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Is it good or bad to feed stray cats?

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posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 07:11 AM
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Im kinda in the same situation right now.
I live in the country, with no neighbors. This wild cat has been coming to my back deck every night and morning and trying to get into my garbage. My 2 cats will sit at the back patio window all night long staring into the darkness waiting for this cat.

Its getting cold outside, so my kids have been trying to lure this little guy into the house. But thankfully its so skiddish, that as soon as the back door is opened it bolts back into the woods.
I felt back one cold morning as this cat sat on my back deck. So i went and grabbed him a hand full of meow mix and put it outside for him.
Sure enough 10 minutes later he was back on the deck and gobbled it all up.
Hes a beautiful black cat, but just to dang wild to trust humans I think (good call on his part)

I dont want him to freeze to death over the winder but really, asides from trapping him and bringing him to the shelter (where they will most likely put him down) my hands are tied.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 07:26 AM
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Do you not like birds?



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 07:45 AM
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First...as everyone else is saying.....get the cats spayed and neutered .....call all your local animal rescues. Call all the Big or small organizations as one of them has a " spay,neuter and release " program. Look or google specifically " cat rescue league".... If you don't get the cats fixed, they will be yowling in heat all night . It will drive you nuts, plus then comes the many litters of kittens.....and then comes more problems and pissed off neighbors.

2nd, I'm not sure where you are, but certain states or town have laws against feeding stray cats ....or laws that if you feed them, then you become responsible for them. Also, there are laws against harming or killing feral cats. Which you will find, not everyone is fond of cats, and people will poison or kill feral cats.......in the past I have fed feral cats ,going against local laws that said you couldn't feed them, because I felt a hungry animal ( or person ) needs help, and if I'm capable of helping, then why turn my back. ...but with that comes responsibility as they will become dependent on you for food, water, etc...so if you are planning on living there for a long time , then great! ....if you are moving soon, then you will need to take them with you, or find them a caretaker .

3rd,with cats comes fleas...if the cats are living under your house or on your porch, you may want to look into trying to get some flea /tick drops for them. I'm not sure how close you can get to them ? But look into front line , so you only need to apply once a month - Do not use Hartz brand .

4 th, depending where you live, and how in depth you want to get into caring for your kitties, you may want to think about putting out a kitty litter box or two....that way you can control the litter and urine smell.....because otherwise, the cats will be peeing under your house ,or near your house , or at the neighbors house.....and the cat pee smell may make your neighbors mad, or overwhelm you.

Good luck....



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 08:15 AM
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I love all animals. (There are some tiny, yippy dogs that test that love) I have 3 cats.

I will always feed a hungry animal if I am able.

However, I have learned that you feed a stray, that stray will come back for more and soon, you'll have another cat.

Simple as that. Definitely neuter them as others have said. Sometimes, they do it for free/low cost in various areas.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 08:31 AM
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a reply to: nOraKat


If it isn't your place to intervene with spaying/neutering, why would it be your place to feed them enough to artificially increase their population? You are pointing out how it appears they are inept hunters being bolstered by your food. Meanwhile, once they learn to hunt....what does that means for birds and small mammals in the area?

I keep 1-2 strays in my neighborhood, and use cat traps to get the rest for the city to pick up. We have rattlesnakes and other nastys that the cats keep away. But more than 1 or 2 and you get drama from them (night time screams and fights).



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 08:40 AM
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No. Dont feed them. Trust me, they wont starve.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 08:54 AM
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you only feed stray cats once after that they are no longer strays they are your cats they will never go away.
enjoy your new cats.
edit on 15-11-2016 by Tardacus because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 09:17 AM
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originally posted by: gottaknow
I love all animals. (There are some tiny, yippy dogs that test that love) I have 3 cats.

I will always feed a hungry animal if I am able.

However, I have learned that you feed a stray, that stray will come back for more and soon, you'll have another cat.

Simple as that. Definitely neuter them as others have said. Sometimes, they do it for free/low cost in various areas.

Yeah, I have a specific stray I've been feeding and befriending since it was barely older than a kitten. she lets me hold and pet her now, if I leave the door open she will come in and lay on my foot, etc...
Lately I have been noticing a black cat nearby watching closely our interactions...and where I put her food, the other cat will sneak over and try to take the leftovers.
I am gonna have to chase it off or something..not that I want to, but I live right near a animal sanctuary..there are about 4 billion cats in the swamp area over here and if I give on another, this will soon be a full fledged cat house.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 09:23 AM
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originally posted by: Advantage
No. Dont feed them. Trust me, they wont starve.


I could trust a random online guy
or I could trust the facts sheet presented by the humane society
Source

How do feral cats survive – find food, stay warm, etc? Many don’t survive. If they do survive, their lives aren’t easy without human caretakers. Females may become pregnant as young as 5 months of age and may have two to three litters a year. Being pregnant so young and so often, and having and nursing kittens, is even more stressful on female cats who are struggling to survive.

More than half of the kittens are likely to die without human intervention. Males who roam and fight to find mates and defend their territories may be injured and transmit diseases to one another through bite wounds. Feral cats may find food in a restaurant dumpster or someone may feed them. They may find shelter from the elements beneath a porch or in an abandoned building. But often they are without a reliable source of food or shelter.


So there you go
catch the cat if you can, get it fixed, and toss it some cheapy cat food once a day...set up a little protected box for it to live under the house and voila..you did a service, saved a life, and made a friend.

or you could just let it die.

Never trust some random dude online is the real lesson here I think.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 09:40 AM
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a reply to: nOraKat

Eh, it's more of a personal feeling I suppose. I've been in trouble multiple times for feeding the strays that come up to our house. Mainly because it DOES seem like when you feed one, the whole neighborhood of stray cats hear about it and come to get their share. I'm not the type of person to let any thing go hungry of it comes to my house asking, long as I've got it. You do end up assuming a sort of responsibility for the cats so in the least, should get them fixed. Considering they are strays, it could only help future homeless kitties.

For the most part, stray animals will survive when they are forced to. Just think, if you felt bad and feed them how many of your neighbors have as well? I have a cat right now that I feed once every day even though I've SEEN her go house to house and know that others here feed her. But I'm a sucker for the helpless and feel the need to make sure she knows that if these other houses decide they don't want to feed her then she can always count on me... Silly, I know..

About the pigeon part, hunting and killing regardless of whether it's to eat or not, is purely instinctual for cats. While they're young, you'll see them play fighting with each other and "toying" with small insects without killing them. This is a form of training for when they do begin hunting for food. That's why you'll see the mother playing with her kitties. Nothing we do other than possibly raising them as inside cats from very early on can stop that instinctual behavior. And even strictly inside cats will still kill insects and mice without eating then simply because they are natural born hunters.
edit on 15-11-2016 by PageLC14 because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 10:07 AM
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a reply to: nOraKat

the small city(40k) I live in spends $40,000 a year to spay and neuter feral cats.

in two years I have noticed a marked improvement in our neighborhood.

hope more local government start doing this, it helps with the problem.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 10:45 AM
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a reply to: citizen6511

as we have found in this part of the world, if the municipalities don't do something, the public will do something. I'd much rather see cats spayed/neutered than having some redneck a-hole giving them antifreeze, or shooting them with air rifles. But it happens quite a bit.

Our community has no program for spaying/neutering. I have 3-4 cat traps i use for cats and other small vermin (racoons, mostly). When I catch one, i call the city to come pick it up. They kill whatever they pick up unless its a dog or cat, which gets held for 10 days (or some ridiculously short time) and is then put down. The parvo out there, among other diseases, is apparently unchecked, so after 10 days the animals day an agonizing death anyway.

Im not a fan of "the system" around here. Im less a fan of cats, though. 1-2 in a 3 to 4 block area is about all you can have before they become a problem.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 10:46 AM
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a reply to: SaturnFX

If anyone has a suggestion on how I could go about working to push my local municipality into adopting a spay/neuter program, i'd love to see a link or something. Seriously....we are stewards of the planet, and my town can do a hell of a lot better.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 11:01 AM
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originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: SaturnFX

If anyone has a suggestion on how I could go about working to push my local municipality into adopting a spay/neuter program, i'd love to see a link or something. Seriously....we are stewards of the planet, and my town can do a hell of a lot better.

I like the idea of roaming vans for trap-neuter-release. Have a vet and a sharpshooter with a tranq gun roll up and one by one tag one, fix it, clip the ear, then move to the next. Could also take the time to inspect the cats, put the ones riddled with cancer out of their misery, perhaps even treat the cats with flea and tick meds, the super powerful stuff, to cut down on the flea population. remove the kittens that may be worthy of adoption, and then move on. get a few trucks going and in no time the cat population will dwindle down significantly, along with increase the wildlife (squirrels, birds, etc) with the cats going away.

The way to do it of course will be with money. I recommend a petition for your local community for the coffers of the city or county to institute a few vans. might take a few days, or just talk to someone involved in your local government on the phone to do it for you. perhaps chat to your local vet to see if they can help. I don't know. I guess I am lucky enough to where the local animal shelter around the corner will snip any stray brought in to them...but the only way its gonna cut down is with roving vans whos job it is, is to track down colonies and fix em

This link may help
Alleycat implementing TNR program
to be honest, I imagine tons of retirees would love to do this. give em gas money and maybe spring for lunch and they will find great joy in helping out the scruffy little guys
edit on 15-11-2016 by SaturnFX because: (no reason given)



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 12:01 PM
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originally posted by: nOraKat
Sometime this summer a stray cat I used to feed gave birth to a litter of 4 kittens, they were like super-cute and now I feed the whole family. Actually the mom and one of the kittens disappeared after a few months.

Anyway, the 3 kittens are now pretty big, and they will be facing their first winter.

I saw one of the kittens one day stalking a pigeon. He got real close to it and the pigeon did not notice the cat at all. He could have pounced on it and caught it, but he looked unsure what to do once he got close. He kinda pounced toward it playfully, not really trying to catch it or eat it.

I thought to myself - he doesn't hunt the pigeon because he's not really that hungry. If the kitten were starving, he may have caught the pigeon and learned how to hunt, but these cats have no need to hunt because I feed them. I don't feed them that much, only once a day but probably enough.

To hunt a pigeon or other animal takes a lot of skill, and even knowing which parts to eat, how to eat it, how to tear it open, dealing with feathers and all that stuff. You probably have to develop your teeth to do that on a regular basis. Anyway, these cats probably never have an opportunity to learn all those things because they don't need to.

So what do you think? Is it bad to feed them because they become dependent on you and you take away their ability to sustain themselves? What happens if I move?

On the other hand, I see cats snooping around the trash so I figure a lot of these cats eat trash anyway and do not even hunt. In that case it is better to feed them?

And next year they will probably mate and give birth to more litters and my neighborhood will be full of more hungry stray cats which is prob not good..

What do you think?


I feed a number of cats here in NYC. Do not listen to these individuals who know nothing about Cats, i.e.: "That's perhaps the more important thing you can do, else 3 cats will end up being 30 starving cats." - this is nonsense by someone who has no clue what they are talking about.

First - stray cats will never need you to feed them to survive. Period. There is no animal on earth more equipped to be dropped anywhere on earth, and find a food source for itself then the domestic cat. They are the ultimate in evolution. Feeding them, you are simply doing a nice thing, but they will survive on their own through terrible weather, and other bad circumstances like no other species is capable.

Second - By dropping stray cats at your local animal shelter or control, you are providing them their death sentence. As 99% of them will be terminated regardless of their health and survivability. ANYONE who tells you this, has no #ing clue what they are talking about. You might as well kill them yourself, and be a man about it instead of handing it off to someone else you SHOULD KNOW will terminate the animal.

Last - the ONLY important way you can help a stray cat or colony. Is by trapping and releasing. You contact an animal rights ORGANIZATION not a shelter to setup a trap and release. You have the cat trapped, a vet will neuter or spay it and then rerelease it where u got it. THIS, is the ONLY good way to help stray cats outside of adopting them yourself or having someone willing to adopt/foster.

ANIMAL CONTROL or SHELTER = DEATH SENTENCE



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 12:10 PM
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originally posted by: nOraKat
Is it good or bad to feed stray cats?

Depends who you ask.
I don't think the cats (even feral as they are, a real plague in some areas!) would have any objection, but the neighbors (you know what neighbors are, no?) might object to the increased caterwauling and stench as your cute kitties leave their #ty footprints on hood and roof their new car.

And, philosophically, asking if something is 'good' or 'bad', aside from being rather juvenile and simplistic, doesn't understand that all 'judgment' is in the eye of the beholder!
All your 'values' only exist in your mind/thoughts. Not everyone divvies up the Universe into 'good' and 'bad'.
Besides, you speak as if you have any choice at all.
Understanding that we have no choice, judgment becomes rather insane.

I feed the birds! *__-



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 01:04 PM
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The answer is to feed the birds as well. My mother in law does this and the well fed cats completely ignore the birds. If a cat approaches a group of feeding birds one of them will give a shrill alarm call and all the birds will bolt before the cat gets anywhere near.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 04:13 PM
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a reply to: nOraKat

If you are talking city cats, get 'em spayed and neutered. They'll hang out around your place and help you keep the mice out when winter comes.

Just don't expect that they'll live very long lives. Most outdoor cats don't, and they'll likely disappear without you ever knowing for sure what happened.

If you live in the country, spaying and neutering isn't as big a deal. You likely have a healthy population of local predators who will keep them pruned for you. My fokls have barn cats and they sustain a population between 4 to 10 that grows and shrinks as the coyote packs come through. There are also owls and a local pair of bobcats who get hungry.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 06:55 PM
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a reply to: nOraKat

I am the same way with my strays. It all started after the flood in 2011 when a cat appeared in our driveway. He didn't run, he seemed to really want human attention. We figured he was somehow displaced due to the flood. So I put food out for him. Then he came inside, but I kept putting the food outside for him if he wanted it. Eventually, we kept him inside a house cat, but kept putting food outside. We have a lot of cats around and we put beds and shelters for them. They don't run from us (usually) and they watch us put the food out. I can get inches away from the feral cats, they know they can trust us.

If you are worried about hunting skills... We have one who is a female who is a couple years old now, never pregnant, but sticks around with her mother ( who has had at least 4 litters now). She must have something wrong with her, never been pregnant, but I have been able to see her bottom, she's definitely not got testicles. She has been witnessed killing at least 2 things. One was a bird and one was a mouse. She's ok. I feed them twice a day.



posted on Nov, 15 2016 @ 11:53 PM
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Nice gesture to help them out. Though that comes with responsibility as in some places they become your cats(or even just to include with helping them out) that includes possible healthcare especially fixing them. If you're in the city or not, spay neuter is the best way to go as you don't want predators staking out to close to your home. With not knowing any better predators could assume your other pets are food as well. Also, seeing those partially eaten kittens in parts is not a nice sight nor cleanup emotionally after a cougar leaves parts of them in an excruciating death around your home.

Also, if concerns for winter safety, helping to home them to barn homes, for example is an option. Some strays can also make great companion animals with patience and understanding, though that can be a challenge for many to harness.



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