How would you find a home for these cats - advice? NEW PICS ADDED!

[Desley (booktigger)]

I would be tempted to split them - mum and son isn't always the best combination, and you might find they both improve tremendously. You can always give it a try for a couple of weeks and see. Good luck for Mabel's kittens.

[Millys Mum]

How old is he now? None of the mums iv had would have benefited from living with their kitten, much happier away from them.
Fingers crossed for Mabels kittens

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hey! No homes yet, but we're in for the long haul with them so it's ok!

We feel that Poppy holds Leo back as he learns from her to hiss and growl at us and I really do think she'd be better off split from him, but to split a mum and son who was the only of her litter to survive - I just don't know.

We have a potential home for Mabels more tame kittens so fingers crossed for them!

J xxx

[Hippykitty]

How's this going? Would love to know if they've progressed or found homes.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Aww, glad there has been some progress.

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Just a quick update to say that as we were cleaning out Poppy and Leo's pen and our socializer had her back to the bedroom area... all of a sudden she feels a tickle on her leg....


Leo was giving her ankle a wash!!! Success! 

He's now playing with string and likes to play. Poppy has come out to watch, but is still too scared to play. It's our socializers goal to stroke one of them by the end of the week (she's going to opt for Leo!)





This is when he first came in.... 

[dabs]

Just a thought and I do not know how viable it is your end. I live in a rural area and I have just been down to the farm supplies shop for some chick crumb. The lady there cannot figure out why I get thru so much of it and I have not yet told her it makes excellent cat litter. 

Anyway, they have a notice board in there and the shop is used by farmers, smallholders and stable owners, I am thinking of a poster in the shop appealing for homes four our outdoor cats. Dunno what response we will get, but worth a shot. Is it something that you could do your end for homes?

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Thanks for these guys!

I think that we both feel that all of these cats are long term projects for someone. We can very soon see if a cat is feral and in real need of being out of a pen or room and these cats aren't like that. I know Liz doesn't want to 'condemn' them to an outdoor life when we feel if the right home comes along, they will flourish. (I don't mean condemn as a bad thing BTW - hope people know what I mean by it!)

There are some great ideas here though and it's always useful to share ideas (i've heard of Emmanus before as I work for MIND the mental health charity and we have links with the homeless charities in the area)

If anyone has any 'taming' techniques then please let me know. We have some very experienced socialisers, but i'm new to it and again, it would be useful to hear how others do it!

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

I just want to sidetrack here that a few months ago we rehomed Diana (now Ming) and x feral older kitten that would not tolerate being picked up. She got rehomed on her own with two teachers and i heard yesterday that she has blossomed on the one to one attention and now acts like a normal nature puss cat.

This was the puss cat that Caroline our welfare officer decriibed as "grumpy" and didnt really seem to be bothered at all by people but didnt like them either.. She would give the occassional hiss and would run a mile with new comers. When we rehomed her she was around 4 months old and had been with Caroline at least 2 months. We thought we may have to put her back.. We decided not to rehome her with other cats and in the end that proved to be a good thing.. She now has her belly tickled as well. Oh yea she was also black, so black part feral older kitten with a grumpy attitude.. But she found a home..!

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I've got a book of little ideas but never have the time to follow through. 

You need to approach the problem from the opposite end - what kinds of people/lifestyles do you see these cats fitting into? Would they make good mousers for small holdings, or are they really long haul taming projects. If mousers, you're looking for farmers or small holders - contact local farmers support networks, young farmers clubs, look up agricultural colleges. Send out a mailshot! 

If long term tamers, that's a tad more difficult and harder to identify where these people hang out. You need to look for people with lots of time seeking a fresh challenge. Local adult education notice board? Bereavement support associations? Retirement social clubs? Do a mail shot! 

Any large buildings where a named person may be willing to 'care' for a resident mouser? Monasteries, sheltered homes, colleges, prisons, army barracks, factories... 

In Dover there is a homeless and unemployed support group called Emmaus. There are several of these groups around the country. People who live on site renovate and sell dumped and secondhand furniture to support themselves while they rebuild their lives. The Dover group has 3 'moody' cats. (Their words!) All of them just turned up in exactly the same circumstances as the humans do - homeless, hungry but willing to work. So they live on site, tolerate the occasional ear tickle from human colleagues and control the rodents in the warehouse for a bowl of Felix a day... and very inspirational they are to newcomers too and Emmaus wouldn't be without them!  There are so many circumstances a less-than-fully domestic puss fits into. 

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Oh we're well familiar with long haul cats lol! I totally agree that we like to keep them to totally make sure what kind of cat they are (just timid, shy, semi feral, feral etc) and we hope we do the right thing!

At least these babies are safe, warm and being fed and we'll keep them as long as needs be!

J x

[dabs]

I have this year rehomed three siblings from a feral site, two in one home and another by herself. However the new owners were back the following week to another fosterer and had one of her young adults that had come from a feral site as well. The same fosterer only a couple of weeks before had rehomed another girl that was from a feral site and when she first came in was so terrified of humans she used to climb the wire in her pen and pee herself whenever she was approached. She came down enough to progress to the conservatory and then eventually be confident enough for homing.

I currently have in a youngster about 10 months old that is currently under my son's bed. We are prepared for the long haul with her and appreciate that it could take many months beofore she is ready to be rehomed. I like to wait till they are well socialised before I even consider rehoming, but I appreciate that not all rescues have the space or the time. I waited 6 months before the right home came along for the three siblings and then I made sure that they fully knew what they were taking on. I would rather that than the cat bounce back because she has hid under a bed for the first month and is not an instant lap cat that some people seem to want! 

I also prefer that they have had some experience with difficult cats as well, two out of the four the rescue rehomed went to a farmer's daughter who had owned a farm cat off her father's farm and the other two went to a wonderful couple who had previously owned a cat from a feral site so knew what hard work they could be gaining trust etc.

It can be easier to find indoor homes for ex ferals than outside sites, we have rehomed 5 to indoor homes in about 3 months so the homes are there, it is just the sites that are like hens teeth!

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hey all,

Thanks for this - it's always useful to pool ideas! I know that 3 cats are a rare thing for people to take on, but we've split off the other 2 kittens who are more forward, Mabel and Myrtle are particularly close and we don't feel it's fair to leave out Melba as she loves her sisters and mum...

We've re-homed these types of cats before and we know that owners do come along, it can sometimes feel like it's an impossible task!

Anyway, all of our cats are cuddled up for the Christmas and we'll pick up re-homing in the new year (phew!)

PS: It's Jen, i'm not sure who Debbie is!!!

[Liz]

Our Homecare lady is good at this she tends to go for retired folks or folks with no kids - we have never found dogs and ferals to be an issue - they tend to slash the dogs noses with all claws extended and the dog soon looses the notion

Our BC Sky who is 19 months old now walks backwards away from a couple of our ferals and Sunny is learning that they all won't play with his ball!

[Canterbury_cats (Sharon)]

Debbie, from past experience its very rare that you will get someone to take on 3 cats, esp if their characters are quiet different. Sometimes they do blossom and some their individual nature if rehomed on their own and are forced to interact with people more. We have found this to be true on timid ferals that we have wished to be rehomed as pairs but have turned into lovely cats when on their own.

. It may be that you have to be realistic if some months have gone by and all 3 are still with you.

[Angiew]

Have you any riding schools/horse shops etc where you could put up some ad? Or maybe even pay for a classified in a horsey mag - some of them are quite cheap

[blackcat]

A random thought, but have you considered monitoring the River Cottage website forum? The membership are all living an alternate or rural lifestyle to some extent, but I have noticed from time to time that some post about their rescue or feral cats. Mind you, some of the posts are not quite the sort of message we would want to promote, but from time to time you might spot someone suitable looking to find a suitable cat for farm work ...

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hey!

As our branch very much concentrates on the feral/stray side of rescue (rather than taking in people's cats due to circumstance change etc.) we often have very timid/sht/semi feral cats in care. As much as possible we try to TNR but inevitably have to try and re-home some. We have two lots of cats in care and i'm wondering what strategies you use to re-home these cats?

First there's Poppy and Leo:

Poppy and Leo are two beautiful cats who have had a bad start in life.  Poppy had to rear her litter of kittens on her own outside and only one had survived by the time we were asked to help.  Both needed trapping as they were extremely nervous, but now in our care they are becoming playful and more trusting.  As it may take some time before they will trust people completely we are looking for a sympathetic and understanding owner who will accept them as they are and let them blossom in their own time.  This type of cat turns out to be a most loyal and loving companion if given a chance.



And also Mabel, Myrtle and Melba

We're looking for a very special home for these three special cats. They have had a rough start in life and need a loving home where they can come round in their own time. They are very close to each other and MUST be re-homed together. They have gotten used to home comforts and therefore we're not appealing for a purely outdoor feral home, but a home where they can come and go as they please, or an warm outdoor home. Mabel is a DSH black cat, around 2 years old, Melba is a DSH brindle tortie and here is Myrtle who is very close to her mum.

In time we would expect the kittens to become domesticated, but Mabel may always prefer to be on her own.



Both groups are definately not feral (they don't hiss, spit or bite), but they can;t be touched either!!!

Are there any special places you advertise for these kind of cats, or is it just a case of waiting for the right home (which is what we've done before, but cna mean that pens are held up for long periods of time!)