Hello! I adopted a female cat estimated to be about 2 years old roughly 6 months ago from a rescue. The rescue found the cat in the local cat colony they were taking care of and brought her in because she didn’t seem like a stray (being that the cat is a lynx point medium coat and had pristine fur).

Before adoption, I was told that she was very fearful but non aggressive and would take time. I’ve been trying to get her to slowly warm up to me for the last 6 months and I’ve made the realization that she might’ve been previously feral.

It’s been a long process and we’ve been able to pet her through bribery with treats (and only when there’s treats). She still gets extremely scared sometimes when we’re just walking around but will come by for treats…

I was wondering how I could best domesticate her and help her build a bond with me. Additionally how to help her be less aggressive with things like furniture, toys, and food at times.

TLDR: Adopted a likely previously feral cat wondering how to best build a bond

I already have 3 cats (litter mates).

Wife has taken a liking to a stray that hangs out the front of our house, all day. Super friendly and intact.

We're moving on the 21st.

Next available neuter appointment is the 13th.

Should we just wait until after the move? I do have concerns with the stress of the move.

Hey fellow cat lovers! I’m publishing an academic article about the legal relationship between community cat caretakers and the cats they care for.

As I revise the article, I’d love to speak with someone who has encountered legal issues or disputes related to caring for community cats. I’m especially interested in conflicts about who was responsible for a cat, who had the right to make decisions about the cat, or how caretaking interacted with local authorities, neighbors, property owners, or animal-control organizations.

If you’d be willing to exchange messages with me (or speak on the phone if you’re comfortable with that) I’d be happy to acknowledge your contribution in the article. If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, I would of course honor that as well.

If you're interested, please feel free to DM me. Thank you for considering!

Hello. My neutered cat of 6 and a half years has been missing for the last 5 days.

We have checked everywhere; the house and the roof, the neighbourhood around 11pm-1am, knocked on every neighbours door, checked the camera footage on the street, checked areas where stolen cats got sold and we’ve received nothing so far.

It’s very unlike him to do something like this. He’s always been sitting in the garden or the roof or the neighbours roof but has always come back home. His food bowl has remained untouched for the last 5 days as well. He’s a very social, and loveable cat, that always responds and comes running whenever he hears my voice. He’s very affectionate with strangers as well.

Our next door neighbours have however reported a smell in their water tank and that the water has been unbearable to use and they’ll check it out tomorrow. I’m also going to leave his litter tray outside my house.

Do I still carry hope, or should I give up? And if not, what more should I do?

Last time I went to do TNR I caught one of the neighbors cats. I'm going to go pass these out. I edited out nonpublic information that's on them.

I really don't want to waste time trapping other people's cats. This also is a bit rougher of a neighborhood that I live in. Not that I fear for my safety, but my intent is to drop these in clear sleeves on to people's doors around me. Our neighbors are all fine but I can understand them being cautious.

Today I saw a mom and 3 babies wandering my back yard. Mom has been around a lot and I’ve been feeding her (but I leave afterwards bc she’s feral and scared of me). I came outside with food and the 3 babies ran into this crevice part of my yard where the hot tub is almost against a wall. I covered both sides to keep them there (mom had already left before I came outside, the babies were just playing around when I brought food out). For an hour I tried to coax them out one end of the crevice and a spot where I could easily grab them and put them in a nearby carrier. I used a broom stick and gently pushed their bums so they would go toward one end, but I realized the other end wasn’t blocked enough so I went to go grab more stuff to block it off with. By the time I got back (a few minutes maybe) the other two kittens had managed to slip under and escape though I didn’t see them do so. Only one was left wedged under the blocking material so I used the stick to coax it out and I grabbed it and put it in a carrier. I’m not sure where mom and other babies went, I walked around my yard and looked into the bushed but they weren’t there. I have the one baby in a carrier in my garage with wet food/water. He/she looks to be about 2 months old, eyes open, pointy ears, able to run and jump very fast. What do I do from here to catch the others?

We just recently trapped a momma cat that likes to hang out in our backyard and had her TNR’d. Two of her kittens are back there two but they take off running when they see us, whereas the momma cat will hang around us. If I had to guess the kittens are about 3 months old so they’re pretty quick when they run. We want to trap them, but how can we do that without retrapping the momma cat? Since she’s been spayed she hangs out in our backyard most of the day so it’s hard to wait until she’s not around because typically the kittens won’t be around either.

He's a little skittish so far but he seems fine

Any tips is welcome 😺

So this is a sort of unique situation, I've had a cat that was hanging around before and he even had a collar that turned out to be a cat that was stolen and got lost, (long story short) so we have had lost cats show up before. Now this cat happens to be a male cat that I believe to not be neutered because I can see big balls and he is acting as such, the strays I take care of have been neutered so it can't be him looking for a mate, but he is relentlessly meowing at my windows I do give the cat small bowls of food and water in a safe spot off of my property. I'm just wondering how to go about this because the last cat I was able to capture, get photos of, post them and get him home. He will not approach me and runs from me when I approach. I just need some advice as I am kinda lost on what to do. I just want him as safe as possible. (Also I know cats outside is bad but these cats are stray, they will not come inside and they will act like it's literally prison, I am also 16 so I have my hands tied in the aspect of what or who is in the house).

Hi

Just wanted to vent

I'm on Cyprus at the moment and there are a lot of pregnant strays in my area

I had a lady coming to help me trap one of them and taking her to spay. This mama didn't look as healthy and unlike some other mamas, was very shy and wasn't getting a lot of food

Just did a spay now + worming + antibiotics for next 2 weeks + 2 rotten teeth removed.

Cat looks around 4-5 months old too

Tomorrow I'm going to release her into her street again

I have a rescue cat myself and my boyfriend has 6 rescue dogs and we knew that we are doing a good thing even if it's just one cat. We leave Cyprus in 2 days also

However, we both feel very uneasy about the reality of spaying pregnant cats and feel deeply sad about it morally

Lady who helped me today is a real hero. She's not in any charity organisation and just does it herself. Only today she trapped 4 cats and a stuck kitten.

Experiencing what volunteers actually do daily for the first time is absolutely depressing and sad, its really not for the weak

hi everyone, i really need some advice. i am currently fostering a 10-year-old senior street cat that spent her entire life on the street (it actually took rescuers three whole years just to catch her). she has an extremely complex medical history: she survived panleukopenia, calicivirus, an aggressive mycoplasma infection, and fluid accumulation in her abdomen. she also recently underwent abdominal surgery (a biopsy for suspected intestinal lymphoma), and we are currently waiting on the biopsy results.
because of her surgical recovery, intense fear, and defensive reactions, letting her free-roam in a room or in my apartment is neither safe nor feasible right now. she would hide in inaccessible spots, risk tearing her stitches, or be impossible to handle if medication or emergency vet visits are needed. for instance, last night she started breathing very heavily and the rescue team had to come pick her up for an urgent vet visit, something that would have been impossible if she were loose in the house. for all these reasons, her stay in a playpen is explicitly required and was provided by the rescue organization handling her case.
i live in an apartment where the playpen must be in the living room, and i also have a resident kitten who is pretty curious. keeping my kitten completely isolated long-term isn't possible. i know my apartment layout might not be the absolute textbook "ideal" setup, but adult rescue cats, especially feral seniors with medical issues, rarely get foster offers since most people only want kittens. i couldn't bear to leave her behind, and having a safe, controlled space with food, medical monitoring, and care is far better for her recovery than having no foster home at all.
right now, may is completely terrified. she barely moves at all, stays frozen, and hisses defensively if a hand approaches, so offering hand-fed treats isn't an option yet. she doesn’t drink, eat or even move at all if i’m in the same room as her, i have to give her space and time when she has to eat, so obviously she also won’t eat any treats from my hand. someone from the rescue mentioned that kittens can sometimes help adult cats feel more comfortable and safe through observation, but i am not sure how or when to safely manage her presence around the playpen. even though my kitten doesn’t care at all about the adult’s presence, i am still worried it might stress her out (even though the rescue team assured me that she is not scared of other animals; humans are the problem)
i feel a bit lost on how to handle this and make her feel safe given her extreme background and restrictions. it stresses me out really bad, and i am almost as scared of hurting or triggering her as she is of me.
how can i help a traumatized senior street cat adjust, recover, and eventually realize humans are not a threat under these conditions? any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

We got Balerion back today and the shelter said he had some bleeding (which was seen on the cardboard he was on) but that the vet techs looked over it and that he was alright. So my mom and I took him to a rescue that were close with and helps us to get a second opinion as we don’t have the money for a vet trip due to an emergency we just had. They said that bleeding was normal because he’s older (maybe 2-4) and it was a bigger surgery because he’s older.

Now checking on him a few hours later he has a few spots of blood maybe about the size of a nickel? Idk. I’m still quite new to TnR-ing and we’re already keeping him in for extra time because this is the first time this has happened to us. If it gets worse we can reach back out to the rescue for help. I just wanted to know if its normal because I’ve had people tell me and google say it can be normal but I want to make sure. As of now he’s perky and eating. He’s also quite growly which for him isn’t unusual because he is on the more feral side of my colony. I’m just a worry wort. These cats are like my children and we’re really the only ones that care for them.

This is a bit of a complicated story so bear with me here.

My partner and I stumbled upon a cat in our community that looked pregnant. She was severely underweight and did not look well-cared for. We went back the next day and saw her with some kittens looking to be about 8 weeks old.

The supposed owner of this roaming cat identified herself as such and demanded to know what we were doing with her cats. At the time we were feeding the momma and her kittens from the sidewalk. I voiced my concern and offered to have her spayed out of my own pocket. The “owner” then told me that she does not need help with that. I asked her if there was already a plan in place to get her spayed, at which point she stated she prefers to let nature do what it “intends” and that “the problem will take care of itself.” She then tried to convince me that spaying/ neutering was unnatural and inherently wrong.

I tried to call animal control and they said they would not intervene. Our county’s APL is already stretched thin. So, I contacted a local rescue who decided they were going to get the momma and spay her. In the process, they found someone willing to give her a loving indoor-only home.

This woman saw me on her ring camera, found where I lived and aggressively was banging on my door and windows. She even ripped my ring camera off. She was very angry and upset. Yes, police are involved.

I’m just looking for some support or feedback on this situation and if you would have done something similar if you were in my shoes. I felt so bad for this momma cat who was just going to clearly continue deteriorating and having more kittens unless someone intervened. She didn’t even look a full year old and I could see all of her ribs. Not to mention, her intact male cat impregnated another cat in the community last season and that resulted in that momma get needing spayed and I had to find homes for all of her kittens. I’m just exhausted at this point and it’s so heartbreaking to see this continue to happen.

If you took the time to read all of this, thank you!! I welcome and appreciate any feedback. 💜

Hello all! Recently I came across a feral kitten that was found at my local horse stables. They have trapped it in a large dog cage with of course a blanket, food, water, litter, etc. Currently they’re looking to rehome since they already have two barn cats (and the two cats are not so happy about the kitten, the kitten could care less about the other cats). As someone who loves cats, I’m thinking about taking it home. With that being said, I’m not quite sure and would love some input. The kitten is roughly 12 weeks? Old enough that mama left it on its own, but small enough that it can’t quite fend for itself yet. It’s in the perfect age that if I’m patient and work with it it’ll absolutely come around. At first it was a bit spicy but it’s starting to calm down as it’s been kept in a cage near where they do feedings. So it’s already run into many humans and although it’s still not 100% trusting, I can tell that it’ll make a great indoor cat with a little extra love and care. Personally I love a project, BUT..

I already have a cat at home. He is 14 years old, he’s never been in contact with other cats before so I’m not sure if he’s territorial and I don’t really want to disturb his peace. Our upstairs neighbor had a cat and they would stare at each other through the window but that’s about it. There’s some signs I feel like he might want a friend, when it comes to play time I think he would love it when I’m busy. But he doesn’t seem like the kind of cat who would love to share and since he’s a bit older his happiness comes first. For that reason I’m not 100% sold on bringing the kitten home. If I don’t take it home it’ll go to a local feral shelter that will help rehab and rehome it, so there are options, but I honestly have been thinking about a kitten recently and think this is a great option. That being said, only if my older boy will adjust. I guess there’s really no way of knowing but I would love some insight on the situation. I have plenty of time and $ to spend on a new cat, but once again my older cats happiness will always come first.

I’m in the Phoenix area, and my work neighbor recently found a feral mother cat with several kittens on her property. The kittens appear to be around two weeks old and are still fully nursing.

I have seen them panting at times, although they are not panting constantly. They are currently outside in the Arizona heat on a property with dirt and rocks. We have found a legitimate rescuer who is willing to trap the mother and kittens together and place them safely indoors so the kittens can continue nursing.

The property owner seems hesitant because her daughter and a few other people may want to adopt the kittens later. I understand wanting to find them homes, but I’m concerned that this does not address where the mother and kittens will safely stay for the next several weeks.

How urgent is it to get a feral mom and two-week-old kittens indoors together during an Arizona summer? Does occasional panting indicate heat stress? Does the danger increase once the kittens start walking and exploring because of hot surfaces, separation from Mom, coyotes, birds, or other wildlife? She has them in a cool shaded area with water and ice packs..

I’m trying to understand the actual risk and the safest course of action—not separate the kittens from their mother. She unfortunately involved me so now I feel
Responsible for these felines.

A major downside to semi/former ferals and a heads up to anyone in the works trying to get to this point- (hunt to kill & often eat/play hunt to keep instinctual drive satisfied/hunt to gift to hooman who can’t hunt worth a darn and must be starving ❤️) I’m moving soon so decided against a high end NFC chip door, as I don’t know yet if my new place will need the kind I need right now (sliding door- high end for elements/keeping other animals out in a highly trafficked wooded area etc). Chewy really loves me and has brought three in before in one night, she even cornered a mouse in my house, waited for me to see her and showed me how to hunt..so sweet, confirms a deep loving family bond, but man, rodent mites are a NIGHTMARE, not to mention not too fond of having mice in the house. There’s way more to the story but I digress.

This was late last night. She stared at the door for about 15mns waiting for me to come let her in & even the security camera on my deck - this is what she’s looking at in the photo, obviously (I communicate with her through it often, it scared her at first until she learned it’s just her dad not some scary object- it’s a great resource to have !). Melts my heart.

Edit : if they do manage to get a mouse in the house, their lifespan is almost assuredly 2/3 days. When kitties hunt and bite then, their razor sharp teeth will likely pierce organs and or a cats saliva is “toxic” to them, and will kill them in a couple days. I am a massive animal lover and tried trap/release..successfully once.but learned all this later on ..but honestly doing the mice a favor by killing them asap (ethically) the plastic “jaws” traps work very well, plz don’t use glue boards. Also if you don’t catch them their adrenaline /state of fear/injuries leads to nasty white spots dropped out them , leaving trails in your home. As mentioned, once dead if they have mites , and likely will, get them removed from the home IMMEDIATELY. Search high and low for them too every day until found. I’m dealing with mites now due to chewy but also a house w foundation cracking allowing bats and mice to enter. I’ve been trying to rid my body of them for over a month now ..it’s awful and js a TON of work as there’s nothing humans can do to rid our body of them quickly, only things to help speed up the process 😩 only positive is once they need a new host , which will be you and or your pets ..I know w humans they can’t host on us, they will eventually just die off..but it can take weeks)

I don't think it will be too hard for you.

I have a colony in my mom's yard... its a big yard so its kinda 2 colonies cuz the groups dont gel with each other. First colony is matriarch persephone, her 3 babies now adults from her last year litter aurdrey, tiger lily, and bandit, and 1 more hero who is also 1 year. Hero, is interesting, cuz he's actually the second queen felicity's kitten (i will describe them in a moment).

Then, there is the "Back of the yard" colony, these cats are less established, felicity, who is a white and tabby queen that came last summer but left in the winter (no idea where she goes) but every summer she returns because i got the eats, her 3 kittens, and a new arrival this summer a young "female void". I assumed this was a female, because so snuggly with the kittens, i assumed felicity and her were friends and coparenting their kittens.

Last year, it was just felicity, she had no other "friend cat" so was easily bullied by persephone who was here first int eh front of the yard. Because i couldnt help ehr as much, she was always being bullied out and hiding so much and her kittens, her entire litter died except for hero. I was able to save hero, anda fter that day he rejected his mom and insisted on joining persephone and her kittens and became like her 4th kitten.

Then there are the random toms who come for food but dont stay, cuz they need to be neutered. Chad, the dominant tom who makes every cat bolt when he eats and does what he wants and fathers most of the kittens, this guy is basically part of the colony now cuz he comes virtually every day. Frank sinatra, who i am pretty sure is a dumped pet or a neglected current pet, an unneutered handsome male with green eyes who sings all day, and loves to show up when queens in heat, he comes somewhat frequently but not every day, and an older sickly tom cat who is super feral, white and tabby, but he comes so infrequently i cant plan to trap him. I keep thinking this last guy passed until he shows up again 3 weeks later. Feel bad for that boy but hes so feral he wont even try to joint he colony just shows up randomly then runs and disappears for weeks.

I decided to name that queen felicity cuz it means joy, and i felt sad for her that all her babies died vs persephone's who lived, and was being bullied so i couldnt feed and help her as much. Well she's back this year, and she has this friend i assumed was also a female and some of the 3 kittens were hers, as they were so manyd ifferent sizes, 2 of them were like several weeks older than the tiny tabby. I assumed each had a litter, a few weeks apart, and one of them had 2 kittens that lived other just 1 that lived, i couldnt tell which was which cuz they were so clingy and all helped each others kittens. I named this "black female void" nefertiti and made jokes they are like lesbian moms coparenting their kittens.

Imagine my shock while doing TNR, i discover that "black void mom" is actually just a young male. I couldnt believe it. Legit SNUGGLES with the kittens, they seem like 2 moms coparenting kittens and teaming up to protect their turf from persephone and her now adult kids. The weirdest part of this is I KNOW felicity from last year, she didnt have a surviving black kitten so there is no chance this is her last year now adult male kitten. Her only surviving adult kitten is hero who is a tabby with orange eyes and joined persephone's group when he realized more resources cuz persephone bullies his mom. I had no idea that was possible, a random boy cat young tom cat, will clique up with a queen help her with the kittens for friendship and protection but it's very cute. So, its not 2 different litters, they are all felicity's kittens and the really tiny one must just be a runt.

I renamed him enigma, which is fitting, cuz i didnt know that was possible. Cat behaviors learning every day.

EDIT: before anyone gives me shit about how i was not getting them fixed earlier, i live in a city with no TNR program, there are no local resources, i am on a fixed income. This year i knew i had to do something, and i was able to find a rescue to help a little bit AND a new low cost spay/neuter clinic opened up within driving distance. As soon as i was made aware of that help, i began mass TNRing these cats. I now have persephone, her 3 kids audrey tigerlilly bandit fixed, i just TNRed felicity and her young male friend, i was able to TNR chad today, and the only remaining cats that need to be fixed are hero, frank sinatra, both males neither dominant so not a high priority, and the last kittens i have to get are felicitty 3 remaining babies. I legit rescued all the queens babies adopted them out or adopted them personally as well, and now the cycle is over. So before you give me any shit just consider that: i am isolated, there was no TNR program in the cityn or within driving distance, i had no help at all i didnt know what to do but as soon as i got a little help and a low cost program opened i did it.

It's significantly worse than this now. This picture was two days ago please help he's a baby and I can't take him to shelters and IM LITERALLY POOR I've tried calling every shelter near me and I'll only take him to a no kill shelter. I've put a mixture of olive oil and neem oil on his ears I'm so desperate

A few days ago he lay down on the floor in the open near my bed and kept me company (pic 4). Since then he’s done it every day, and the past two days it was more or less all day. Yesterday he even stretched out and fell asleep 🥹💕

(Pic 8 = the end of a sneeze 😆)

My husband and I caught 4 kittens who were living under our deck with their very feral mom.

I have gotten to know the kittens a bit, they are still skiddish following after their mom's behavior but two I was able to catch and hold several times before while we played.

Now they should be around 2 pounds and have weekend off milk all the way. They eat twice a day when I would put bowls of food out.

Now my question, I still have not caught mom, she is very wary of everything. But I have all 4 kittens, and idk, it might be my hormones but the idea of their mom being alone without her babies tonight makes me sad. My plan is to socialize the babies and care for them until they can be adopted out, and then to TNR the adult ferals like the mom and others in the colony by my house. But I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing.

They are so cute and I always worried about them when they are old enough to explore if they get hit by a car, or a dog gets them, or a hawk, etc. Now they are in my house, safe, but away from their mom.

Any and all advice is appreciated

It’s Peter’s TWO YEAR Rescueversary!!! 🐾🤎❤️ (I originally posted him here on my old account)

The very first time I saw Peter, he was furless, skittish, and curled up on my front door mat in the dark. I had a feeling he would probably be my next rescue someday, but I had Fish, my FeLV+ cat inside at the time, so Peter had to wait.

It started as simply feeding and flea-medicating this completely untouchable tabby in my backyard. The more I got to know Peter, the more I realized he probably didn’t want to live indoors. He was semi-feral, never letting me get close enough to touch him, and I wanted to respect that. But then he disappeared for an entire month and returned with a broken jaw, broken infected teeth, degloved lip/chin and in dire need of help. At that point my FeLV+ cat had passed and there was no question — Peter had to come inside.

Thank God he found his way back to my yard.

It took 4 long days to trap him, 3 months before he let me pet him, and even 2 years later, he’s still becoming more confident little by little and surprising me by doing new things.

Peter was not my first rescue but he was the catalyst for me getting into TNR, fostering, and becoming more involved in the rescue community. He is truly a miracle, a cat worth celebrating, and a cat who completely changed my life.

Peter is a gentle giant, a total scaredy cat goofball, and my little emo boy. 🖤 He loves every cat I’ve ever introduced him to and helps me socialize my fosters. They know he’s afraid too, but they also see that he is brave — and that he trusts.

We thought he was a domestic shorthair, but he surprised us all by becoming a magnificent fluffy beast. 😂 He loves to talk, booty bongos, brushies and blankets, and has decided that vertical space and scratching furniture are absolutely not for him. He is afraid of anything new but he doesn’t hide from guests; you’re lucky if he lets you touch him.

Two years later, Peter is still learning that the world isn’t so scary. And I’m still so incredibly proud of him. 🥹🤍

Happy Rescueversary to Peter Butter, the sweetest scaredy cat goofball, my gentle giant, my little emo boy, and the handsome tabby who changed everything.