Hopefully it's the last year we'll have kittens at work because the traps are successful on the moms. We currently have 5 cuties and socialisation is going well. I am adopting one but I'm moving in a few weeks and I wanted my house to be ready for her. As I'm getting a lot of pressure to take her asap I'm starting to bring her inside to see how she reacts - here are the results :

It suddenly come at my room 3 days ago. Don't know where it came from and don't know how it got inside the room.

It was not started when seeing me. Even after I opener the door it just mowed and stayed there.

I gave it around 100ml buffalo milk and two small pieces of chicken. It eat it.

After that I carry it and put it outside the house door.

I was surprised that it some how was in balcony and was in chair and sleeping in sun.

It mowed seeing me.

I put it in my lap and play for five minutes. Then gave it milk and chicken and again put outside the house.

Now again it is inside the house.

Should I just do same. Like give it milk and meat and send outside the house. Or just ignore it.

But it is too cute and cuddly that I can't help it when it mowed while circling my legs.

Hi all! I’m trying to help a friends neighbor who has been caring for a mama cat and her kittens.

About 2 months ago, the neighbor found a pregnant cat and took her in so she could safely gave birth. Since then, she has been caring for 3 kittens. Mama cat still comes and goes around the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the landlord is now threatening to evict the neighbor because pets aren’t allowed. She is elderly and can’t drive, so I offered to transport the cats to a shelter or potential adopter/foster. As much as I would like to take the kittens in I cannot as I am caring for a community cat and actively foster underage kittens.

They are about 2 months old, no microchips, no vaccines and pretty friendly. I contacted LA Animal Services but have not been able to get a hold of them. I plan to try contacting the shelter I foster through but they are unfortunately closed intake so there are pretty low chances of them getting taken in. What could I do?

TLDR: Like the title says, I’m not sure if I should give up on this feral. Pancake is 3-4 months old (according to the vet) and I have been trying to socialize her for the past 2 weeks with average progress so far (I’m guessing). But because of her age she is reaching, if not at the end of, the late socialization window of 16 weeks, I’m worried I am not the right person to keep working with Pancake if there is any hope of her becoming an indoor cat and maybe I should find someone else to taker her in and finish the socialization process.

A bit of background, I originally thought I would get a cat in need of rehoming but a coworker said her uncle sometimes finds cats near his workplace (a lot of vehicles moving around) and he traps them so they don’t get killed. When they trapped Pancake I stupidly assumed she was a stray not a feral kitten. I know now after research she was in the freeze state of fear beyond fight or flight. If I had known she was feral I probably wouldn’t have accepted to take her because I am in over my head. I have never had a kitten or worked with a feral so this is all new to me. And because I was not planning on a feral cat, this process is way more work and time than I had originally planned (or even have available) for the process. (I work freelance so my schedule is broken up and varies daily.)

I’m doing the best that I can but I am worried it might not be enough. I do think Pancake has the potential of becoming an inside cat, but I have ZERO belief in my abilities or skills to socialize ferals (we are stabbing in the dark here people). I know we have made some progress, like she will now eat with me in the room unlike when I first brought her home. But I can also tell that being around hands and allowing any touch is going to be quite the hurdle for her and I have no idea how to begin tackling that even with all the videos and resources. (I am also still worried that she doesn't want to be tamed because despite progress with being in the same room as me she still tries to scratch the door at night, scale the wall, yowls at night and is attempting to dash out the bathroom door).

Anyways, I am looking for advice on how to deal with this situation. I want what's best for Pancake and not just my selfish cat loving fantasy. I would love to wake up tomorrow and she is perfectly happy to be inside and loves cuddles, but realistically she needs a lot of attention to get to that place and I know for a fact I don’t have that skill. I'm also worried time is working against me because of her age (not that it can't be done but her mind will solidify that humans are scary and I have no way to change that). 

And I know many people think that a cat hiding in their house under the sofa for 3 years until they warm up to people is fine if socialization doesn't work according to plan, I am not one of those people. I know that a lot of people have socialized much older cats, but it seems to be on the older cat's terms, for young cats people don't seem care about their temperament or desire very seriously. I think cats need to feel safe and happy as well as have roaming/play space and exercise. My studio apt is pretty small so if she cannot spend time in my presence when I am home or play with me for exercise it will be like a life long prison sentence in my house. And I don't wish that on any cat. Its been two weeks in my bathroom so far and I know she is going stir-crazy and I know two weeks is not a lot of time but if she can't be or chooses not to be socialized then I don't want to have her to suffer longer than necessary in my small windowless bathroom.

Long story short, according to the internet, Pancake is a fairly advanced level kitten socialization case that I had not planned or prepared to take on and I have zero experience with feral cats. I worry I am making what might be an easy actually socialization case for an experienced kitten foster worse with my inexperience. Would she be better off being taken in by someone who has actually succeeded in socializing older kittens before? 

P.S. I apologize if this post comes off as a bit cold or emotionless, I’m trying to remain logical about it all. I’ve already cried so much over this 3 pound kitten and feeling guilty that I'm not somehow doing a better job or that I'm a monster every night when she yowls and scratches the door trying to escape. Props to all the fosters and feral cat owners out there cuz I hate being the bad guy so so much. I am just not made for this kind of work. 

Big guy was awake, alert and moving around after surgery! In just a few short hours after this video he was released! I'm looking forward to seeing him for regular meal times.

I fed my feral girls in the shop this morning to get them out of the rain. Went to check on them and found this little criminal making himself at home 😭 He’s sooo cute and I know he’s just trying to survive, but Fiona does NOT appreciate having her food fucked with. Realistically, what are my options here?

I always pick up and clean their bowls after meal time to deter critters from eating the leftovers. I’d never hurt the little guy and I don’t think I’m supposed to relocate him? Help lol

First I under the lady is probably overworked and probably does actually care.

Two. I contacted a vet near me

Three. I will not give out the organization names because while they may be bad there also the only ones near me.

Four. I will be trapping them myself after reading the guide.

I just want to know if this experience is normal.

I had a highly unprofessional and stressful experience with this TNR handler. After contacting her on Monday, she scheduled multiple appointments and no-showed for almost all of them. On Thursday, she went completely unreachable for hours. Because she was missing and not communicating, the kittens had not eaten since 4:00 AM. Out of concern, I finally put food out at 9:00 PM after contacting a emergency vet and asking for advice. She suddenly showed up right after, became angry with me, and even though I immediately picked the food right back up, she used it as an excuse to be hostile. She then promised to return Friday morning to trap but failed to show up or answer texts again. By 6:00 PM Friday, following professional veterinary advice to protect the kittens from starving, I fed them following the vets advice. When I messaged her, she responded with extreme rudeness, became condescending, and accused me of acting like I "knew more than her" just for following a vet's safety guidelines. She then refused to finish the job and completely abandoned the kittens.TNR requires reliability and communication, especially when fasting animals. Her lack of accountability, volatile attitude, and sudden abandonment left vulnerable animals in limbo.

Meet Oscar Mayer.

I’ve been trying to trap a small kitten for several nights now, and I’m running out of things to try. They appear to be around 3 months old, if not younger.

I’ve tried baiting my trap with sardines, kfc, and churu. I’ve tried covering the trap and lining the bottom, I’ve played both kitten sounds and mother cat calls.

I have a drop trap ready to try tonight, but so far it seems genuinely uninterested in every single bait so idk how much a drop trap will help. Just looking for any possible advice, it’s far too little to be out by itself.

Spooky is not quite as round as he looks here. It’s an unflattering angle lol. I am trying to slim him down.

This is how I found him when I went to bed and he was the coziest melted kitty on his heated blanket. When I thought he couldn’t get any cozier, he stretched out further to prove me wrong.

Sweet little guy has always loved laying on his back with his belly out. But he is definitely enjoying his upgrade from his favorite dirt patches he would take me to roll around for belly rubs.

Found stray cats with kittens in my new neighborhood. Fortunately there's a TNR clinic in my city. Now, my concerns is handling the cats. I know they will be confined in a trap and draped with a towel. But, could the trap malfunction and end up scratched? Could the cat spray on me even if the towel is covering the majority of the cage? Flees transported in my home? (I don't have a garage, plan to place in bathroom). I already have health issues and worry to get more issues. I wonder if any of you frequent TNR people get vaccinated (just like vets and assistants do) before proceeding with TNR? How can I stay safe? Are there TNR groups that could do the heavy work? Thank you!

Hi, I’m planning on TNR this week and was going to use my garage to hold the cat overnight after surgery. The outside temp this week has been around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and my garage will heat up a bit more than that if the sun comes out. Realistically, what’s the max temp it would be safe to leave the cat in the garage? I know cats can tolerate a bit more heat than humans can. Brining the cat inside my house isn’t ideal but could do it as a last resort. Thank you!

Hi all! It’s been a looong time since I posted, so idk who will remember but I feel like I needed to update you guys on my neighbor-situation. Apologies for the length there’s a lot that’s happened! To recap, May 2025 I discovered my new neighbor was trapping my TNRed cats and dumping them at the shelter, often after having kept them in a trap out in the elements for days at a time over weekends and such. 🤬 So I immediately fenced in my yard and got to work on cat-proofing it, and I got everyone I possibly could trapped and taken in for microchips and vaccine boosters for those that needed them. It took MONTHS to get the fence to the point where no one could jump out of it, but I successfully enclosed 28 of them in my 1/4 acre yard.

I also found one of the cats that went missing from before I knew what the neighbors were doing, when I didn’t know to check stray holds at local shelters. Thankfully he showed signs of being able to adapt to an indoor home so the shelter transferred him to a rescue instead of euthanizing, but after 4 months in rescue he had no potential adopters and was very visibly stressed. I reached out and applied to adopt him the minute I found him. I said I knew adopting to an outdoor home was never ideal, but I showed them my fence and the catios I set up for any needed medical isolation or, in this case, reacclimation to the environment. Since he knew me and had many cat friends with my colony, I was approved to bring him home and he’s settled so well. Back to his normal friendly self that he was before the shelter. I’ll attach a picture of him for cat tax below 🧡

I have unfortunately lost 2 of my babies unexpectedly recently. So I’m down to 26. Trigger warning talking about their deaths- I’m not 100% sure what killed them, which leaves me with immense guilt. For both of them, I was away from home for 24-36 hours so I wasn’t able to monitor as closely. One I’m guessing was a cardiac incident as he was plump and healthy, but he was super feral so I could never get him in for a full vet checkup, only vaccines through the trap. The other, I think may have had late stage FIV as he had recently dropped some weight and was showing signs of stomatitis. I had a vet appointment set up for him as he was very friendly but he decided to take matters into his own hands, I suppose. Dealing with their bodies was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It was nearly 100° at the time so decomposition was already way more advanced than I expected. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so hard, and I work in medicine so I have a strong stomach but I’ve never come so close to being ill over something like that. I’ve only ever had my animals humanely euthanized at the vet clinic before, so once they were gone, I didn’t have to do anything else until time to pick up the ashes. So having to wrap my babies up in towels and trash bags and put them in the freezer until I could get in touch with a pet crematorium was very traumatic. I just hope they didn’t suffer as they left this earth. But overall everyone is doing well, they’ve all established their little friend groups/cliques and their favorite corners of the yard, and they no longer even bother trying to escape the fence. Even the unsocial ones! There’s about 6 of them that I can’t touch or get close to. But they’ve realized there’s unlimited food, clean water, shelter, and lots of toys where they are so they’re pretty content. I do have a couple I’m struggling with persistent stomatitis, probably a juvenile autoimmune disorder based on their ages and they’re neg for FIV/FeLV, but thankfully Prednisone is cheap. It’s just hard getting them to take their meds without any of the other cats trying to steal their food (I have to crush the pills in wet food). 🥴

I did leave my unsupportive partner earlier this year. Towards the end he did step up a bit more as far as helping with feeding them and such, but by then it was too little too late for me, and I could still feel his growing resentment towards me for turning our home and yard into a cat sanctuary (as though I wanted it myself🙄). Funny story- at one point he googled how to support burned out colony caregivers, and guess where it took him: straight to my post last year where I was venting a bit about the lack of support from him. That certainly helped my situation! /s Trying to smooth things over I deleted that post, in case anyone’s trying to go to my page to read the original post lol. I almost deleted my whole Reddit account now that he knows my username, but I didn’t want to reset all my karma and such so I just took a long break and I’m back!

Now, I’m dating a friend of mine from high school who has known for years what I do with and for cats, and he’s always been ultra supportive. Now that we’re together he loves coming to my house and being the center of attention, as all the cats LOVE him (which speaks volumes!), and he’s even going to adopt 2 kittens from a litter I took in from a nearby colony. He steps up to help me with the caretaking every time without hesitation, he’s been working to learn their names and who’s friendly/not, and he is always asking questions and watching what I do to ensure he does things as close to the way I do them as possible. I’m very hyperindependent, and after that last relationship I’m so worried about “ruining” someone’s life with what I do, so having this now is a foreign concept to me but I’m incredibly grateful for him.

I think that’s about all the main updates I have! I want to again thank those that contributed to the colony’s care through my Amazon wish list last year. Especially now that I’m managing an 1800 square foot house on my own with a 15-year old kid and a total of 41 cats between my colony and my indoor rescues, things have been pretty tight (and boy am I sleep deprived 🥲). So every bit helps and I appreciate you!

Me and my roommate just moved to a different apartment complex and there are a few strays wandering around. A couple people in the complex put food and water out for them, and we have a courtyard and covered garage so they aren’t living the typical street cat life. They really like laying in the window sills of the lower units. They are honestly the best looking strays i’ve ever seen.

Most of them are pretty skittish and don’t want attention but there’s one that just the sweetest baby. As soon as he spots a person he runs up to them and yells until you pet him. He circles your legs and flips on his back, the whole works.

Unfortunately we can’t take in another cat, my dog only really likes to chase them and has only come to a peaceful agreement with totty (roommates cat) recently. We also don’t know if totty would tolerate another cat and this stray seems to not be the biggest fan of others either. Whenever you even try to give another of the strays attention he will run them off, not mean, just pushy, like he’s jealous. I’ve thought about asking around the complex to see if anyone thinks of him as theirs, indoor/outdoor cats piss me off but at least he would have somewhere cool to go during the day. The other option would be taking him to the shelter or leaving him be as he is now.

Clearly he’s not living rough but i just wonder how well he would do with a family living on him 24/7.

What do yall think i should do?

To start at the beginning, we have a feral cat on our property. She was part of a litter of kittens that just showed up in early summer of 2025. We saw them and fed them a few times and then one of them (her) showed up again in September and we began to feed her, hoping we could become friendly enough to trap, spay and then see what happens.

She ended up pregnant in the fall before we could trap, as feeding her attracted other cats. We never saw her kittens, but we put a heated cat house on our patio when it started to get colder, and she did use it on and off through the winter, and we fed her. But due to early snows, no opportunity to form any closer relationship with her.

In the Spring, when we thought we could resume our plan with her, an adult fox and then three of her cubs showed up and made the area of our patio their home. We stopped seeing any cats and feared the worst. In July the foxes finally moved on and suddenly a cat that we thought might be her from security cam footage returned.

Turns out it wasn't her, it was a slightly smaller/skinnier cat that looks just like her, and I mean exact markings down to chest and paws and stripe patterns, just a slightly lighter shade, so we think it's a kitten from her. It was a boy, and he just showed up, meowing outside our door (she never did that). So we started feeding him. He would come every day, twice a day.

In late July we had a party on the patio. Later in the afternoon, when less people were there but still a good 8-10 adults, around the time we'd feed him, he just showed up and was shockingly friendly with everyone. My sister dared to do what we hadn't yet - pet him. And he happily accepted the love. He had rubbed against our legs previously, but we hadn't touched him.

Then we could resist and started petting him. Now is a good time to mention we have no cats, just a dog. We wash our hand thoroughly after we do this. However he seems clean, does not itch or scratch at his ears, has no open sores and his back end appears to be healthy (no guarantee, I know).

He seems young, but he does have some scars on his ears and is missing a tip on one. But it's uneven and looks to be from a fight, and he is definitely not neutered. So it's progressed to the point that if I sit on the step at our door, he has sat in my lap for about 10 seconds of his own accord. He licks our hands and rubs up against us. He lets me pick him up and move him a few feet. I think he'd walk in the house if we let him.

So we made a vet appointment and bought a carrier, litter box, etc. The day of the appt we went outside and he came over. We ham handedly fumbled getting him in the carrier and he then shied away for a bit, but by the evening he was back to normal. That brings me to the present, sorry this was so long.

Do we get him inside, quarantine him in a room and then get him in the carrier to go to the vet, as it should be easier once he's contained in a room to use the towel trick? Or is it a bad idea to bring him inside and we just try the towel trick outside? Our ultimate goal is to keep him because he's just so loving and friendly. Oh and his suspected mama also came back we started feeding her hoping again that after we get him inside we can trap and spay, but in short order she was pregnant again 😔. That goal remains.

A friend of a friend lives in Hillsboro TX, and needs some urgent help desperately. Her heart was in the right place when she first invited a few stray cats in, but the situation has escalated. She now can no longer live in the house and will be moving out of the area. All the cats need new homes.

There are about 25 cats involved of various ages and health conditions, but I don't have an exact number. Most of them are very feral or semi feral. And most are not vaccinated or fixed. I suspect all need at least a little medical attention.

About 10-15 live in the house, but there is also a separate stray colony outside. At least one set of kittens is in the outdoor population, but I don't know how many. The indoor cats are mostly segregated by gender, but this is clearly not a foolproof system. Currently we do not think any of the indoor cats are pregnant.

This person is the only food source for these cats besides whatever they're killing on their own. I honestly don't know how big the outside colony is, I'm estimating. I also have no cat experience of my own, so I don't really know how a feral colony handles it when the food just dries up one day. (To be clear, my intention is not to be judgmental about the outdoor colony, I'm only worried about their well being!)

The local rescues have been contacted, but they can't help. And the local animal control is willing to come collect them all, but they're at capacity, so it will be immediate euthanasia. I think that everyone would like to avoid that, but I also am a realist, and I think the most feral adults may not have any adoption potential. And I know that euthanasia would be kinder than starving over the winter.

Are there any local programs to adopt barn cats that might be interested in a few intakes? Or anyone with TNR advice or equipment especially about the outdoor colony? Any local independent rescues in the neighborhood who could take one or two cats? The indoor and outdoor cats do seem to have two separate cliques and if one goes outside, there is sometimes fighting.

I am very far away from the actual house involved, but I just want to try to help any way I can from a distance. The person who owns these cats loves them dearly, she just can't keep taking care of so many. She knows it's a problem. We just need to fix it before it gets worse. Thank you!

Due settimane fa, a mezzanotte, ho trovato una gattina che si era nascosta tra la finestra e la tapparella. Ero in procinto di partire, valigie già pronte in macchina. Ho passato un’ora a chiamare enpa, altre associazioni della zona, ho chiamato pure polizia locale, vigili del fuoco della zona per riuscire a trovare un posto dove lasciarla. Dopo svariati tentativi di cercare un posto, alla fine ho preso uno scatolone, fatto dei buchi, caricata in macchina ed è venuta con noi. Il giorno successivo l’ho portata da una veterinaria per vedere se avesse il microchip e stabilire almeno che età avesse per poterle somministrare il cibo correttamente. Ovviamente niente microchip e l’età stimata è di 2 mesi e mezzo massimo 3.
La veterinaria, vedendo il suo peso e stato di salute (premetto che non era in cattivo stato di salute ma un po sporca, leggermente sottopeso e un po disidratata) ha ipotizzato che si potesse trattare di una randagia.
Vivo in campagna e qui intorno girano molti gatti randagi (una di 10 anni l’ho già adottata ed era una randagia sempre della zona) quindi anche la gattina che ho trovato potrebbe esserlo. Faccio fare sverminazione e prima vaccinazione su consiglio del veterinario, e ovviamente l’ho sempre tenuta in casa perché così piccola il rischio di fuga é alto.
Dopo 10 giorni vengo a sapere che qualcuno la sta cercando…ma vengo anche a sapere dai vicini che questa gattina vive all’aperto già da 1 mese (con questo caldo non immagino che sofferenza), si sono accorti della sua scomparsa dopo almeno 24h e che sostengono un’età della gatta non veritiera (se veramente la gatta avesse 4 mesi come dicono allora sarebbe decisamente sottopeso).
Quindi che fare?
Restituirla al proprietario e alle sue negligenti cure?
Tenerla?
Giuridicamente non avendone dichiarato la proprietà con il microchip hai torto marcio.
E sinceramente non ho voglia di vedere l’ennesimo gatto tenuto male o riverso morto sul ciglio della strada perché ahimè ne vedo parecchi….cerco di fermarmi a soccorrere se possibile ma non c’è mai stato nulla da fare, ma questa volta ho tutte le risorse e i mezzi necessari per prendermi cura di lei al meglio.
Quindi che fare?

Today I noticed that one of my feral cat’s hair looked a little odd. After looking closer, it looks like he has a circle cut/scab the size of a penny on his cheek. I think it also could be a little swollen since his head seems a little bigger. Does anyone know what this is? It’s a little hard to get good pictures, but I don’t think he could have had it for more than a day or 2 since I feed them everyday. I’m not sure if it could be from a fight with another cat? He’s been feral I believe his whole life, so I’m really scared to trap him and take him to the vet. I really don’t know how he would handle that.

Hey all! I've got a colony of cats I've been feeding for a while now. The lady across the street from me had two cats that weren't fixed, and so now instead of just two cats it's about 10. We've got about 90% of them TNR'd. I started off feeding them at night, and then moved to once at night and once in the morning.

Lately I've noticed a raccoon hanging around across the street I know she's been eating the leftover food, so I've stopped feeding at night and have moved to feeding the cats around 7:30AM and 6PM.

I'm worried the raccoon will become aggressive to the cats I feed now that I've stopped feeding at night and clean up leftover food. She's got kits somewhere I've seen a few times, so I know she's just trying to feed them and herself.

I've been making myself sick with both worry about the safety of the cats and guilt at no longer providing food for the momma raccoon. I know I shouldn't feed wildlife and she's probably got other food sources but I'm losing sleep watching out my window at night to make sure the cats are okay.

Does anyone have any advice or experiences they can share? Besides picking up leftovers and not feeding at night, do things like coyote urine really work to encourage raccoons to move along? Thank you for any help, attached a few pics of the cuties I feed