Sometime last fall a young feral cat appeared in my yard and stole my heart. He was probably the product of a feral cat colony living down my street. Around fifteen of them are being fed by a very kind-hearted neighbor.
The feral cat in my yard visited consistently. I took these occasions to offer him food, coaxing him closer and closer to earn it. A friend helped me create a warm shelter with bales of straw that the cat took to right away. Soon he was waiting by my door every day for meals. My indoor cat Bingo was making friends with him too through the screen door, but they couldn’t be together until the feral cat had a clean bill of health.
I was lucky to find support from many friends and two generous feral cat pros who became my email mentors and cheerleaders through the process. They helped me avoid some mistakes and also led me to Carol House: Fix Feral Cats Quick on S. Jefferson. I took Buster, as I decided to call him, to their clinic to be fixed, have his various wounds patched up, be checked for Feline Leukemia, and vaccinated: all for a reasonable price. He is now the rambunctious pal of Bingo, thoroughly content with indoor living. I’m happy with him too.
Many neighborhoods have feral cats. Even if someone is feeding them, they face a hard, dangerous life. They are subject to disease and to injury from encounters with other animals, cars, and even people. A skimpy diet of mice and birds, with inadequate drinking water, makes for unhealthy cats. Feral cats live one to five years on average. House cats may live eighteen years or longer unless they, too, are allowed outdoors.
By going outside, not only will their lives be shortened, but also their owners may be ticketed for $50 by the City of St. Louis. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, free-roaming cats are also bad for birds, especially during migration and nesting seasons. People who enjoy the hoot of an owl and the call of the Cardinal can make a difference by keeping pet cats indoors.
It’s apparent that there is more work to do with the growing feral colony on our block. With the promised help from my mentors and the cooperation of some neighbors, I hope we will be able to manage the cats who are still out there. If you, too, are interested in resources to help strays and feral animals, Tenth Life Shelter, a not-for-profit, no-kill shelter has a great list of resources for helping both cats and dogs. Contact them at http://www.tenthlifecats.org/resources.
