jdr

We used to see them at Thames Board Mills when we on a contract there.
They used to live in the bales of paper and rags and live off the rats and mice, if you went near them they would get really vicious and spit at you.

Cats-R-Us

I think Fred James is right and we will have to trap him and move him on. I have managed to find humane cat traps on the net but the suppliers seem to be in the USA or UK. The UK ones are around £30 which I might be able to stretch my pension to afford but the problem is that they want to charge me £30 postage as well. A while back we did meet a lady at the vet clinic who said they had a similar problem and now had a cat trap but were not willing to lend it out in case they didn't get it back - quite understandable. She said her husband got it from a place in Granada and said she would ring me to tell me the address etc. but she never phoned so that is why I thought I'd try through the Forum for info.

artemis

Hi there FredJames, Sorry but you are misinformed. I have worked for 3 cat charities and actually ran a cat rescue group myself (25 years experience). A cat can still be termed 'feral' even if it is neutered. Cat charities here trap the cat, neuter it and then put it back into the territory it knows. Neutering the cats stops them breeding more unwanted cats.

In my experience the steps to be taken are:

1. Gain its trust by feeding it. It's feeling angry because it is hungry. It is
territorial i.e. by fighting your cats because it is running on full-blown tom
cat hormones and neutering goes a great way to negating this situation.
2. Feed it with food inside the trap for a few days to get it used to
going in the trap.
3. Once you have trapped it take it to a vet. The vet will have something
called a 'crusher' that it will use to transfer the cat from the trap.
4. Vet will neuter the cat. Vets have long-lasting antibiotic injections so
said cat will be able to released once it has come around from the
operation.
5. Either:
(a) release the cat back on to the site it knows or,
(b) Give it to someone who will be able to keep it indoors for 3 to 4 weeks
and are able to offer it a place to stay (if it is truly feral probably
out of doors) and give it food.

Just 'dumping' it in the middle of nowhere is actually killing it slowly through starvation.

There is an outside chance that this cat may be tame. As I think I said previously we were feeding a very frightened cat for ages (abandoned) and it took 5 months for him to trust us.

P.S. Just in case this helps. JDR: P.S. cats find life hard if they are just left to catch rats and mice. They have to be fed along with the hunting. It is a bit of an urban myth to think they can cope alone on their own with no food.

P.P.S. It is against the law to dump a cat in such a way as mentioned above here in the United Kingdom, but I guess then it must be different in Spain? Here in the UK you will be prosecuted for moving and leaving your pet cat behind to fend for itself.

Fred James

What rubbish - how do you think these feral cats live at the moment? They hunt and kill and fend perfectly well for themselves. Moving one to a new location would make no difference.

Remember that we are talking about wild campo cats not the sort of strays that usually find their way into animal charities in the UK.

jdr

I think Fred is right, the ones I have seen would just as soon attack you as anything else.
There is no way you would get within a couple of metres of them without them attacking you.

SoJohn

Just don't wear shorts and make sure you have steal toe cap boots on.

hehe

artemis

JDR I see you are once again on the side of the animals.

Does Deptford South East London count I wonder - I wish I had been in the snug confines of a cosy animal rescue shelter don't think I ever saw one of these! (Just the homes of extremely kind and caring cat rescuers out there in the wind and rain and putting their safety at risk in the very dubious and unsafe south london environs) but instead was in the dark on someone's flat roof with various cat traps -

P.S. Fred. One unneutered female cat I rescued (from a feral colony) had had around 100 kittens our vet ascertained upon speying her. He said had she had any more her womb would not have been able to cope it would have disintegrated, but let's just leave them there shall we??????????

jdr

Your imagination and comments astound me ....

You have obviously never seen a Spanish feral cat let alone been near one.
They wrote that phrase "don`t bite the hand that feeds you" with feral cats in mind.

artemis

JDR, Whenever I post something in defence of an animal you always seem to pop up. My conscience is clear and the information that I have given is correct, whether you want to believe it is really up to you.

jdr

How old are the feral cats ?
How long have they looked after themselves ?
Do they really need someone to kidnap them and force a totally different way of life on them just so as they conform to your rules ?
Why do you think the wild animal rescue centres don`t like taking animals out of the wild and try to look after them where they are living ?
There is a slight difference between a wild cat and a lost kitty in London.

artemis

Hello everyone again, just in case no-one believed me when I said that cats can't cope on their own without help from us humans, here is a quote from the Cats Protection League in the U.K. taken from 'MIAOW' Winter 2007 supporter newsletter:

"It is a common misconception that cats can fend for themselves if left to their own devices. But being discarded causes considerable distress and suffering and he turuth is, without help, many do not survive." They go on further to say "According to a recent survey and for the second year running, cats are the most abandoned pet in the U.K. Whether they are unwanted presents, the result of unplanned litters or just no longer loved, many cats are simply left out like rubbish."

For more information about cats the CPL's web site is www.cats.org.uk/thecat.