Another cat question

9 years ago

My mother lives in an area with few neighbors. Most of the houses are empty around her. There are a handful of feral cats, and over the past couple of years she was able to trap two. They turned out to both be females, she had one spayed and the other had been done by someone else. She's been trying (unsuccessfully) to trap a male.

My questions: As far as she knows, there are no breedable females left in the neighborhood. The male, who she does not know if he has been neutered, remains. He's pushy and a bully, and with no females who respond to his constant calls, why does he remain there? I thought male cats roamed more, why doesn't he move on to another neighborhood where there might be females to respond to him? Is he "probably" neutered then, that he doesn't roam, but the habit of calling out remains?

Featured Answer

annztoo

9 years ago

Is she feeding them? My guess is she's feeding them and cats, or any animal, will hang around where there is a food source. Since there are few neighbors, and empty houses, there are less opportunities for food so the cats are relying on her for food, plus whatever mice & birds they can catch. I'm sure most of these ferals/strays were left by the people that are no longer there.

If the male is calling a lot, then he most likely is intact. The males do tend to roam, mostly during breeding seasons, but his calling could also be a threat to other males that are around. Moving on to another neighborhood is not easy since he would first have to battle any cats already there, and if he did find a female in heat elsewhere, he would still return to his 'home' after mating with her.

Your mom should continue to try to trap him and have him neutered. Once he's neutered his personality should change, but he may continue to be alpha to certain cats.

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Comments (8)

Mystical Manns
Original Author
9 years ago
She does put out food for the females, but not a great deal so (she says) there normally isn't anything left when the male shows up. She's set the trap to capture him overnight, and instead caught a couple of raccoons and a possum. LOL
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annztoo
9 years ago
Does she know not to leave the trap unattended thru the night? She can set it until she goes to bed, then she should release the trigger and try again early morning or the next night. A trapped animal left overnight is prone to injury from within the cage and also injury from other animals. She should also make sure to keep the cage covered with a light sheet once she traps an animal.......reduces stress and keeps them calm.
Pea
9 years ago
Leave the trap unset out so the cat can get used to it being out there, start leaving food in the trap to attract him to it, then after a few days set the trapping mechanism use some tuna to bait the trap with.
Mystical Manns
Original Author
9 years ago
Annztoo and Pea ... she has been successfully trapping critters for several years. This one male cat is just too wiley. He has not entered the trap no matter what type of food she puts in it. She says he walks around it yowling, and she thinks he's laughing at her.
Pea
9 years ago
We had one that was untrapable, he disappeared last month. I've asked around the neighborhood to see if someone else finally trapped him but sadly no one has seen him. I hope your mom is successful.
plan2remodel
9 years ago
Several years ago, I was able to trap a male cat using Costco rotisserie chicken as bait. He was clearly in tact and picking fights with neutered females in the neighborhood. After he was neutered, he became a lovable house pet to one of my neighbors.
annztoo
9 years ago
Kentucky Fried Original (leg or thigh) also works.