(USA)
We moved into a house with 3 babies and a mommy feral cat. I happen to love cats and have a domestic one in the house. I feed these babies and their mother and they used to live under the house and the back yard.
When they were old enough I got a trap and had each one of them fixed and got their vaccinations.
We had a really bad flea problem and the exterminator wanted us to kill the cats and I would not hear of it.
I closed the opening to the underside of the house and bought a huge cat igloo for them to live in. I put a number of baskets with towels for them to be comfortable.
There is a powder (diatomaceious earth) that I knew about that I used inside for my domestic cat that was safe and would not harm them.
I asked another exterminator to put the powder under the house and in the yard knowing the cats would roll around in it and would help with there fleas.
I would feed them 2 times a day and talk to them like I do my domestic cat. This has been going on for two years and they come when I call them for dinner.
My little female lets me touch her all the time. She is at my feet when I am outside. She will sit by my desk while I work in my office down stairs and I keep the door open.
Sometimes her brothers will come in. Once her brother was hit by a car and got hurt badly and showed up in the basket I left for them. I was able to nurse him back to health.
I know if I had the time I could so easily domesticate them all. My neighbor feels the same way I do and she has 5 she takes care of.
They all are very sweet and they are all very clean. They don’t bother anyone. I have a problem with people who don’t want to bother with feral cats and kill them.
I really enjoy them. I miss them when some nights they stay at the neighbors. The are all so interesting.
Mrs Z
You are such a nice person to do this and to pray for your feral cats. I’m very impressed. You really are a genuinely good person and there should be more people like you in the world. Thank you for sharing your experiences on this website. Bless you.
I have ferals. I have about l5 and have helped about ll of them. I have two who have bonded with one another and I am able to get close to them. They are so sweet and loving and I say a prayer for them every nite. I feel if I missed saying that prayer, something would happen to them. It is just part of what I do. I feed them twice a day and sometimes more if I am around. I have put shelter out for them but they love to be in the open or prefer to hide under a bush. If anything happened to them I would be heart broken as I have bonded with these wonderful creatures.
Well done Diane. You should share your knowledge on PoC. I’d love find out your basic principles of taming feral cats.
I have tamed many feral cats…food, water, patience and love 🙂