK to Feral cats

Comments for
Feral Cats at Allotments in Birmingham, UK

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Feb 24, 2010 feral cats
by: Anonymous

Are the cats speyd if not try Sheila Cats in Care0121 3820408 Dont let these cats eat the rats they can get a liver desease off the rats urine it eventually happened to one of our cats who killed over 300 rats' As long as there is food shelter no kittens they will be fine


Feb 24, 2010 feral cats
by: Anonymous

Are the cats speyd if not try Sheila Cats in Care0121 3820408 Dont let these cats eat the rats they can get a liver desease off the rats urine it eventually happened to one of our cats who killed over 300 rats' As long as there is food shelter no kittens they will be fine


Feb 24, 2010 Rat poison
by: Betty, Birmingham UK

Thank you for your reply Michael.

I am now very concerned about the use of poison on our allotments. I will have to try to 'persuade' gardeners NOT to use poison to keep the vermin down but to rely on our feral cats instead. Of course, there will be a few people who think that the cats are vermin too but hopefully I will be able to change their minds.


Feb 22, 2010 Rat poison
by: Michael

Answering your question about rat poison that kills rats and whether it can kill a cat. The answer is yes, it can, unfortunately.

I think where there are feral cats there is little need to put rat poison down as the cats can manage the rat population but there are people who don't like rats and cats.

I just posted a article about how thousands of cats were poisoned by DDT a chemical used to kill mosquitoes in Borneo. This is the same thing. In fact the poison can be in a creature well down the food chain and the cat still be poisoned it seems to me. This is the article:

Flying Cats

I will do a short post tomorrow about this.

Michael Avatar


Feb 19, 2010 Allotment cats have found themselves a great friend in Betty
by: Anonymous

Thank you for sharing the lovely photo and your story of the allotment cats. I have a soft spot for feral cats myself and they really do need all the help they can get. It's wonderful to hear that no-one objects to them at your allotments.

Keep up the good work.

Michele (UK)


Feb 16, 2010 Your new Friend
by: Julie,Alhambra,Il.USA

We have a new feral on our carport so we are going through the same taming process. It is more difficult the older the cat. I can't tell if ours is a tom or lady cat yet. Keep the food out. Tom's can disapear and reapear with large gaps in between.It is so cold here we are worried about our new friends health. I keep in mind the words of my Christ "What you do unto the least of you ,you do unto me." Thank you for not turning your back on this lovely little cat. the world need more people like You! Also thank you for the picture.


Feb 12, 2010 She came close today
by: Betty

I had been worried because I hadn't seen the cat for about a week although the food was being eaten. Today, I called her and suddenly she appeared, walking through the raspberry canes towards me. She stopped just a few feet away and sat and waited while I put the food out under a table in the polytunnel.
I feel priviledged that she trusts me so much.


Feb 11, 2010 Great job!
by: Finn Frode, Denmark

Hi Betty. You are doing a great job for the cats and your allotment gardens as well. TNR (trap, neuter, return) is the way to go, as it stops uncontrolled breeding. Also your cat group will control the area, keep rodents in check and other cats out. I'm sure your efforts will pay off, even if your dogs don't like it. 😉

Finn Frode avatar


Feb 11, 2010 Hi
by: Anonymous

Hi Betty, well done to you for doing nice work and realising the benefit of feral cats. A lot of people just see them as a nuisance.


2 thoughts on “Feral Cats at Allotments in Birmingham, UK”

  1. I share a plot with my husband bill, in Philips park allotments clayton Manchester, we too feed feral cats 4 in total, so keep up the good work.

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