Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

I have been living in my home for 6 years.. Next door to me TNR'd a feral and then moved.. This cat has been in my yard the whole time sice we moved in.. I never fed it.. I let Lola out and they get along great.. They ignore each other .. The cat never runs away when I let Lola out .. Lola tried to be friendly but the cat hissed once and Lola of course got the point immediately and never went near it again.. (best dog ever) .. So I have no fear at all about them fighing.. About 3weeks ago DH decides to feed it.. And has been everyday along with me of course .. It waits outside for us now and cries until I bring her food.. I have no idea how it was getting food before we started this but always looked beautiful and healthy .. I have no Idea where it goes to keep warm at night or on these freezing days..

Sooooo.... I question is should I never have started this and is there someway I can help the cat stay warm in the winter.. I have grown to love it.. I feel terrible for it .. I wish I could pet it or take it in .. but I wont/cant.. Did I do something wrong here by feeding it? I bought $20 worth of cat food now because we were giving it scraps which were so unhealthy .. So now what do I do.. Did I do a stupid thing.. The cat has always come no matter if we fed it or not..

UPDATE******** I am starting to fall so in love with my ferel.. She si so loving . Yesterday. I put her food out and she ran away under the bushes .. I stayed there and was talking top her so softly .. She can out and eat inches away from me .. Her eyes are so green and gorgeous .. I cant believe how close I got.. This is becomming my obsession.. Anyone with feral experience ... Do you think its a bad idea if I try to pet her? Dh is yelling at me saying that she has diseases and fleas and dont even think of touching her? What do you think.. Maybe i can give her some affection..

2nd update
1/10/11
She touched my finger today to smell me.. I am freaking out! Now she is mine.. She is crying for me .. She came so close today .. She was rolling around all over in front of me.. She wanted me to pet her so badly i can tell.. She was just too scared .. she touched her nose to my finger 2x.. I called the woman who used to feed her that lived next door today .. She was flipping out!! This cat is around 12 yrs old.. She fed it for about 7 years and now I have been here for almost 6 .. She trapped it and took it with her to her new house in the harbor but the cat came right back here to the ghetto!!! I HAVE TO find a house for her.. If anyone on here can help me I would appreciate it ..If you have a house you dont use that would be great.. I would hate to buy one and she never goes in it ..If I have to I am going to but I want to put it out here first .. TIA My new obsession.. She is just so beautiful..

Message edited 1/10/2011 2:12:05 PM.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

she probably won't go away now that you're feeding her and she knows she can get food there. can you not have her in your house or you just don't want to bring her in? if she seems content outside, then maybe she can be your outdoor kitty?

as for keeping her warm, i would get a litter box that has a covering on it and put a blanket in it so she has a warm place to sleep and go for shelter once it starts raining, snowing, etc.

if you're going to keep her as yours (indoor OR outdoor) or even if you can just afford to do it as a good deed, i'd try to take her to the vet or one of those petsmart clinics to make sure she's got all her shots and is spayed so she can stay healthy.

Message edited 12/22/2010 12:20:20 PM.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

This is an Idea of whats going on back there.. She sleeps all day on my bench and on this tiny piece of astroturf .. Then when the sun goes down it disappears till the next day.. I know it has been spayed and has gotten shots from the previous person who did it next door.. I dont want to start buying things it wont go in either .. I cant imagine it entering in a box..

Message edited 12/22/2010 12:56:05 PM.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

It probably has a place it goes, but you could always get a cheapy dog house or something and start putting it's food in there. Although you never know WHAT will be eating the food (just so you're prepared, I've found possums eating cat food).
I TNR'd a cat and was going to keep him until he decided to jump out my kitchen window. He still hangs around and everyone feeds him and he brings "presents" in the form of dead mice (ughughughugh).
He has the good life, he hangs out gets pet and scratched and then can roam the neighborhood (which in reality is really the few blocks of the apartment building).
I would still prefer to have him inside, but when I tried to bring him back he bit the hell out of me and I had to go the hospital.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

The first stray that came to us, we adopted. The second came literally a week later, and we felt bad, so we started feeding her and as she started warming up, my dad went to touch her and she hissed.. she never came back after..

eta: i wanted to add, that most of the time, they have a safe place to go to.. but i have seen people put an elevated small dog house for strays..

Message edited 12/22/2010 3:54:38 PM.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

You did not do the wrong thing at all. You are doing a beautiful thing. Are you sure the cat is fixed?

Maybe you can set up something warm and cozy, like a dog house, to see if she will go in. My heart would be breaking, I would have fed her a long time ago. Sounds like you would have had her in your yard no matter what.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat

I agree! You are totally doing the right thing by feeding her. A feral's life is brutal, they need all the help they can get. (And they are a MAN MADE problem, we owe it to them to help them any way we can).
She is beautiful. :)
Do not think that it is a 100% positive ting that you will never pet her. She cries to you, something a true feral would never do, hence there is hope that one day you will be petting her and listening to her purr. I have a yard full of TNR'ed ferals and it might take years, but except for WildOne, I can now pet all of them (even High-Five who pretends he doesn't like to be pet, but I can hear him purring and he follows me around the yard).
For a winter shelter an inexpensive thing to try is a large tupperware tub turned on it's side and lined with hay. Go to Alley Cats Alley's web site for pictures of these. Or you can do what I do...crack open the garage door about a foot and put a board so that only one hole at end to enter and exit garage is made and put heated bulbs and beds in there for them. They love it, warm and cozy.
Good luck!
ps. It is very important for them to have unfrozen water during winter. The water bowls in my garage don't freeze all the way and I have a heated water bowl outside for the ones that do not want to sleep in garage.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

bumpidy bump bump update at top

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

Well she could have fleas but I tell you this, if she has fleas they are already in your yard where LOLA goes, kwim? Do you give Lola a monthly flea med like frontline? YOu should if you have cats in your yard. As for diseases, just make sure you wash your hands well after touching, that's all, and also wash your and DDs hands when coming in from your yard (or touching your dog if your dog rolls in you yard, possibly in the cat's poop). But cats can poop randomnly in ANY yard. My female dog just snacked on some random poop (cat I think) in my yard and I dont have as stray that hangs out daily or that I feed. So it can happen anyway. I say see how far you can get!!

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

Posted by Goobster

Well she could have fleas but I tell you this, if she has fleas they are already in your yard where LOLA goes, kwim? Do you give Lola a monthly flea med like frontline? YOu should if you have cats in your yard. As for diseases, just make sure you wash your hands well after touching, that's all, and also wash your and DDs hands when coming in from your yard (or touching your dog if your dog rolls in you yard, possibly in the cat's poop). But cats can poop randomnly in ANY yard. My female dog just snacked on some random poop (cat I think) in my yard and I dont have as stray that hangs out daily or that I feed. So it can happen anyway. I say see how far you can get!!

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

I second the tupperware for the weather protection. We did this one year when a feral had kittens under our deck.

A big tupperware container (like the ones they have for garage storage) with a top. Turn it over so the top is on the bottom (so it is wider) and cut a hole like a kitty door so they can get in/out.

Kitties will prefer the hay over a blanket as they will nustle under it. And that way you can just throw away the hay and put it more when its time for a refresh - easier than cleaning a blanket.

Just make sure that with the snow it's in a protected area that the door won't be covered with snow, or if that is possible don't forget to shovel out a small path.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

Posted by Blazesyth

I second the tupperware for the weather protection. We did this one year when a feral had kittens under our deck.

A big tupperware container (like the ones they have for garage storage) with a top. Turn it over so the top is on the bottom (so it is wider) and cut a hole like a kitty door so they can get in/out.

Kitties will prefer the hay over a blanket as they will nustle under it. And that way you can just throw away the hay and put it more when its time for a refresh - easier than cleaning a blanket.

Just make sure that with the snow it's in a protected area that the door won't be covered with snow, or if that is possible don't forget to shovel out a small path.

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

Re: Opinions re: feral cat UPDATED***More ???

We have feral cats and what we did was take a storage bin (like the ones you buy at home depot or walmart), cut a hole in the side and put some straw or towels at the bottom. They go in it all the time and it was very inexpensive to make.

Message edited 1/10/2011 6:01:47 PM.