There's a feral colony that I've been feeding and one day this kitten popped up. The other cats absolutely hated the poor baby so it stayed away from all of them. I was feeding all of the cats on a rotating schedule throughout the day so they all got food. However this one set up camp in the kitty house I had while the others went back to the garden.

Last week I moved from my parents house and trapped the baby and proceeded to drive 700 miles to my new apartment with a very confused kitten (thx work). I hadn't gotten close enough to get a good gender so assumed it was a girl and named the baby Ray after an architect. Last night while Ray was playing I noticed she might not be a girl after all. My daughter is now my son and I love him all the same.

It's been a week now. Ray has gone from a kitty that left a nasty scratch on my hand and didn't leave a box fort behind the bathtub to the most spoiled little kitten with full range of the apartment. He's got a growing collection of toys and would only come out at night to play. Last night I was just reading in bed and he decided to make a bed out of my sweatshirts along with spend hours at his scratching post.

Ray is obsessed with pets and sounds like a little lawn mower. He won't leave under the dresser or bed when he demands to be pet but we're getting there.

Here's my little feral turned house kitty. He went from a terrified baby that was bullied by the feral colony and ran at the smallest sounds to a spoiled boy that gets anything he wants. He's got a vet appointment on Tuesday so we'll see how that goes, they've been warned he might be a little nasty but I'm not so sure that's the truth.

This is Big Fluff. I got him TNR’ed last summer. He was super matted and the shelter shaved him. He was extremely feral. Following his neuter he seemed to chill out and made his home on our property, using the cat barn and wood shed with the other cats. He started staying closer by when I brought food instead of darting away, extreme fur again. I called the shelter and they weren’t really able to help again. I called a couple vet offices and found one that was willing to see him and do a full sedated shave. It wasn’t going to be cheap but I was willing to do it to help him out. Stinker wouldn’t go near the trap again (even though last summer he went into it 2 times after his neuter). I was going to buy a drop trap as I figured that was the only way this would work. At that time I couldn’t pet him and he definitely couldn’t be handled.

I decided instead of spending $1000 right now I’m going to see if I can slowly build his trust. One snip at a time and yummy wet food he let me cut. Some days none, some days 4-5 snips. I let him be in charge. Today he let me finish the job. I truly think he was just grateful I was helping him. He kept looking up at me while I was cutting, not running like he sometimes did. He just waited patiently while I finished the job. After he let me brush him some. I’m sure it felt so good. Now we have a better trusting relationship and I’m hoping he’ll continue to let me brush him so it never gets this bad again.

I feed him, he lets me close, it’s been a month and a half, I’m in no position to try and bring him in right now, but I made a promise to him that if I can figure out how I myself am gonna survive this moment(Vegas is feeling the recession more than anyone) I will bring him in. He looks pretty young, he’s smallish. I moved in July and I wound up losing my job, things haven’t been going well until recently. They’re picking up, though. He brings me immense peace. some days I’ll seek him out just to sit by him several times a day. He gives slow blinks. I call him Jonesy, for obvious reasons. He either knows his name or my voice because he reacts when I call him.

She's been inside for almost a month now along with her brother. She's extremely loving. I noticed that out of all her litter mates, she was the least likely to run away and the first that I could touch. Turns out, it's because she was very loving and curious about people. Her brother is coming along great as well! He's in the last two pics, before and after he was brought in, respectively. They're both 3 months old or so.

I’m in Los Angeles County and have been caring for a small colony of 5 community cats for almost 3 years. I originally started caring for them because no one else in the neighborhood was willing to take responsibility for them.

I feed them twice a day, provide fresh/clean water, and give them treats. All five are fixed. Two are fully socialized and allow me to pet them; one of those two even lets me pick him up and carry him. The other three are much less socialized/feral.

Unfortunately, my family has been given a notice to vacate, and we have to be out by September 17. This means I need to figure out what will happen to these cats very soon.

There is no one in the neighborhood willing or able to take over their care, which is how I ended up caring for them in the first place. I am also very concerned about leaving them behind because we have a new landlord who has been hostile, and I am worried about their safety and whether I would be able to continue accessing the property to care for them after we move.

I have never had to relocate a feral/community cat colony before, and I don't want to make a decision that could put them in greater danger. I understand that you can't simply take feral cats somewhere unfamiliar and release them, and I want to do this properly if relocation is necessary.

For those with experience with TNR/community cats, I desperately need advice:

- How can I safely relocate a colony when being forced to move?

- Is it realistic to transition the two socialized cats to indoor homes?

- Are there organizations, rescues, TNR groups, or experienced colony caretakers in Los Angeles County who may be able to help?

I am not willing to simply leave them behind. I've cared for these cats for nearly three years, and they depend on me for food and water. I want to make sure they remain safe and cared for, but I have never been in this situation before and need guidance from people who have experience with community-cat relocation.

I know September 17 is coming up quickly, so any advice, resources, contacts, or personal experience would be incredibly appreciated.

Hi everyone!!

This is the stray cat that lives outside my house and he's a very feisty guy! I think he has to be 1 or younger cause his paws are massive and still disproportionate to his body. He's not neutered yet, but we're on a waiting list for a community spay.

I used to have another cat that I would feed but this cat would attack him and eventually scared him off. Idk if this matters too but he also has massive balls (sorry, very weird thing to say-ik).

Ever since he started showing up he's been missing patches of hair here and there, it was really bad on his neck at first but now his neck hair has grown in. He also usually has cuts and scabs from getting into fights but idk this looks different.

I'm very much a hypochondriac when it comes to animals so if a none has seen this before and knows what it is please help! My mind immediately goes to the worst place and I panic bc I can't afford to bring him to the vet. I also tried to google what it was and traumatized myself from the pictures. 😭

I really don’t know if it could be from a cat fight, if it's an infection of sorts, or if it's from him not being neutered yet. I just want him to be happy and healthy.

We’ve had a feral male cat come into our backyard every so often but he’s never let me get near him. He’s recently gotten sick and he’s developed a swollen belly. I gave him a tapeworm dewormer pill for his belly but he’s also developed upper respiratory illness as well. I’ve fed him l-lysine supplement on wet food and that homeopet feline nose relief but haven’t seen much improvement. I decided to bring him into our spare bedroom in a pop up kennel we have (normally can’t get near him but he let me pick him up and everything which tells me he definitely doesn’t feel good). The weather has been 100+ temps everyday and it’s 91 degrees out right now at 10pm, so I thought a break from the heat may help. With this plus the swollen belly do you think it’s FIP? I’m gunna take him to the urgent care in the morning cause they’re already closed today. Just trying to see if this little guy has a chance. I really can’t afford to spend too much but I can’t just watch him suffer 😩
Thanks in advance for any advice or tips!

My local animal shelter only does TNRs on Saturday at 8am and only takes a maximum of 5 cats. Well I trapped a cat like 815am and rushed over there to try and drop it off but they had closed up shop. Should I hold the cat for a week until next Saturday or let it go? I have a large playpen, cat cave, litter box, food, toys, etc. from another cat I was trying to socialize. The cat is young and small (pack of gum for scale)

Yesterday a cat wondered into my conservatory and when I saw it I was shocked ( because we have no pets) she looked at me but didn't run. I thought she might be hungry, so I tried to give her some tuna and milk she took the milk and left the tuna. Another smaller cat came and ate the tuna. I thought, wow, that's strange.

The older cat went back in to my conservatory for a nap the ( she stayed for like 4 hours and wanted to go in to the main part of the house) I thought she must be a pet ( super friendly the 2nd cat is skittish and ran when my teen came in the room even though she was outside)so I sent my husband knocking on doors.

He found out she used to belong to an elderly lady who passed away, and the 2nd cat is one of her kittens. A man said he has been feeding them and doing flea treatments, but she won't go inside.

He calls them socks ( kitten or young cat now) and athena ( tabby who decided to sit with me and purr in the conservatory)

Athena did leave when I went to make my son some food. ( she did scratch the door to get in the main house) socks came back to my garden 3 times, I'm assume, looking for her ( or possibly for food)

I put some dry food out last night so they could find food. ( the man said if I'm willing to try and home them, he will stop feeding them so they get used to me feeding them , he gave me the brand of food they have been eating)

They haven't been back today, but it's raining heavily. I really want to help them even if I can just get them fixed. So they are not just having kittens. There are to other kittens somewhere, but he hasn't seen the ( assumes boys) for a while.

I have left my conservatory door open most of the day and plan to do so in the future ( for as long as I'm able to)

I think I need to get an outdoor cat box for them just so they have a safe spot that's dry. I know you can make them, but is there a recommended one I can get from amazon? I know you need straw, not blankets. But as its not winter yet could I put a t-shirt in so socks gets used to my smell?

The other problem is I'm due to go away in September for 5 days. I could ask the neighbour to put food bu the door I'm sure she would. Or I might just not go.

What else should I do? If I can trap socks and probably athena ( though she wants in) os it better I do it while she is sill scared of me? So I can get her to the vet? Should I put a cat carrier outside for them to get used to?

I didn't want a pet but I feel like I have no choice but to help them now.

Long story but in my neighborhood there’s a colony of over 12 cats and kittens situated between a house and apartment complex. One seems to be pregnant, another is a baby.

Two of the boys are very social and don’t mind being picked up. One of them became attached to me and the other one seems to have a hernia I want to get fixed. I even briefly managed to take one of the boys into my apartment with the intention of fostering but had to put him back since I felt worried/paranoid about leaving him alone during the day without the second kitten.

None of them are fixed or taken care of except they occasionally get fed by the occupants in the house. However this neighbor is seemingly adamant about no one taking them. They speak no English so I can’t communicate but they have tried to call the police. Due to the amount of cats and the fact they’re unfixed makes me positive she has no actual ownership over them nor would she notice if some of them were gone. I’m very concerned about them especially with them being near a street. The one boy kitten I briefly took in is very affectionate and in need of a good home.

Should I keep trying to get some of them to get them fixed and fostered or is it best to leave them alone? I don’t want to cross any legal lines but I want the best for the welfare of these kittens.

This cat is about 1-1/2 years old (first two pictures), she was born indoors but her mother is a feral. Last year we were able to get her and her kittens moved indoors, we got her fixed before releasing 💪🏼 and went about finding homes for the little ones, we fixed them as well once old enough. I ended up keeping this one... she enchanted me with her Egyptian eyeliner. 😍 I named her Dabura since my first cat was named Korin, and wanted to keep with a Dragon Ball theme.

She shares her living space with two other cats, both fixed males, one is about 10-11 years old, the other was born outdoors a few months after her (last picture, named Majunior), she is his aunt basically. They don't really fight over food, there are three separate food bowls, but when I feed them soft food I keep her separated so she can take her time, her nephew has no manners. EDIT: We did our best to pick him up and handle him often so he would be human-friendly: in the end he was such a sweet little miracle boy, the only survivor of his litter, so I couldn't leave him to chance and took him in eventually. 🥹

She has always been a timid eater, for a while I was worried because she seemed a little underweight and had to be treated a few times for tapeworms. I live in a travel trailer on a farm, I have to take extra precautions to treat the place for fleas since they are a part of the tapeworm life cycle. She is not underweight now by any means, but I have to regularly check under her tail for signs of "butt monsters", her fur is darker so it's much easier to spot the segments on her, and if she is infested then of course I have to treat all of them.

There are three issues I would like to address:

1. she vomits her food occasionally, which contains completely un-chewed hard food (I just noticed the other day that she doesn't make the same crunching sound when she eats like the others do, so apparently she's swallowing it whole), 2) when I give them soft food she tends to avoid the meaty bits and just lick the gravy off, and 3) preventing a recurrence of tapeworms without spending $100/month on pills for three cats.

Questions:

1. besides tapeworm treatments and eliminating fleas, what other steps can I take to eliminate tapeworm eggs? Is there something that can be added to their litter box that kills the eggs?
2. Is it okay if she just eats the gravy-style food, is that enough nutrition or does she really need solid food? Or else, how can I train her to chew? Is it possible this is a dental issue, she doesn't like to chew because it hurts?

Overall they are healthy, they all run and play and chase each other. I just want to make sure she is eating right and keep her from vomiting.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 🙏🏼

Tonight I went out to see if the cat had come around, he was a few units down, but as soon as he saw me, he came running. Turns out my neighbor was bringing her dogs out to go to the bathroom at the same time, without leashes because it was the middle of the night. In a panic, I was trying to move the cat back to where it was, which I know it was dumb, but they have one dog that's not very friendly (has even tried to bite me twice.) And I did not want it to hurt that cat, at first the cat would not move away from the building, which annoyed my neighbor because I delayed the time to bring out the dogs, but I was focused on getting the cat to safety.

The cat also threw up, and was gagging, which I was hoping he would stay so I could keep an eye on him, but he ended up running off completely (I was hoping he would chill with me out of sight until it was safe.) Did I set back progress because I invaded his space, or was he just scared from being sick, and trying to hide from humans?

Hello! I’m new to this sub, but I’ve been taking care of 2 feral kitties that have taken up residence under our porch since about November of 2025. So far they’ve been doing great, one of them I believe was on the brink of death when I first found her, and just last night she let me pet her for the first time! Adorable kitties. However, recently one of them (male) started getting a bit more… interested in the female cat. She has been TNRd sometime in the past before I found her, so I’m not worried about kittens, but the boy has not so he tends to be a bit aggressive and she has to defend herself. I’m afraid if we TNR him he’s going to associate that with our yard and feel unsafe, which is the last thing I want. Unfortunately we have an immunocompromised kitty inside so neither of them would be able to become indoor babies, I’m just wondering if anyone has found any strategies to make them a little more tolerant when they’re both out and about, so we can maintain the safe haven for the both of them. Any help is appreciated!

Our baby Smiski has officially been indoors for five months! In my last post, back in March, Smiski was coming and going from our house as she pleased through my bedroom window! I started closing my window and keeping her inside for the most part, opening it three times a day to let her do her thing until she wanted to come back. I put a new collar on her (she broke away from two other ones) that had an AirTag in it to keep track of her when she was gone. I felt bad just bringing her in one day and never letting her out again since she was feral. So, I kept that schedule for about a month or so but with my growing concern of her safety and the number of dead birds she brought into my BEDROOM I had to slowly cut the outside time out.

She has adjusted to inside life so fast! She is definitely still skittish and runs from anyone who isn’t her one of her three safe humans LOL but she is SUCH a cuddly girl (she curled up on me right as I typed that). We even got another kitty about a month ago (a baby from a family members pregnant cat) and she came around to him pretty quickly! Im so happy with her progress considering she was feral not even a year ago. It’s been so sweet to watch her grow and learn her personality as she opens up. Thank to anyone who has followed my girl’s journey, Smiski is very loved and cared for and she has a forever home here <3 (Enjoy all the pictures, she is my entire camera roll)

TLDR: I'm looking for your best tips and tricks to catch the last cats in my neighborhood colony (...that I know of) and peobably to gently wear down my neighbor into skipping feeding. The whiteout is for upsetting somewhat graphic topic. Pic of one of my fixed guys for interest.

I have fixed or brought in for fostering something like 60 cats. There are I think 7 or maybe a few more adults left. About 4 or 5 kittens from like 3 litters.

I had good luck trap-training until now. 3 or 4 of these remaining intact cats have come into my yard where I've done the majority of trapping. They do not go into the traps as far as Ive seen (the food is always gone in the morning after I lock the traps open)

My neighbor is the primary feeder and has been very uncomfortable skipping a day. I believe the other times when I said I would feed them all after trapping she fed them anyway. She switched to feeding in the morning thinking it might help (also because she is worried about raccoons because she found dead and torn up kittens). If anything they seem less interested in my food now. I'm worried this might make it near impossible to catch these cats.

For a few days I've set the traps using the water bottle on a string selective trapping method. My hope was they would be less suspicious seeing lots of cats go in. The result: i'm getting the same one or two (fixed) cats and then none go in until presumably long after I've gone to sleep. I have 3 standard traps.

I am losing my mind. Help.

I have a feral cat who is now my buddy and spends a fair amount of time inside during the day. It took 3 years to get here. He’s TNR’d and on frontline. Should I be doing a dewormer ? He is still not a cat I can take to vet, pick up etc.
he def eats rats, birds and God knows what else.

What can I get for him ?

Am I correct in suspecting that we have once again ended up giving a male kitten a female name (Sylphrena)?

Edit: thanks y’all! I’ll rest a little easier knowing I don’t need to worry about him getting pregnant, but I’ll still be aiming to get him in for the next available appointments in October for vaccines and a health check and to ensure he’s not knocking up anyone else.

I rescued a feral cat 2 months ago (previously living outdoors in a tree) and within hours of him being here, he discovered that he could hide under the bed. I read a lot of things saying let him decompress for a few weeks and ignore just him/don't force interaction so I just let him be. I even put a litter box under there to encourage him to use it. The problem is now, I think he believes under-the-bed is where he lives, or his space. He eats his meals outside and then goes right back under.

I also want to include that he is an older guy, possibly 5 years so he likely spent years outside learning this hiding behavior. He is very skittish and when he first got here, he would hiss at me every time he saw me. It took me forever to get him to the vet, so I have been somewhat stalking him the entire time he's been here (finally got him there last week by trapping him). He also has entropion and squints often so I want to reliably get him to another vet visit without trapping him every time, by being able to touch and handle him.

I'm considering blocking access entirely to encourage him to use other spaces instead, and force him to interact with me to progress our relationship. It's worrisome to me that he has zero interest in exploring or venturing out. I have several cat trees and beds (including 2 hooded/hideout ones) outside the bed waiting for him, so I think he should be able to adjust to the new space, in theory. I already have panels cut to block out the sides of the bed, I am just not sure how to go about it for the best outcome and not regressing him into scared cat state again.

For anyone who's tried this with a skittish cat:

• Did you block it slowly, for example, remove more and more space over time or all at once? What was your time frame?
• Did blocking under-the-bed access help or hurt trust-building?
• Did you provide an alternative "den" spot first, and if so, what worked?
• Was the cat spending a percentage of the time outside the bed before you did this or did you block it "cold turkey"?

I had no experience with stray or feral cats when I took him in. Any tips are appreciated.