Quote:
Originally Posted by honeychile
Our feral cats ("the Will Ferralls") are a second-generation colony - there's one mom & dad, and their four kittens who are totally bonded. KittenDaddy & three of the kittens are Siamese (one lilac point), Mom is a tortoise shell, and the other kitten is solid black. They all take care of each other, and especially the little Lilac Point, who's the runt. I'd love to set a camera up on them, as they're terribly interesting. Oh, there are two others who were from last year's litter who come around occasionally - they don't "formally" live with the Will Ferralls. All of them leave food for each other, and the Mother will watch her babies eat, and then finish up. Think Kitty Vanderbilt. Oh, they also have all of their age appropriate shots.
When there was just one raccoon, it wasn't that bad - but now there are three. One is totally insolent, and if s/he doesn't get to the food first, s/he will grab the plate and toss it, rather than share. It's just bad news. These critters are easily 30# or more, and I did find out that it's illegal for me to shoot or poison them.  Not that I would poison them - I'd feel horrible if one of the cats got the food first.
I'm just frustrated with them. Is it possible to change the cats' feeding time, or do you think their habits are too ingrained by now? |
The cats should be fine with a changed feeding time. you might also consider an enclosure where the opening is big enough for the cats, but too small for the racoons.
Also, check in your area if you have any type of feral cat rescue (I am not talking about animal control or the humane society). Usually feral cat rescue will come out and trap the feral cats, spay or neuter them, "tag" them (they tag their ears here in Indy) and then they return them to wherever they were trapped. So you would have your ferals back, but they would not be able to reproduce. IndyFeral even insists that the cats be re-released where they were trapped because cats will try and get back "home" even if you release them somewhere else.
I have helped a neighbor catch 2 feral cats so far this summer and we are working on our third (the momma to the 2 we caught). I also ended up with the son of one of the ferals (we were able to domesticate the kittens fairly easily because we got to them when they were only a few days old).
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