There's a certain urgency to complete the trapping as a new law regarding trap and release of feral cats was going into place for LA County. Some bird conservationists complained and they want the program to end.
My sister and her boyfriend made the trap, scheduled the appointment and started catching what cats we could to get fixed. She has a video of it somewhere that she still needs to edit to post.
We were not really sure how many cats were in our colony but the final tally was 8. The first night we caught 5 cats.
When the trap dropped on them they panicked like crazy. We had to cover the whole thing with cloth to calm them down. When they settled a bit we opened a small door in the big trap that lead to a small cage trap to hold individual cats. The big trap was more like a holding pen.
After we left for Northern California, my sister caught another 3 cats. We got everyone except the Alpha Male, Boomer. He was too smart for the trap. Everyone that was caught got fixed and they stayed in our house for a day to recover. They're a little wary of us right now since they got fixed but at least there will be no more cats reproducing. Even though Boomer escaped being neutered he will have no one to mate with as all the females are fixed.
After having my own cats there really is nothing to fear with feral cats and I grew to love them dearly. Since my cats came from the strays outside, it was only natural that we do what we can for them. MomCat is to be credited for this. Her and Impostor Cat get to eat wet food when they come around the house. They have gotten so fat they look adorable.
The last thing we did before we released them was put collars on the cats. So that animal control will leave them alone. A collared cat would be more thought of as a pet than a stray so it offers some protection.
We caught the two little kittens and one of the most prolific breeders in the colony. So it was a good first day. They were not very happy but it's for the best. It's a great way to control the cat population in our gated community.
I know of another family that feeds the cats other than us but the rest of our neighbors are pretty indifferent about it.
After having my own cats there really is nothing to fear with feral cats and I grew to love them dearly. Since my cats came from the strays outside, it was only natural that we do what we can for them. MomCat is to be credited for this. Her and Impostor Cat get to eat wet food when they come around the house. They have gotten so fat they look adorable.
The last thing we did before we released them was put collars on the cats. So that animal control will leave them alone. A collared cat would be more thought of as a pet than a stray so it offers some protection.
