Calling all cat lovers!

[Kimenem]

Here's the situation: I have a small wooded area behind my house but also in between 3 other houses. A couple of weeks ago, I looked outside and saw 4 cats in my yard, sitting under the tree where we feed the birds and squirrels (sp). Anyway, I noticed they were trying to eat the food set out for the other animals. This broke my heart because, though I'm a dog lover, I would never want any animal to be hungry. So I started leaving a small bowl of cat food under the tree 2x per day (am/pm). They are eating it. Two of them look to be young and I think one of the four is the mother. The problem is I think they are "doing there business" in the flower beds and burying it. When I let my dogs out, they sniff it out and do something with it that is too disgusting to type. They were coming in the yard BEFORE I startedleaving them food so I don't know how long this has been happening. But I'm worried since they are strays my dogs could get sick from doing what they are doing if I can't catch them in time. Any suggestions? If I try to catch them, animal control will put them down I'm sure and they are so cute. I don't even know if anyone could catch them because they are very jumpy and run if my dogs even bark while inside the house.

 

[kathryn]

Is there an animal rescue group in your town? (there's one in my town that fosters animals while trying to find them homes). If so, get in contact with them to trap and spay/neuter and foster.

How do you feel about catching them and having them spayed/neutered? Is there a group in your town that does this? If noone does it, there will soon be more than 4 cats to worry about.

As for their 'business': cats instinctively want to bury their waste (unless they consider themselves the 'top cat' of the area--usually a huge male, then they will take a dump right in the middle of the lawn and not cover it, to show that they do not need to be submissive to anyone).

Garden soil is the perfect consistency for digging, in their opinion.
There are ways to make it less appealing. Some people use mothballs, but that's not too enviromentally sound. I've seen for sale mats with rubber 'spikes' that you can put on the soil: they don't hurt the cats at all, but annoy them enough to keep them from digging.

 

[dss62467]

Kathyrn is right, you should call a shelter or something so they can get those kitties a good home. My dogs have all raided the cat box when they were puppies. The older ones outgrew it and I'm in the process of teaching the youngest to leave it. They could get sick from eating it. Buster puked all over one of my sofa blankets (thank god it was the blanket and not the sofa) and had diarrhea for a few days. The other 2 were never affected by it.

Your best bet is to help them find a home so they won't leave your dogs presents.

 

[Kimenem]

I don't know of any rescues around here. Can cats give dogs any kind of disease (other than rabies or somethring like that)? I'm not worried about them coming into contact with each other but with my dogs doing this....

 

[lifeverlasting78]

I don't know of any rescues around here. Can cats give dogs any kind of disease (other than rabies or somethring like that)? I'm not worried about them coming into contact with each other but with my dogs doing this....

Hi Kimenem,
Cats can carry diseases such as Feline Leukemia and FIV (which is basically a feline form of the AIDS virus), but they are species specific and cannot give these diseases to your dog. I'm not sure of any other diseases, other than rabies, or if they can make your dog sick from eating their "business".

I totally agree with everything Kathryn said. Call around and see if there are any "no-kill" shelters in your area who would take the cats and not euthanize them. It's sad because the way you described them as being "jumpy" or run when they hear anything, it sounds like they may be feral and ferals have less chance for adoption (Although, as a side note, I did rehabilitate two ferals in my time, so I don't believe it's totally impossible for a feral to be tamed.) Anyway, that's a whole different story and not part of your question!

Can you check around and see if there are any low cost spay/neuter programs in your area? They could give you a humane trap with which you can set up with some food, trap the cats, and bring them in to get spayed/neutered, to at least try and prevent offspring. The low cost spay/neuter programs we have where I live also offer free rabies shots.

I'm not an expert but have tons of experience with strays, rescue and trap/neuter. I just love cats and wish I could save them all! As for your dog, I'm not 100% sure of the risks, maybe worms? As another poster mentioned though, my dog has also eaten our cats feces, and she has been okay so far but then again, she takes heart guard and our cats are healthy. I would suggest you call your vet to find out and see what he/she says.

If you need help with anything at all, please let me know. I'll even help you make some phone calls if you'd like!

Christine

 

[Reese777]

Kim,

You need to take some action to either have someone collect the cats and have them fixed, or do it yourself. Some agencies will let you borrow a live trap. How big are the small cats? Are they older than kittens? I have rescued many ferals since 1997. If you work with them, they will eventually warm to you, but once they're older than about 2-3 months, they can't really be domesticated.

You will be over run with cats/kittens very soon if you do not take action. It only takes 9 weeks for a female to have a litter and some do it through the cold months too. Kittens can get pregnant very quickly too; it doesn't take long for little females to go into heat.

I don't think the dogs can catch much from eating the kitty poo other than maybe worms...just for reference, mothballs are toxic to cats and I believe dogs too. Be careful with that. It may make them stop going in the flower bed temporarily, but if you get over run with kittens pretty soon there will be no stopping anything!

My husband and I have rescued over 60 cats since the late 90s and most of them have been ferals and their off spring!

 

[Kimenem]

Well the little ones are definitely not still kittens but they are smaller then the other two. I haven't noticed any "poo" in the yard not buried so I don't know if any of them are males. I guess I do need to call the shelter but I already know that if they come pick them up, they will try to make them appropriate for adoption but if they can't, they put them down. We had another cat a year or so ago but he was very friendly and I found a home for him. I don't want my dogs to get worms and I wonder if their heartworm med. will protect them. I think it also protects against other types as well. I guess I need to make some calls. I just don't want anything bad to happen to them. OUt of the 3 houses around me, they just HAD to wander into MY yard!
Do you think if I start feeding them on the other side of the fence which is in the wooded area where they stay, then maybe they would start "going" out there?

 

[kathryn]

I haven't noticed any "poo" in the yard not buried so I don't know if any of them are males.

Most cats, including male cats bury their poo, it's just the rare 'top dog'--so to speek!--neighborhood stud who will not bury his (their was one of those in the neighborhood I used to live it).

 

[Reese777]

Well the little ones are definitely not still kittens but they are smaller then the other two. I haven't noticed any "poo" in the yard not buried so I don't know if any of them are males. I guess I do need to call the shelter but I already know that if they come pick them up, they will try to make them appropriate for adoption but if they can't, they put them down. We had another cat a year or so ago but he was very friendly and I found a home for him. I don't want my dogs to get worms and I wonder if their heartworm med. will protect them. I think it also protects against other types as well. I guess I need to make some calls. I just don't want anything bad to happen to them. OUt of the 3 houses around me, they just HAD to wander into MY yard!
Do you think if I start feeding them on the other side of the fence which is in the wooded area where they stay, then maybe they would start "going" out there?

This would temporarily fix the situation, but pretty soon you'll have so many cats they'll spread out. Then what will happen is they'll start getting into people's trash, and poo-ing in THEIR yards, and THEY will call someone who will come capture them and put them down. Your best bet is call your vet; ask about rescue efforts locally. If one exists, you need to call them and see if they can help you. But - if none exists, see if anyone has a live trap you can use. They are easy to set up and you don't even have to take the animal out of the cage before going to the vet, provided you take them in as soon as you capture. If you set cage up and it gets cold in your area, be sure to check it frequently and set the trap where the wind can't blow on the animal - don't want it staying out in direct elements all night. Since there's four animals, talk to your vet about just the spay and neuter; see if he/she will work out a cheaper fee since you're doing a rescue - some will do this.

Believe me - you want to make sure they can't reproduce. And you may not want anything to happen to them, but if you do not take action, someone will, and it may not be in the best interest of the animals.

I don't think heartworm meds protect against tapeworms, etc. You should definitely talk to your vet about that situation. I also know there are some specific plants you can buy at Lowes that give off an odor that cats find repelling. Of course, that option will have to wait until spring. I think they're called "cat-be-gones" or something....

 

[gettingfitmom]

before you contact any shelter, check w/ the neighbors to see if the cats are theirs. Cats can wander. Chances are they are ttracted to the birds at the feeder. We get the occassional "stray" cat now and then and it usually the neighbors cat. If no one claims them, then try thr shelter. One of our cats wandered off last year and went to a neighbors house. They "claimed" him as their own and even had him neutered(he was only 7 months). About a month later, they put up posters of a "found" cat. I called and they told me they had him fixed!!!!!!!! What was I to do?????? Ask for him back and offer to pay the vet bill??? I ended up telling them they could keep him. I thought that was a littel nervy, but what can you do. They do love him, which made me feel better.

 

[Reese777]

before you contact any shelter, check w/ the neighbors to see if the cats are theirs. Cats can wander. Chances are they are ttracted to the birds at the feeder. We get the occassional "stray" cat now and then and it usually the neighbors cat. If no one claims them, then try thr shelter. One of our cats wandered off last year and went to a neighbors house. They "claimed" him as their own and even had him neutered(he was only 7 months). About a month later, they put up posters of a "found" cat. I called and they told me they had him fixed!!!!!!!! What was I to do?????? Ask for him back and offer to pay the vet bill??? I ended up telling them they could keep him. I thought that was a littel nervy, but what can you do. They do love him, which made me feel better.

How were they to distinguish it was your cat? Did it have a collar? I will be honest with you- if an unneutered/unspayed cat wanders into my area, I assume it is stray because it isn't being taken care of. Some people think they don't have to fix males, but if they go outside you need to because if they aren't fixed they will fight and have a higher risk of contracting feline aids and leukemia. Then the infected males mate with the females and give it to them. I can't tell you how many I've had to put down because of these diseases and how many adult males I've had to take in for surgery due to massive infections caused by fighting.

It's not pretty.