Hi! About a year ago, a cute little kitty started coming around and sleeping in the bushes/driveway and she looked well taken care of. I did not feed her right away knowing that once I did, she would likely not leave! After a month, she was still hanging around so I broke down and fed her. I was hoping to find out if she was chipped so I could find her owners if she had any. My neighbor had also been feeding her, which is why she had stuck around in the first place and turns out the kitty (Honey) was feral and not a stray. Being "new" to the cat thing I did not catch her before she got pregnant and all of the sudden she was HUGE. I kept feeding her after my neighbor lost interest and 8 weeks after she had the kittens she brought them all to my doorstep over the course of three days. At this point, I could still not really get near her at all (no closer than a few feet). After a few days of Honey and her 5 kittens living on my porch and in the driveway, I was able to catch all the kittens, socialize them, rehome 3 of them and get mom spayed after a few stressful weeks of trying to catch her. What a project!! So, now I have two of the babies inside and Honey has been living on the porch ever since watching her babies through the sliding glass door and has not lost a bit of interest in them.
Honey is really coming along and getting more social everyday. She wants badly to come inside, but once she comes in, she will not let you get in between her and the front door. So she will only come in if the front door stays open, which can't happen, because then the kittens can get out. I can now pet her when she's eating, which was a HUGE step. I plan on trying to catch her again and take her in for more shots and FeLV test so if she ever does tame down enough to come in and have contact with her babies, she won't be putting them at risk. She only had a rabies shot when she was spayed.
Anyway, she seems pretty happy on the porch. She has a bed and small igloo for when it's cold or raining. The only issue is there is one other feral cat that is around a lot. I think he's actually the father of one of the kittens and he sometimes chases her off the porch and trys to "own it". I think they've even gotten into a few fights. It's almost like he's trying to get to the kittens sometimes. I definitely don't like that she feels threatened by him because at this point we (Honey and I) both agree that this is her home. I actually caught him once when I was trying to catch her to get spayed, but let him go because I was unable to get him neutered at the time. I want to catch him again and take him into get neutered now, but I'm not sure about where to release him. It doesn't seem like there's a colony around - I never see other cats and there aren't really any other homes close to mine. I live in a resort area and am sort of a random house among hotels and restaurants.
I am hesitant to release him here because I really don't want Honey to continue to feel threatened by him and keep getting kicked off the porch. I also do not want to turn him into animal control and be euthanized. He's only doing what's natural for him. Once he is neutered is there a chance they might get along better or be less territorial? Is there a better option? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks! Also, here are pics of Honey and her kittens from last summer when this all started. Major cuteness warning!
DSC_0024 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Honey is really coming along and getting more social everyday. She wants badly to come inside, but once she comes in, she will not let you get in between her and the front door. So she will only come in if the front door stays open, which can't happen, because then the kittens can get out. I can now pet her when she's eating, which was a HUGE step. I plan on trying to catch her again and take her in for more shots and FeLV test so if she ever does tame down enough to come in and have contact with her babies, she won't be putting them at risk. She only had a rabies shot when she was spayed.
Anyway, she seems pretty happy on the porch. She has a bed and small igloo for when it's cold or raining. The only issue is there is one other feral cat that is around a lot. I think he's actually the father of one of the kittens and he sometimes chases her off the porch and trys to "own it". I think they've even gotten into a few fights. It's almost like he's trying to get to the kittens sometimes. I definitely don't like that she feels threatened by him because at this point we (Honey and I) both agree that this is her home. I actually caught him once when I was trying to catch her to get spayed, but let him go because I was unable to get him neutered at the time. I want to catch him again and take him into get neutered now, but I'm not sure about where to release him. It doesn't seem like there's a colony around - I never see other cats and there aren't really any other homes close to mine. I live in a resort area and am sort of a random house among hotels and restaurants.
I am hesitant to release him here because I really don't want Honey to continue to feel threatened by him and keep getting kicked off the porch. I also do not want to turn him into animal control and be euthanized. He's only doing what's natural for him. Once he is neutered is there a chance they might get along better or be less territorial? Is there a better option? Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks! Also, here are pics of Honey and her kittens from last summer when this all started. Major cuteness warning!
DSC_0024 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!