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Old August 17th, 2009, 07:46 PM
KittyG KittyG is offline
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Location: Clarksville, TN
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Smile Hi I am Marina from TN USA


There are so many stray cats here where I live and many of them are wild. I want to catch them so thy can get a home, etc. but they won't go into the trap. Does anyone have suggestions?
I don't want to call animal control because they destroy cats. We have a Cats R US here. I have been there once and the ladies there complain because they have little funds and no help. Also the place needs serious odor control. I wonder what anyone can suggest or do in this situation.

I have 2 cats at this time. Kitty Garfield is a spayed female and she is 1 year 5 months. Then we have a kitten and he is about 5 months. What do people think about having male cats neutered? Is it really true that they become sweeter. He is already so sweet and I wonder if he loses his sweetness then. The spayed female is more distant emotionally than the kitten who has not been neutered yet. His name is Kitty Baby. I will put up photos later.

If anyone has suggestions please feel free.
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Old August 17th, 2009, 08:46 PM
Rottielover Rottielover is offline
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Has nothing to do with becoming sweeter, but there will be no more spraying in the house ( yuck!!) and no chances of him trying to sneak out to find a mate. Best thing you can do for you, your cat and the over population is have him neutered. Very easy procedure
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  #3  
Old August 18th, 2009, 10:51 AM
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ownedbycats ownedbycats is offline
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Spaying/neutering DOESN"T affect personality (well, okay, during the day right after while they are still on meds and for females the week while they heal). We have 2 males, both neutered. One was stand offish with the occasional cuddle before his surgery and is stand offish with the occasional cuddle after. the other was a cuddle cat before and is a cuddle cat now. The surgery changed nothing.
However, when you bring them home before you let all the kitties get together rub each of them with the same cloth so they all smell the same, not like the vets.
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Old August 18th, 2009, 10:54 AM
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marko marko is offline
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From my understanding, neutering can calm some (but not all of course) male cats down.
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  #5  
Old August 18th, 2009, 11:20 AM
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14+kitties 14+kitties is offline
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This thread has some good ideas for live trapping cats.
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....=live+trapping

Now, are they strays or feral? Strays being approachable cats who have been abandoned or let out all the time. Ferals being wild cats who do not trust humans. If strays then you may have a chance of finding homes. If feral the chances are slim. What you then have is called a feral colony. You can still get them spayed and neutered, and we would love you for doing that, but they would not have much chance of being tamed enough to become a pet per se.

You can do a google check to see if there are any low cost spay neuter programs in your area. Or ask your vet, humane society (or your equivalent). They may be able to tell you. A live trap is fairly inexpensive. I got mine for under $100 Cdn. You will also need carriers to transport the cats you trap. It takes a lot of patience, care, and kindness to be able to pull something like this off. Would be nice if you could hook up with a group in your area. They can be a great resource for information, help and support.

Funding for rescues has been and probably always will be woefully deplete. It seems no one wants to take responsibility for the mess we caused. I don't know of any programs available in the States but we do have a few members from there. Maybe one of them have some ideas.
As for cleaning..... it has to be done on a regular basis. Cats smell, pure and simple. Maybe they could use more volunteers to come in and clean/sanitize the litter boxes, clean their cages, whatever. A good cleaner to use that is safe for cats is Nature's Miracle.
This site gives you a recipe for helping with odours.
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm

And lastly, neutering your male...... why would you get your female done and not your male? By doing that you are only taking care of half of the problem. As has been noted, a male cat can spray. When they are defending "their" territory they spray more. If they can smell an unspayed female they spray more. If you get kitty neutered before he reaches sexual maturity (around 6 - 8 months for males) you have less chance of him spraying. Also, an intact male (one that has not been fixed) will roam up to seven miles away from their home looking for females in heat.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your quest. Let us know how it's going. I am sure we can give you advice as you go along. This is a great site for that.
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Old August 18th, 2009, 11:29 AM
BenMax BenMax is offline
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I cannot comment really much more except to recommend the neutering of your male cat.

I am now up to 4 males and 2 females. All have the exact same personalities before and after the procedure. It did not change their weight, personality or any other habits that they may have.

Really, spaying and neutering is the most responsible thing to do. Just look out your window and your answer will be clear.
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Old August 19th, 2009, 12:25 AM
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Tundra_Queen Tundra_Queen is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 14+kitties View Post
This thread has some good ideas for live trapping cats.
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....=live+trapping

Now, are they strays or feral? Strays being approachable cats who have been abandoned or let out all the time. Ferals being wild cats who do not trust humans. If strays then you may have a chance of finding homes. If feral the chances are slim. What you then have is called a feral colony. You can still get them spayed and neutered, and we would love you for doing that, but they would not have much chance of being tamed enough to become a pet per se.

You can do a google check to see if there are any low cost spay neuter programs in your area. Or ask your vet, humane society (or your equivalent). They may be able to tell you. A live trap is fairly inexpensive. I got mine for under $100 Cdn. You will also need carriers to transport the cats you trap. It takes a lot of patience, care, and kindness to be able to pull something like this off. Would be nice if you could hook up with a group in your area. They can be a great resource for information, help and support.

Funding for rescues has been and probably always will be woefully deplete. It seems no one wants to take responsibility for the mess we caused. I don't know of any programs available in the States but we do have a few members from there. Maybe one of them have some ideas.
As for cleaning..... it has to be done on a regular basis. Cats smell, pure and simple. Maybe they could use more volunteers to come in and clean/sanitize the litter boxes, clean their cages, whatever. A good cleaner to use that is safe for cats is Nature's Miracle.
This site gives you a recipe for helping with odours.
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/urinestainremoval.htm

And lastly, neutering your male...... why would you get your female done and not your male? By doing that you are only taking care of half of the problem. As has been noted, a male cat can spray. When they are defending "their" territory they spray more. If they can smell an unspayed female they spray more. If you get kitty neutered before he reaches sexual maturity (around 6 - 8 months for males) you have less chance of him spraying. Also, an intact male (one that has not been fixed) will roam up to seven miles away from their home looking for females in heat.

I hope this helps. Good luck in your quest. Let us know how it's going. I am sure we can give you advice as you go along. This is a great site for that.
14+ I clicked on that link and can't find the link to the odor recipe,,,only how to order it.
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