Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Backyard feral cats and kittens on Education Hill


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Last November my small dog was barking crazy. When I went to get her, a mom cat was hissing with all teeth showing protecting her small litter of kittens.  The mom nested her babies near a crawl vent under an eve.  We kept the dog away and fed the family, yet the Tom cat wasn't to be seen.  Soon after their birth, the heavy winds and rains came.  The nursing mom moved her babies (by the scruff) to our above-water, wooden club house about 130 feet away!  We kept feeding her.  Later, I learned most wild kittens die from starvation.  The mom cat hissed and wouldn't get near to us. Oh no, it's a wild, "feral" cat!  One of more than a million in Puget Sound!


It was cold!  The mom moved her kits, again, under the chimney framing to stay warm.  This mom is smart!   We kept feeding her.  The Tom cat finally made his appearance.  He was huge and strong.  He could have easily taken our 10 pound dog down; but Tom was wild and skittish, too.  OMG!  We were feeding a family of four now!  I told Pam and Lexie we had to start thinking about getting them fixed.  But they were so cute!  Look at those little guys looking at you  with their Mom protecting the rear.  What would you name them?

When they were almost up to this size, the Mom moved them from the chimney to our barn-shed down below.  Lots of shelter under the shed and some great places to practice climbing!  The mom was teaching her kits to run and climb when they saw me.  They were 8 weeks old and almost weaned.  Since we couldn't get close to hold them, they became "feral" kittens.  We kept feeding them   Tom always ate first to test the food.  Mom ate next, after submitting, and then her kittens.


I started to get anxious about these guys growing up and going off on their own to make more cats!  Plus, I inherited four cats and never wanted any!  So, I rummaged through the Internet to see what to do.  I was amazed at all the organizations and non-profits with help and advice.  I called a Redmond "Feral Cat Coalition" (no longer in operation) and guess who answered?   Richard Grubb, a beloved Redmond city councilman of 10 years.  [I always remember Richard speaking up to protect Perrigo Heights Woodlands and help us cope with the ordeal.  He is a friend of the environment, a great writer of Letters and true public servant.  I don't know anyone at City Hall who doesn't admire and respect Richard.  ]

Richard gave me four cat traps and told me how to be gentile while using them.  Traps are hard to come by.  I was lucky and caught the Mom first using food for bait.  Tom cats roam alot but he came to see what was wrong and got caught next!  The white kitten was next.  But "blackie" was coy; I caught him in the afternoon.  I drove all four caged cats to a clinic in Lynwood that fixes them for free.  The Tom was heavy!  12 pounds!   These Tom and Mom pictures were taken the day after they got fixed and just before I released them into my backyard.  You can see the mom cat wasn't too happy.  So what came of the family?  The kittens were fostered by a clinic volunteer expert in training wild kittens!  Phew!
The Tom ran off. Will he come see us?  I hope so!  The mom decided to stay and  is "ours"!  Do you want to see a picture of her in our yard?  She's living in the club house and we feed her every day.  She's a good ratter and is nice enough to let us (and Roxy) see her outside of meal-time.

Bob & Pam Yoder

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Feral means "wild", and these cats will not let you get near them.  Many hundreds of them roam around Redmond, but you'd never know it because they are so secretive. No one knows exactly how many feral cats live in the United States, but the number is estimated to be in the tens of millions.  - Meow

Feral Cats At A Glance

Feral cats, sometimes called "free-roaming" or "alley" cats, are homeless domestic felines that have reverted to a wild state. This happens when cats are raised entirely without human contact, generally as offspring of lost or abandoned cats. Feral cats are not just shy, lost pets; they are extremely frightened of people and typically cannot be touched or handled.

Because feral cats are so afraid of people and cannot be successfully socialized, they cannot be placed as companions and are euthanized at most shelters. An alternative for feral cats that many communities are embracing is called trap-neuter-return (TNR).

TNR involves trapping the feral cats in a humane trap, having the cats spayed or neutered, and then re-releasing them back into the area where they were trapped. Spaying and neutering stabilizes the feral population in the neighborhood and helps reduce many of the behaviors that people may find annoying, such as territorial fighting among tomcats and territorial spraying.

-Seattle Human Society

If you want to learn more about them or how to trap them, search:  "feral cat coalition"  or "feral cats" or go here:  http://www.feralcatproject.org/default.aspx


4 comments:

  1. I have had feral cat experience. Some were more like strays than feral cats, but one was so wild. She came inside and we could not catch her. After about 6 months of providing food and water (she hid in our basement ceiling) she ran out the back door and we never saw her again. Her name was Cutie and she was cute.

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  2. Thanks, Bob, for caring for this precious feline family!

    Richard Grubb's wife, Eunice, founded the Feral Cat Coalition many years ago, before anyone really knew about TNR. She has been a devoted advocate for the cats and their caretakers. This couple is truly wonderful!

    I am a resident of Redmond and have been doing TNR for feral cats for many years. I was so grateful for your article. Yes, there are hundreds of feral cats in our community and together we can help each of them. If you see a feral or a stray cat, please put out food for them. If the cat is wild and the end of one of its ears has not been tipped (the top 1/2" of an ear removed). Then it most likely has not been spayed or neutered and does not have a consistent food source. Please follow Bob's lead and do the right thing. Feed, Trap, get it spayed or neutered and then release the cat back where you found it. Continue to make sure it has food, water, and shelter. The feral cat project has all the info you need and will alter and give a rabies vaccine and an eartip for free. They will even treat for fleas and vaccinate for a $10 donation! Many of us have traps you can borrow and answers for your questions. These cats can have a great quality of life. I feed several cats that I trapped over 12 years ago. One now even lets me pet her(but only me) and I feel so honored!

    Please alter all of your cats (and dogs). There are not enough loving homes for all the animals. We are trying to alleviate future suffering by lowering the birth rate, not by raising the euthanasia rate. (Though killing because there aren't enough homes with humans isn't really "euthanasia.") If you cannot afford to spay or neuter your pet there are several organizations that can help. Contact the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project,The Seattle Humane Society (in Bellevue!), or People for Abandoned Pets.

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  3. We also had a large, orange feral cat that we fixed. I think it was pregnant. When they're fixed the clinic notches their ear so when they're released, if they're trapped again, the "trapper" and clinic knows they're feral.. We have lots of shelter in our backyard.ao we attract a lot of them. The Tom visits us about every two years. The mom visits us about 3 times and year and sits on our porch rail. We've named her "Pepper"

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  4. What is the law concerning free roaming cats in King County? I have neighbors cats who poop in my backyard and garden and now interact rather badly with my new dog. . Or okay with me. These cats are not long for this world- either I or the dog is going to take care of them. . But I can't find any regulations that I can hand to the owner when I hand them back their cat for one last time

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