Feral cats are the 'wild' offspring of domestic cats. They are mainly the result of pet owners' abandonment or failure to spay and neuter their animals, allowing
them to breed uncontrolled. Feral cat 'colonies' can be found behind shopping areas or businesses, in alleys, parks, abandoned buildings, and rural areas.
They are elusive and do not trust humans.
Many people assume their animals will survive when they move away and leave them behind. Contrary to popular belief, domestic animals do not automatically
return to their "natural" instincts and cannot fend for themselves! Already, U.S. animal shelters are forced to kill an estimated 15 million homeless cats and dogs annually.
The alternative to humane euthanasia for almost every stray is a violent end or slow, painful death. Many "throwaways" die mercilessly outdoors from starvation,
disease, abuse --- or as food to a predator.
Safe Haven believes that ALL cats deserve to be cared for. Admittedly, the problem is much bigger than Safe Haven Cat Rescue, or any other group, can deal with single-handedly. We are, however, actually doing something to address the problem. Feral cats may not like humans but they deserve to be treated humanely and cared about.
There is a huge feral cat problem in our area. We have been working for years to improve it. It has been a very frustrating, uphill battle.
Last time I checked it was illegal in Manahawkin to care for feral cats and it was considered animal abuse to get a feral cat ear tipped while they were being spayed/neutered.(Feral cats are often ear tipped to easily identify them as cats that have been spayed/neutered and returned to a colony)
Safe Haven is simply not equipped to care for a feral cat colony or rehome feral cats. At this time we do not have the room or the manpower. What we CAN and HAPPILY do is
offer advice on trapping, spaying/neutering. We are working on more fundraising ideas to provide more assistance. We loan out traps and will work with feral kittens when possible to rehabilitate them to make them adoptable. Due to to the overhwelming requests for us to take feral kittens we cannot take them all in.
In 2006 we have already taken in 15 feral kittens from one location.
When we have the room we will work with feral kittens we feel can be socialized and eventually adopted.
We always try to empower people, there is almost nothing that we do that you cannot do yourself. Many people just want someone to come and solve their problems for them with no effort involved. Many people don't understand that we are regular people with regular jobs and families.
Our resources financially and volunteer wise are so limited that we cannot trap cats for you. We also have nowhere to relocate feral cats.
I personally have 3 feral cats that I have been working with for over 5 years now.
Nick, Nora & Asta are brother and sisters. I took them from another rescue that was not working with them and just keeping them caged 24/7.
Nick and Nora started being more friendly about 2 years ago. They all live in our house like housecats. Asta is still wild and chooses to live on our back porch.
Nick and Nora are much friendlier. Nora has started sleeping with us! Nick gets more friendly whenever we have chicken for dinner. Oddly enough they bonded with our two dogs before they trusted us humans.
We are working on building drop traps. These traps are great for catching the elusive cats in a colony.
Instructions can be found online to build your own drop trap.
**UPDATE** Thank you very much to Gary Kramer who built us our very first drop trap. He did a great job, and modidified the online plans to make an even better trap. You can see photos below. The cat in the photo is NOT a feral cat, it's Pearl who wanted to see what we were doing.
Studies have proven that trap-neuter-release is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat
colonies with the least possible cost to local governments and residents, while providing the best life for the animals themselves.
Humane Trapping Instructions:
Preparation for trapping
If possible, get the cats used to being fed at the same place and time of day. Try leaving the trap wired to stay open and covered with a
large towel or sheet for several days so that the cats will get used to seeing and smelling it in the area. Don’t feed the cats the day/night before
you are going to trap so the cats will be hungry. Be sure to notify others who may feed the cats not to leave food out either.
Plan to trap so that you don’t have to keep the cat too long before surgery. Trapping the night before is usually the best approach. Cats should not eat
12 hours prior to surgery. Plus a hungry cat is more likely to enter the trap
Prepare the area where you will be holding the cats before and after the clinic. A garage or other sheltered, warm, protected area is best. Lay down
newspapers to catch the inevitable stool, urine and food residue. You may want to use pieces of wood to elevate the traps off the newspapers. This allows
the mess to fall through the wire away from the cats.
Prepare the vehicle you will use to transport them as well. Put down plastic or trash bags to protect your cars interioer. But remember that you will need to use newspapers or
some other absorbent material in addition. ( Urine will roll right off of the plastic and that isn’t what you want )
Plan your day of trapping carefully. Remember that if you trap an animal and release it for some reason, it is unlikely that you will be able to catch it again….they
learn very quickly.
If you are trapping a lactating female you MUST locate her kittens and trap them as well.
Young kittens who are not fully weaned will starve and die without their mother. They will need to be kept with their mother or removed and bottle fed.. If you wish to tame and
foster the kittens to adopt out, they should be taken
from the mother at about 4 weeks. Around 4 weeks of age kittens start to develop teeth and begin weaning.
They may still need extra care and bottle feeding if they are not eating on their own. If you wait until the kittens are older than 4 weeks before trying to tame them
you will find the job progressively harder with age.
Setting the traps:
Plan to set traps just before or at the cats’ normal feeding time. This is often at night. Dusk is usually the best time to set traps.
Don’t trap in the rain or the heat of day without adequate protection for the trap. Cats are vulnerable in the traps and could drown during storms or suffer from
heatstroke in the sun. Use common sense !
Fold a piece of newspaper to line the bottom of the trap just covering the trip plate. Cats don’t like walking on the wire surface and the paper helps to keep their feet
from going through when you pick up the trap. Be sure that the paper does not extend beyond the trip plate. Too much newspaper can interfere with the trap mechanism
or prevent the door from closing properly.
Plan placement of traps on a level surface in the area where the cats usually feed or have been seen. Cats are less likely to enter the trap if it wobbles. If trapping in a
public area, try to place traps where they will not be noticed by passersby (who may not understand that you are not trying to harm the cat). Bushes are often places
where cats hide and provide good camouflage for the trap.
Use smelly food to bait the trap. We find that canned Salmon or Tuna is very effective and relatively inexpensive. It is best not to put any bowls inside the trap to hold food since
the animal can easily hurt itself on it in a panic.
Soak a small scrap of newspaper (2-3 inches by 3-4 inches) in the Tuna juice and place it on the ground where you plan to place the rear of the trap.
Spoon a small amount of food onto the soaked newspaper scrap and place the trap on top of the food so the food is as far back in the trap as possible while still not
accessible from outside the trap. (You want the cat to go all the way into the trap to avoid being injured when the trap door closes.) Press the trap down onto the food
so that it squishes up through the wire. The idea is to make the food a little hard to get so that the cat has to go into the trap as far as possible and has to work at getting
it long enough to trip the trap. (Some cats are very good at getting in and out of traps without getting caught. We don’t want to make it too easy for them to get away with
that trick. Also, having the food essentially outside of the trap prevents the cat from eating it in the trap before surgery and is less messy.)
After baiting the trap, open the trap door by pushing the top of the door in and pulling the bottom of the door upward. There is a small hook attached to the right side of the
trap top. It hooks onto a tiny metal cylinder on the right side of the door. The hook holds the door in an open position which also raises the trip plate. When the cat steps
on the plate it will cause the hook to release the door and close the trap.
After setting the trap, cover it with a large towel or piece of towel-sized material. Fold the material at the front end of the trap to expose the opening while still covering the
top, sides and back of the trap. The cover will help to camouflage the trap and serve to calm the cat after it is caught.
Waiting for success:
Never leave traps unattended in an unprotected area, but don’t hang around within sight of the cat (or you will scare it off). The trapped animal is vulnerable. Passersby
may release the cat or steal the trap! Wait quietly in an area where you can still see the traps without disturbing the cats. Check traps every 15 minutes or so. You can
often hear the traps trip and see the cloth cover droop down slightly over the opening from a distance. As soon as the intended cat is trapped completely cover the trap and remove the trap from the area if other cats are not in sight. You may consider putting another trap in the same spot if it seems to be a "hot" one. Be sure to dispose of the food left on the ground when you pick up the trap. (You don’t want to litter or give out any freebies and spoil any appetites!)
When you get the captured cat to a quiet area away from the other traps lift the cover and check for signs that you have the correct animal and not a pet or previously
neutered feral. If you note that you have captured a lactating female check the
area for kittens. Cover the cat back up as soon as
possible. Uncovered, the animal may panic and hurt itself thrashing around in the trap.
Of course, there is always the chance that you will catch some other wild animal attracted to the food or an unintended cat. Simply release the animal quietly as stated
in the releasing procedures here.
Holding procedures
After you have finished trapping, you will probably have to hold the cats overnight until you can take them to the vet. (Unless you have made previous arrangements with a
vet)
Place cats in the prepared protected area. Don’t feed them. You can place a small bowl of water in the trap by opening the trap door just a couple of inches and placing the
bowl by the trap door. Try to use a bowl that won’t be tipped over easily. An empty catfood or tuna can works fairly well. Don’t open the door too wide or the cat may escape. (Be sure to remove the bowl before transporting the cat to the vet.)
Keep cats covered and check periodically. They will probably be very quiet as long as they are covered. Don’t stick fingers in the trap or allow children or pets near the
traps. These are wild animals which scratch and bite. ALL ANIMAL BITES ARE SERIOUS! IF YOU ARE BITTEN SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION AND DO NOT RELEASE
THE CAT. IT MUST BE QUARANTINED. CONTACT YOUR VET FOR QUARANTINE INSTRUCTIONS.
Wash and change clothes before having contact with your own pets as a precaution against spreading any contagious diseases the cats might carry.
Always get feral kittens checked out by a vet and isolate them from your pets. Some deadly diseases can incubate without symptoms. Check with your veterinarian
and use caution.
Releasing the cats:
If a cat does not seem to be recovering well from the surgery, consider having it checked out by a vet before releasing. When cats are ready for release, return to the
area in which they were captured and release them there. Do not relocate the animal! It will be disoriented and most likely die. In all likelihood, area cats will drive it away.
If the veterinarian has indicated a serious medical problem with the cat which you will not be able to treat, you, with the advice
of the vet, must make the decision on whether it is safe to release the animal or kinder to euthanize it.
Untreated abscesses and respiratory infections, and a number of other conditions, can mean suffering and a slow death.
Make sure the spot you pick for release does not encourage the cat to run into danger (like a busy street) to get away from you.
Keep the trap covered until you are ready to release. When ready, simply hold the trap with the door facing away from you and open the door.
The cat will probably bolt immediately out of the trap. If it is confused, just tilt the trap so the back is slightly up and tap on the back of the trap to encourage it to leave.
Never put your hand in the trap! If the animal still will not leave, prop the door open with a stick and leave it for a while.
A trapped skunk or possum, which is nocturnal, may decide to sleep in the trap all day and not leave the trap until dark.
After releasing the cats hose off traps and disinfect them with bleach. Never store traps in the "set" position (door open); animals may wander into
even unbaited traps and starve to death.
Thank you to the Feral Cat Coalition for some of the information on this page.
Safe Haven Cat Rescue
P.O. Box #142
Manahawkin, NJ
This site is built and maintained by
Lisa Antulonis - President, Safe Haven Cat Rescue
Copyright © 2004 - to infinity...and beyond
This is a picture of Ginger Yawning. Aren't computer graphics programs fun?
please don't steal my graphics. I use my own pets or cats from Safe Haven
in nearly all graphics on these pages.(except where noted).
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