Feral cats will look elsewhere for food
DEAR JOAN: I go to a local park and feed the feral cats daily. They’ve gotten so used to me that I see them waiting at the roadside if I’m late, and they run up to, and gambol around my car as I drive into the parking area.
I drive super slow into the parking area so they aren’t run over, although I’d prefer them to wait on the grass. The problem is, I may have to move, although it’s not definite. So, how do I get them unused to daily feedings from me without risking them starving?
They are still feral cats, so they can’t be adopted, and there is no one I would ask to take on that responsibility.
Jean Bay Area
DEAR JEAN: I already know that I’m going to get letters telling me I should have come down hard on you for feeding feral and stray cats, but I’m not going to address the issue of whether you should have. That cat already is out of the bag, so to speak, and now we just need to deal with it.
Wild animals will follow the food, moving to other areas to find it. Cats, however, are territorial, and feral cats may be even more so because this is the only home they have. They’ll likely stay in the area but expand their search for food, which could put them in conflict with other cats and humans.
There’s no question that an already tough life will get harder, but there are far more feral cats than feral cat feeders, and the strongest manage to survive, mostly by killing wildlife.
The best suggestion I can offer is that you should contact rescue groups that practice TNR, which stands for trap, neuter and release, and see if they have volunteers who will take over feeding the cats. It would be an excellent idea to have the colony neutered, if the cats haven’t already been.
I don’t know where you’re located, but some cities do have ordinances against feeding strays, so that might make it more difficult to find a replacement feeder. If you don’t know of any rescue groups in your area, try the Humane Society’s website. You’ll find a list of resources there.
DEAR JOAN: Over the past few weeks we have found in our yard one dead rat, partly mangled (we thought our terrier had done the deed); an injured rat with no visible injuries but that could barely move (no dog involvement possible); and part of a rat, again no terrier involvement and the dog is absolved of guilt in the first incident.
All of these finds were in the morning. Also, over the same few weeks there have been owls in the neighborhood every night. Are the rats and parts of rats the leftovers from an owl meal? Frank Danville
DEAR FRANK: The presence of owls certainly suggests they are the culprits, but there are other candidates including other raptors or even stray cats. Two of your finds can be attributed to a predator, but the third sounds like human involvement.
Owls hunt at night and are pretty good at eating the entire rat. Other predators tend to eat the parts they find the most tasty and leave the rest.
The rat that was alive but not moving sounds like it was a victim of poisoning. It should have been put out of its misery and then placed in the garbage to keep a bird, cat or dog from eating it and being poisoned as well. Please ask your neighbors not to be using poisons, especially with owls in the area.