Feeding Feral Cats at Colony

Colony cats live in thicket dens in the woods

This morning is chilly and rainy and I would rather stay indoors and watch the morning news under my warm down comforter but need to get up, get dressed and hike through the woods to feed the feral cats. 

Today is the first cool day in Autumn and it is supposed to rain all day but that is not an excuse as the feral and stray cats that reside in the woods depend on me for food and water.

I know that if I do not set the freshwater and cat food in the feeding station by a certain time the feral cats will get agitated, so it is important that I allow enough time to get up, get ready and hike down the nature trail, then cross the gully, up the embankment to the south bluff where the caves are located.

This cat colony is small so I don’t need to carry out many things; bowls for their food/water packaged dry kibble and water bottle. But I do need to dress properly, spray-on deep woods off, and must wear my hiking boots.

Right now the food station is set up under the overhang of a large rock but we will have to change that come winter. The overhang prevents a downpour of water from getting the food wet but when the wind blows the food does get wet. I am hoping that my husband can build me something that would be 4 feet off the ground so that we would not have to worry about snow or water runoff.

We have cared for this colony of feral and stray cats since 2008. All are part of TNR and we always watch out for the cats and will trap them if they are sick and are in need of veterinarian care.

So it is safe to say that no matter what the weather is, we take care of the feral and stray cats at the colony daily. Here are some photographs of our colony cats.

Paying People to Watch Cat Colony Questions

Recently I received a message from one of my blog followers that told me that they were a caretaker to a feral cat colony and that they were responsible for the colony as there were no other volunteers to help out with the feeding station and making sure cats had shelter or needed medical care This Cat Adoption Guide follower wanted to know if they should pay someone to watch over their cat colony when they go on vacation.

I would say it would be better to network for volunteers in your area that would care for the cats.  It is better to  have a cat lover as a caretaker.  Someone that is civic minded and does not mind donating their time to this worthy cause than to pay somebody.

Feral eat cat food in back garden a photo by Sgolis

One way to find people that are cat lovers in your area is to make up a flyer for cat caretakers and pass out in your neighborhood.  Ask your veternarian if you can hang the flyer on their bulletin board or contact the Cat Network or Alley cat allies and ask if there are any feral cat caretakers in your area. Also see if anyone at your church would be interested in volunteering their time to help care for your colony of cats.

Know that it hard to be solely responsible for a colony of cats and it is better to  know other civic minded people that will share in the duties of feeding the cats and chipping in for the food and or medical costs.  My husband helps me and I have two neighbors that donate their time and help the costs for food, spays and neuters, or vaccines for the cats.

Here is a post that I published that may be of interest to you:  What it means to be a Feral Cat Colony Caretaker