New place, new neighbors. And as it turns out, I’ve moved in next to the neighborhood’s Crazy Cat Lady.
Mind you, this isn’t the usual Crazy Cat Lady that most of us might picture. She’s married. Her house and property next door are immaculate, save for her porch (where there’s cat food EVERYWHERE). She’s nice. Really nice. So is her husband.
But there’s a half dozen feral cats she feeds. Her husband told me they were strays that “dropped a litter” in his basement window well a couple years back, and they didn’t have the heart to call the animal shelter.
The cats are wild. They emerge from our bushes and startle my wife when we come home at night. They leave gifts of dead moles and mice on the back patio. They stalk the wildlife in our back yard.
And pretty soon, it’s going to be time for conflict with new neighbors who I really like and who I really want to like me. They’re retired. I’m glad they’re around because my wife and I both work and it’s really nice to have people around who will keep half an eye on our house while we’re out for the day. They offer to do nice things for us, like take our recyclables across the street to the recycling center for us. They’re NICE, dammit.
But they’re obviously passionate about taking care of these wild cats. And the second I bring up the notion that I really don’t appreciate them roaming my property, there’s going to be a problem. There’s really nothing they’re going to be able to do, short of getting rid of the cats, to satisfy me. They’re going to tell me that the cats are wild, and that they can’t control them. Yeah, but they FEED them.
Can somebody tell me why people feel compelled to feed strays and pull this “half taking them in, half letting them roam wild” approach to keeping pets? It’s really irresponsible to support a population of former house cats that aren’t spayed or neutered and will continue to grow in number uncontrolled. And it’s annoying as hell.
Find a TNR (Trap, Neuter, and Return) program in your area. Here’s one website. I don’t think it’s realistic to think you’ll convince them to stop feeding the cats, but TNR might be a good compromise. If you bring it up to them in a calm and non-confromtational manner, it shouldn’t strain your neighborly relationship too much.
Set up some humane traps on your property, out of sight of the neighbors. When you catch one of the little darlings, take it to the shelter. They might be too feral to adopt out, but it’s better than simply shooting them.
Why do they do it? They have a higher tolerance for catshit, general cat stink, fleas, and annoyingly loud animals around their house than the average person. Or they think that these drawbacks are outweighed by the ‘fun’ of seeing an animal up close. Like the morons who feed seagulls. Either way, they are unlikely to understand that many other people don’t share their particular mental derangement.
I used to deal with ‘fed feral’ cats constantly in my old job and in some cases, I think it rises to the level of a public nuisance.
A few things to bear in mind:
Be prepared for giant roaches now that the weather has warmed up. The good news is they’ll probably stay near the feeding areas.
Be sure to warn any pregnant visitors not to approach the neighbors’ property. Toxoplasma is spread by contact with cats and their feces, and ferals are very likely to be infected.
Don’t leave your car windows open or you may eventually find your car has been used as a litterbox.
Absolutely true. They need to get involved with TNR, if they do, the population will remain stable and reduce over time. I consider TNR to be a reasonable approach to managing feral cat populations. You have a population that is stable, cared for, reasonably healthy, and are less likely to become a giant nuisance.
You, if you want to have a happy relationship with these people, are going to have to suck it up and live with the cats, because there’s no way you’ll ever take away these “yard kitties” without them feeling like you’ve killed their pet.
While this is absolutely true, I just want to point out the folly in this line of thinking. Essentially, it amounts to:
“I’m going to overwhelm the neighborhood with feral ‘pets’ that are going to roam all over your property whether you like it or not, and if you have an objection or do something to change that, we’re not going to have a good relationship.”
Assumptive, stupid and completely inconsiderate.
I’m going over to talk to them later today. No sense in delaying the inevitable.
TNR, TNR, TNR, TNR. Spin it as the “responsible” thing to do, which it is, for starters. There’s controversy over the “release” part of Trap/Neuter/Release, but there’s no question it’s better than a “Feed and Breed” program.
Many cat rescue charities exist whose main purpose is TNR – usually what holds them back is the property owners not permitting it. If you and the neighbors get in synch on this, the charity will be grateful and do its thing.
It may be that you can talk someone (even these nice old folks) into adopting any kittens this program picks up before they become truly feral; that would speed up the point at which the feral cat colony’s population plummets, which is your goal.
The next step is to get a bird feeder and talk about how much you love birds. That gives you a reason to want the cats off your property that’s understandable to people who like outdoor animals. Maybe the nice old folks will have a change of heart on their own when they see the cats preying on nice little songbirds.
You can escalate by gifting these friendly neighbors with their own bird feeder. Offer to keep it stocked for them if it’s physically difficult for them at their age – you want it to be attracting birds, not empty.
Key phrase bolded. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you had more property to work with than THespos’ neighbors, and therefore your cats had more room to roam without interfering with the neighbors.
I don’t mind a friendly neighborhood cat who occasionally shows up for a belly rub – for example, my own neighborhood has Gray Cat (super-affectionate, purrs when petted) and Stripey Orange Cat (a bit shy, but seems to like quiet people). I also keep a bird feeder in my backyard, and I imagine that it occasionally doubles as a quick buffet for the kitties. I can see a great deal of concern, however, if the cats described in the OP are true feral cats.
I have no advice for the OP. I’ve already made enemies of my backdoor neighbors by asking that they not let their dog shit in my yard (or at least clean it up if he does).
Well, if she stops feeding them, it’s not like they’re going to load up the car and head to Californy looking for work, ya know? They’re going to stay pretty much where they are, except now they won’t have a stable food source and will crank up the wildlife predation. They’ll still be creeping through your bushes, startling your wife, stalking your wildlife. Granted, they’ll eat the moles instead of leaving them on your patio, but still. Eating wildlife will greatly increase their risk of picking up all sorts of dangerous shit. And without someone keeping an eye on them, they won’t get any help if they’re sick or hurt. I’m not really seeing where anybody is any further ahead, honestly.
If you round the cats up and take them to the shelter, they’ll most likely be deemed unadoptable because of their lack of socialization and summarily killed. And the evaluation, the euthanasia solution, syringes, etc, is one more drain on the shelter’s limited resources. And your neighbors will think you’re the asshole of the world, because that’s exactly what they’ve been trying to avoid. And everyone they tell about it, all the neighbors who have known and liked these people for years, are also going to think you’re the asshole of the world. I’m still not seeing where anybody is truly further ahead.
If there are only half a dozen of them after a couple of years, these cats are almost certainly fixed. If not, Momma cat would already have had 4 more litters, and the females from the first litter would have already have had a couple litters each. The population is stable, there’s not much to be gained from her not feeding them or someone taking them to the shelter, so realistically speaking, I think your best bet is to wait for cars and such to pick them off. It’ll most likely happen sooner than later, sadly. And in the meantime, be glad they’re not shitting in your flowerbeds or stomping around on your windshield.
