FERAL CATS COLONY UPDATE

After 5 years my Feral cat colony has undergone many changes. The cats under my protection have been systematically trapped - neuteured - and released. They have also been consistantly fed and vaccinated when possible, as well as dewormed once a year.

The neutering program is really paying off. When I moved in this area there were about 8 regular members of the colony. Mostly breeding females with adolescent kitties. There were also about 5 different males who were regulars at the feeding station. Plus 5-6 occasional cats. Now there are 3 Females and 2 males left to the original 14-15 regular cats. There are still 4-5 occasional visitors of which none are breeding females. I have not seen any kitten from this clan in 2 years. Life is hard on feral cats and they tend not to last very long and I have seen a regular reduction in the numbers. Some got sick and just dissappeared. There was an epidemic of panleukopenia that got a few of the teenager cats. At least one was tamed and adopted. (This happens only very rarely). This was my little Tessie.

All the cats are getting older. Mama is probably 10 now and doing very well. Her daughter Abbey is also thriving. The other female lives on top of my garage in her own little shelter and seems to be fine. The little males are also doing very well and because they are neutered don't wander much. Don't mark their territory much and tend to be less aggressive than before. There is less smell and much fewer fights than 5 years ago. The overall health of the colony has skyrocketed with very few cases of sickness or injuries appearing. The animals went from thin scrawney rough looking to healthy and lean.

Even though I feed the animals there has not been any mice / activity in the area that I have noticed. Red caught a mouse yesterday and was very proud to display it in the yard.

This is a "feral problem" that has been solved! I am not the only cat worker in the area but it has not been an enormous amount of work. Just consistant ongoing attention will keep the are free from exploding cat population now.