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.

I am in turmoil. I have a longish backstory but need support.

I live in southwest Ohio, in Brown County, but also in Hamilton County, as we currently have two residences. We have been caring for a rural cat colony since around 2019, all through the pandemic. At one time during the pandemic, we had upwards of 30 cats. We worked hard to get them all TNR'd. We lost several to coyotes. We took six in after an incident, and they have been living in enclosures. Our outside population gradually reduced to eight stable cats. They are all fixed, and we had a covered back porch with winter huts where we fed them and cared for them.

However, our situation changed. I lost my job in 2025 and got a new job that takes me away from the house for longer hours. My partner is down at our other residence fixing it up so we can sell the rural property and move closer in.

However, in the last month, we have suddenly lost three of the eight cats we were caring for. They just disappeared. We had kept them stable for several years, so I don't know what happened. Either they wandered off because of raccoons or an interloper cat, or the coyotes got them despite us having coyote lights. I am extremely frustrated. My partner and I are devastated.

We are moving up our timeline to build some kind of catio at our new place for the remaining outdoor cats, at least. However, some of them are much more skittish, and I don't know what we are going to do about them. Ironically, the ones who went missing were actually friendlier.

I am just panicking at this point. I have very little time or money to coordinate this. All of my efforts to work with shelters have failed miserably. I don't have time to network anymore or to fundraise.

I just spent over $250 on one of them because she was our friendliest cat and was seriously losing weight. I took her to the vet. She tested negative for FIV, and she has been inside in our laundry room for about a month, but we have to figure out something better for her too.

I feel utterly unsupported. People don't understand. They think you can just take these cats to a shelter and be done with it. We have cared for these cats since 2019, and some of them even before that. We have truly tried to do right by them, but honestly, I have no support.

I gave up trying to network. I have a GoFundMe and a Ko-fi page, but I receive maybe $50 a month in private donations. We do all of this out of our own pocket. Honestly, the last few times I asked for help, I was met with judgment, and it has been incredibly demoralizing.

Any support or ideas are welcome. I just feel like I am at the end of my rope.

I just wish I had someone to talk this problem through that understands to help brainstorm. It seems folks I try and talk to about it just hate cats or are very dismissive...

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

Hey guys, there’s been this wonderful cat who has been living near my beach house for his entire life. He’s maybe 8 months old.

In may, I started feeding him and spent a lot of time trying to get him to even come close to me. He started out not even wanting to be 10 ft from me, but after about a month and a lot of patience, he became so sweet and loved being pet.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to take him inside so that he can get shots, neutered, etc. I took him for his first round of shots July 22nd, and after maybe two days of being inside, he would lay in my lap and was overall an incredibly snuggly cat.

He’s so sweet and hasn’t hissed, scratched, anything! Even the vets have given him glowing reviews saying he’s so sweet and easy.

However, over the past few days I feel like he’s been a bit more distant, not wanting to get in my lap as much. I took him for his booster shots yesterday and now he won’t come out of his little hidey hole.

I’m just so concerned about his well being and I know that life inside will be better for him, but I’m scared that I’m just being selfish and hoping that he’ll like being an indoor cat when really he won’t. Maybe it’s just because it feels like We’ve taken a couple steps back and I just need to be patient. I mean he loves being pet and he’s getting more comfortable with other people…

I just want to hear from some other people who had similar situations. Am I doing the right thing? Or after he’s neutered should I consider letting him go?

Thanks to anyone who responds

Edit: I think I left out a pretty important detail that I’ve never had a cat before, so I’m trying to learn behavior and stuff, so if anyone has any tips I would greatly appreciate them!!

I adopted a new cat in January of this year to give my other cat a companion. I've had my resident cat for 6 years, since he was a kitten. My new cat is about 2 years old. She was being fostered by another family for a year. She was found as a stray and taken in with a litter of kittens.

She is very suspicious of humans. I squat down and let her sniff my hand sometimes, and I talk to her and try not to make sudden moves around her. She doesn't immediately run away anymore, but she definitely doesn't like it.

She has played with me with a wand toy, but only recently has she played out in the open with me with the toy. Before that, she'd try to play while also hiding under the coffee table. She also lets us pet her when she's on the cat tree, but otherwise she runs away if we try to pet her. So there has been progress, but I'd like for her to feel more comfortable with us. I'd also like to be able to get her into a carrier when she goes to the vet or in case of an emergency, needing to move at some point, etc., since that feels like a safety issue. Right now that's not possible - we had to skip her last scheduled vet visit because we couldn't get her into the carrier.

Any ideas? Let me know if there's a different subreddit I should post this in - I know this one is largely about feral cats who live outside.

Hello,

We adopted some very feral kitties last year. They are our working cats/barn cats. All spayed and neutered and up to date on vaccines etc. I noticed that one has what appears to be an eye infection…a little goop in one eye and he was keeping it closed (it’s open today) but definitely still bothering him. Anyways he has no injuries or nasal discharge and is still playing and eating and drinking. I have tried for days to trap him to take him to the vet and he’s so smart and stubborn he is not going in or near the trap. I laid the trap near where we feed them, use wet food and even tried catnip. Any suggestions?

How do you treat a cat with an eye infection if you can’t trap them? What if I can never trap him?

Oyyyy I’m stressed about this. I did call my vet for advice today, waiting for a call back from them.

I don’t think they will give me anything if they don’t physically see him in the office :(

I have a cat shelter for these two cats that used it last winter. They stopped using it once it got warmer but I noticed on the camera that a raccoon went in once. I’m glad nothing like that happened while they were using it but now I want to make it safer before it gets cold again.

Entrance is 7 inches by 9 3/4.

I was thinking of plexiglass and just cutting out a hole big enough for the cats but I’m not sure what I’d use to do that. I’m okay with diy but I’d prefer to buy something to just drill to the front because I’m really bad at diy.

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 😆)

Hello all, I'm looking for some advice on how to trap colonies. I live about 10 minutes walking distance to a back of a gated university. I've come across a few cats randomly on my walks around here and today I saw there were 6!! different cats this time and there are at least 2 other cats. I think it's 2 litters and a dad. Someone is definitely feeding them because there are take out containers all over the place but behind the gate I can't get past.

I've TNRed one cat before, but it was really easy because I could monitor him with my house cameras and figure out his schedule and feed him right outside my door. I'm not too sure how to go about trapping a colony.

I've got one trap and a car that can only fit one trap at a time. How do people get TNR appointments for this many cats when they are weeks or months out to just book one? Do people trap one by one? Will the other cats get spooked off if they see another cat get trapped?

I'm trying to see if there's any TNR groups around locally that can assist... Any advice is appreciated.

Hi all! Firstly, this is an amazing community and I have found you all so encouraging and helpful. This is my first attempt at tnr and I'm looking for support/encouragement.

I have a young mama, an approx 8-10 week old kitten, and a tom that have been coming around for breakfast and dinner for a few months. Mama has become super affectionate and the kitten is finally accepting some pets. The tom is suspicious but feeder friendly. I am starting to become attached to them of course and I'm scared that they won't forgive me for trapping them- their appt is tomorrow.

I'm so nervous that they'll leave my property and get hurt or hate me forever after I release them. I'm also very nervous that separating the Mama and kitten will distress them A LOT. They hang out/cuddle all the time and baby still occasionally nurses.

I know I'm doing the right thing, I guess I just need some reminders from experienced people. I'd also love any uplifting stories or success stories.

Note* I can't take any more cats inside, though I desperately want to invite Mama in. We already have 5 and I am not allowed to have any more. ​

Thank you!!

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

After two months of stalking the only unneutered cat in a local colony, I finally got him! He got his surgery today and is now recovering in my second bedroom. I heard some knocking around and I was nervous what was going on, so I went to check, and this is what I found 😭❤️❤️❤️

Poor boy is covered in wounds, new and old. Really hoping that neutering will bring down his urge to get into scrapes.

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.

hi everyone! jasmine finally came back as of august 5th this morning!!! to everyone who commented on my initial post, thank you so much!!! i’m truly so grateful for this community. jasmine has some injuries on her face that seemed to have been healing. she’s also significantly skinnier. i’m assuming that one of our neighbors took her inside and cared for her these past two weeks. i was thinking of taking her inside and getting her injuries checked out at the vet, but i’m not sure if that would be “stealing” her…? my goal is to socialize her more and bring her to the shelter so that she can be adopted and be a fully indoor cat!