Author Topic: Feral kitten in my hedge (Read 4647 times)

Ghdp · « **on:** October 02, 2016, 09:59:47 pm »

For the last few weeks I have been aware of initially two feral kittens and their mother living in and around our fields. They are a breakaway group from a wider population of in bred/feral/ yard cats on the farm 'next door.' ( about 1/4 mile away.) They are fed here but are otherwise feral animals. Mum and one of the kittens seem now to have moved on leaving one very small black kitten which I see every few days . It seems to be shetering in a thick hedge close to my vegetable plot and hen house.
I dont at all mind him / her living there and we have rabbits and small rodents he / she can help control. I certainly dont want a pet and, frankly, this young kitten , if anything like its mother, is not pet material:-)
It is a very small kitten and to my inexperienced eye he looks about 6 weeks old but in reality it must now be about 3 months old.
Is it likely to be able to catch enough food to eat?
Am I ok just to leave it alone? I dont want to be responsible for feeding it but will without hesitation if I should. If I do start feeding it I am likely to attract some others from next door! If I don't feed it it will either starve or thrive and, if it thrives will probably make its way back next door .
The person we bought our house from says this happens regularly and she just ignored them.
Suggestions??

HappyHippy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 03, 2016, 07:22:55 am »

We have a collection of feral cats - my dad feeds them

The cats protection league are really good at coming out every few years, trapping them all, castrating all adults and if there are kittens that can be rehomed they keep them and do that. The first time I phoned them they trapped 30 cats

but subsequent visits have had around 10-15 caught. Because they get fed here (despite me pleading with him not to!) the word seems to spread around the countryside and they all come to visit!
There is a point, usually around 5 weeks old, where the kittens can be taken from mum and successfully 'tamed' (my daughter LOVES doing this

)
If you don't feed it, it'll go elsewhere to find someone who will I think - but I'm a softy and don't know if I could (especially when the weather starts to turn). Unless you want it to stay, try not to feed it - it should move on

in the hills · « **Reply #2 on:** October 03, 2016, 08:27:27 am »

Well, I'm a softie too, so I'd be in touch with a local rescue, Cat's Protection or the like and get some help to trap and neuter. The RSPCA paid and would have loaned us a cage to trap if necessary when a 'tom' was visiting the fields around us. A neighbour caught him as he sneaked in to steal her cats food and we took him to the vets for neutering, worming, etc RSPCA paid the bill. Neighbour tried to keep him but he was too wild for her to manage so she released him. Was told that the RSPCA had a trap, neuter and release policy for older hedge cats.It gives them the best chance .... Less fighting and subsequent infection. Less chance of Feline Aids. Not pushed out of territories by more dominant cats and of course they can't breed so less unwanted kittens. They are better able to hunt for food as they are not putting their energy into seeking mates or rearing kittens. Gives them the best chance as ferals.
Local rescue told us that they are best handled from more or less birth if you wish to keep as pets but they can still be tamed as older kittens/young cats. It just takes longer.
Apparently mum will drive her kittens away as soon as she comes back into season which can be as soon as 5 weeks after giving birth. Could be why the kitten is now on its own . It's a hard life being a feral cat!

Backinwellies · « **Reply #3 on:** October 03, 2016, 11:49:07 am »

Got my black feral kitten purring on my lap as I type ... arrived here about 4/5 weeks old, moved in and now at 3 months is the least feral cat I've ever known .... lives on me whenever I sit down and purred all through vet giving jabs ... but is great mouser (caught its first in the house a week after he arrived!) .

Anke · « **Reply #4 on:** October 03, 2016, 02:33:56 pm »

Having finally got round to get a "farm" cat for the holding I can just say - you will not regret having a semi-tame mouser/voler round the place.... Ours came to us as a 4-5year old, already neutered male, that was obviously once a house cat... he was trained to live in the goat shed (my daughter is badly allergic to cats) and does a great job to catch rodents!

Womble · « **Reply #5 on:** October 03, 2016, 03:00:06 pm »

I've seen this thread go past on the list a couple of times now. Each time I think to myself "why would anybody keep a feral kitten in their fridge?"

I must learn to read slower

Ghdp · « **Reply #6 on:** October 03, 2016, 11:04:24 pm »

Womble. You have made me laugh out loud again!

farmershort · « **Reply #7 on:** October 04, 2016, 09:42:15 am »

We've got piles of cats around our holding, none of them are feral as far as I know, but there's at least 6 or 7 that hunt on our land. If nothing else, it saves us getting a barn/farm cat for our own needs, but I do worry about the local bird life.

I'm slightly surprised at the catch-neuter-release policy mentioned previously. Certainly the neuter part is to be applauded, but I would imagine there is a serious conservation argument for getting these cats out of the countryside. I imagine the RSPB wouldn't approve of the re-release.

You then do end up in some sort of imaginary year-zero sort of argument.... "wild cats used to be common in britain"... well, yes, but so were Rhino. It's at that point I realise that I'm not a true conservationist, as I have no idea which era we're trying to replicate.

I find the simplest fact relating to this is that song birds numbers have decreased hugely in the last 50/60 years, and cats are one of the big culprits. With that in mind, it does seem odd that an animal charity would re-release them.

in the hills · « **Reply #8 on:** October 04, 2016, 12:10:48 pm »

I think the re-release is due to the fact that the rescues are full and that these true ferals would take a lot of 'taming' to become pets.

Not sure how much impact these ferals have on song bird numbers nationally though they may have some local impact at times I suppose.

I would have thought that it is changes in farming methods, land use, pesticides and impact of human activities abroad (as birds migrate) that has far more affect on song bird numbers than the colonies of ferals.

And surely cats were present in the countryside before the 50_60 years ago that you mention and songbird numbers were okay then.

farmershort · « **Reply #9 on:** October 04, 2016, 12:59:49 pm »

Quote from: in the hills on October 04, 2016, 12:10:48 pm

I think the re-release is due to the fact that the rescues are full and that these true ferals would take a lot of 'taming' to become pets.

Not sure how much impact these ferals have on song bird numbers nationally though they may have some local impact at times I suppose.

I would have thought that it is changes in farming methods, land use, pesticides and impact of human activities abroad (as birds migrate) that has far more affect on song bird numbers than the colonies of ferals.

And surely cats were present in the countryside before the 50_60 years ago that you mention and songbird numbers were okay then.

I can't remember the whole of report I watched, but I think a lot of the initial reduction was put down to environment change, urbanisation, etc.... but then birds will often find a way to adapt to such things.... peregrine falcons living on tower blocks for example. The follow on being that these changes in environment have also come with an increase in domestic cat numbers, which hamper the re-growth in populations.

I thing my simplistic view is that pet cats in domestic/urban settings are one thing, and certainly cause damage, but as long as the rural populations are protected, there should be enough environment for everyone. Allowing ferals in the countryside seems like an unfortunate pincer-movement on the bird populations.

It all comes back to owner responsability of course.... don't breed more cats than is sensible and all that.... same goes for humans too mind

I realise the various charities and such-like are full to bursting with animals, and it's not nice to say, but there is a case for more severe population control. Let's face it, we do it with Deer and a number of other native species, so why not with the non-native apex predators.

in the hills · « **Reply #10 on:** October 04, 2016, 01:21:20 pm »

Have a look at ' RSPB, Are cats causing bird declines?' ... Sorry can't do links.

I've just googled it and this came up.

I don't think cats are too much of a concern in most places.

My mog seems to mainly hunt rodents and certainly that's why farmers usually encourage/tolerate a few barn cats or ferals for this purpose.

Our local cat charity also supports a neuter and release policy, though they do take kittens/young cats to tame and rehome.

They also encourage farmers to feed the feral/barn cats as this makes them better hunters. They stay in better condition, are fitter for hunting, and hunt more for pleasure rather than just survival.

Penninehillbilly · « **Reply #11 on:** October 04, 2016, 06:08:32 pm »

Quote from: in the hills on October 04, 2016, 12:10:48 pm

I think the re-release is due to the fact that the rescues are full and that these true ferals would take a lot of 'taming' to become pets.

And surely cats were present in the countryside before the 50_60 years ago that you mention and songbird numbers were okay then.

Sadly 50/60 years ago drowning unwanted kittens would have still been common.

in the hills · « **Reply #12 on:** October 04, 2016, 07:49:19 pm »

Sadly, Penninehillbilly, it still is!

The local rescue works hard to educate communities and they do apparently include the keeping of healthy farm colonies of ferals as part of courses in agricultural college now. Hopefully things will change slowly.