Need Advice: Feral Cat in Puppy's Yard

[DJ & Chance]

A feral cat lives in my backyard, and my puppy Chance is obsessed with its scents and droppings when we go out to play.  If I let him off leash, he runs to the various cat hideouts under bushes, and immediately picks up flees.  The cat has not scratched him, but he has found the remains of birds from kitty dinners.

 

I worry that Chance will be vulnerable to diseases from this cat and its habits.  But I don’t want to hurt the cat and so I am considering a live trap, a trip to the vet for spaying or neutering, flee control, worming, etc.  After that, I imagine relocating the cat because I don’t really want it in my yard. 

 

Cat lovers out there, can you provide advice?  Can feral cats be relocated successfully?  Are there organizations that can help?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Well then, that changes everything. Gosh, I hope someone else chimes in. Would a nearby farmer want another barn cat? Do you think he is adoptable or just too wild?

[DJ & Chance]

The vet doesn't believe he is adoptable, although I have a friend in another state who managed to make friends with a young female feral cat.  It took about two years until the cat would even enter the room she was in.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our cat took forever to let us get near her and I am the only one who can pick her up, but she is not entirely comfortable with it. Everything is on her terms. LOL

I feel badly for this cat. It is the fault of people who don't get their pets spayed and neutered. I fear the pound will put him to sleep. I fed (and gave water) the cats we had and put an igloo out for shelter and tried to make it as comfortable as possible for them. Maybe that is a thought somewhere on your property.

[DJ & Chance]

I won't let the pound get him, that's for sure.  All of my property is inside the fenced area for Chance, but I may need to find a way for the feral cat and pup to live together.  Perhaps I am destined to collect cat poop along with the dog poop and to recover the dead birds, etc., that the cat has killed before Chance finds them.  :)

Thanks, Laurie.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

It is so hard to ignore a needy animal in your yard, I know. He must know you are kind!

[Lisa O.]

I live on a farm and have rescued two ferals that were to be put down at the shelter.  We also have had to deal with neighbors that have not fixed their "barn cats" and have had to catch, fix and release the cats.  To be successful at releasing ferals in a different area they must be contained in the area to be released for 3-4 weeks.  Even then it is very difficult for the cats because it is a new area.  We contained them in a horse stall in our barn for a month.  We put chicken wire around the top so they could not escape.  The organization Alley Cat Allies has a lot of helpful info on their web site.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

A friend of mine has feral cats that live under his deck-and in the summer it is a big problem with odor.  His neighbor feeds them, but they like his house to sleep and populate.  He trapped and released them a few times, but then told me he stopped because you can get fined if caught releasing them in state areas.  he is in a populated area, so state parks are the only sparsely populated areas suitable for release.  well-we get the occasional Norwegian rat at our bird feeders, so at least a feral cat would solve that.  I think there is a nursery rhyme about that sort of stuff.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a13-JbxC98

[DJ & Chance]

Thanks, Lisa.  I had looked at the excellent Alley Cat Allies website, but somehow didn't pick up the information about containment in the new area for 3-4 weeks.  No wonder the little fella came back!