Help required.

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Cattyh
New Cat Chatter
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:08 am

Help required.

Post by Cattyh »

Hi!
I urgently need some advice/help.
My mum lives in the countryside and has been feeding and sheltering at least 10 feral cats for a number of years.
She is now unable to care for them as she is getting on and is a full-time carer for my dad.
I have tried a charity here in Northern Ireland but they will not rehome them as they are feral.
My mum is adamant that she does not want the cats put down as she has cared for them for so long but can no longer cope with the responsibility.
There are just too many for neighbours to cope with and I do not live nearby.
I really need practical advice.
Thanks.
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Ruth B
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Posts: 1998
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
No. of cats in household: 3
Location: Wolverhampton

Re: Help required.

Post by Ruth B »

I'm not sure how much help I can offer, but I wanted to say thank you to you and your Mum for looking after them as much as you are able.

The one thing I will ask is have they all be Neutered and Spayed, if not then that is something a charity might be willing to help with, you certainly don't want any more kittens showing up.

Apart from that the only things I can think of is to ask the neighbours to help a little and spread the work of looking after the colony out.

Keep contacting charities and see if even if they won't rehome them, they would be willing to help relocate them if new homes could be found, anything from farms, to stables, to garden centers and industrial units can benefit from a small healthy feral cat populations, I even know of a local charity that settled half a dozen in a prison to help keep rodents under control.

I do hope you can find someone who can help you with them.
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Davethecat
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Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:59 am
No. of cats in household: 2
Location: on the spare bed

Re: Help required.

Post by Davethecat »

Hi Cattyh,
I just want to first echo what Ruth B said - well done to your mum for caring for these cats all this time, and also to ensure they are all neutered / spayed.

It would be better if they can stay in their familiar territory, so if neighbours could help out that would be best. As Ruth says, it's vital that all of them are neutered. It might even be that if a rescue organisation is near enough, they may possibly have someone willing to come and help out with feeding/overseeing the colony.

Anyway, here are a few links / ideas that might help with trap & neuter, or with relocation if needed, or at least with further advice:

Cat Chat's page of organisations who are known to help with feral cats (look under 'Ireland').
https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cats/feral-farm-cats
This is not an exhaustive list, there may be organisations who can help who are not on this list - see the general shelters list for NI below...

Cat Chat's general shelters list for Northern Ireland:
https://www.catchat.org/index.php/cat-r ... and-ulster

These organisations deal specifically with feral cats - worth approaching them for advice, and they may also have contacts in Northern Ireland:
Cat Action Trust: http://www.catactiontrust.org.uk/
Cat Action Trust 1977: http://www.cat77.org.uk/

Also try Cats Protection Helpline: 03000 12 12 12

Last though is this company below, who say they can help with Trap-Neuter-Return and if it's not appropriate to return to the same location, they say on their page they will "arrange for the cats to be placed with a local animal sanctuary that has a policy of non destruction" so that sounds like they may have an arrangement with a sanctuary already - they specifically say they do NOT euthanise, but best to check anyway!
https://www.ppcenvironmental.co.uk/feral-cats/

Good luck!!
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