MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

Three litters per year I need to catch the turtle colored feral cat to see the odds if she a female. There is a higher percentage in turtle colored cats that she is a female. I wish I had a barn. But one litter is ok. Haven't seen her yet.
 
day 9. feral cat is sneaking into the garden during the day to get a drink of water.
it was104 today so i wasn't out there.
the canal is more than 300 yards away so she has decided it's easier to sneak into the garden.
i've seen her several times.
the other night, i saw her thru the window. i said hi!. she ran but not in panic.
progress.
 
WEEK 2 PROGRESS.
i stepped out at dusk. the cat had come for a second helping. she saw me, n i said hi but didn't move. she loped to my work bench n jumped up. before leaping over the fence she looked at me over her shoulder.
this was a leisurely escape. i'm impressed. she used to flee in panic.
that's how i measure progress around here : the speed of retreat.
 
My experience with barn cats (feral) is they will eventually tolerate your presence if you feed them. They won't let you handle them. You don't want to even try that. The best you can ever hope for is to give the cat some shelter and some food. Make an out building accessible and leave some food and water in there. Your vermin problem will disappear, so will all of the birds around your house.
 
day 15
this is one smart kitty,
she has learned a verbal command.
i've taught her to come to call.
not to me. she doesn't wanna be in the same county as me, but she comes to dinner.
every night, when i set out food, i yell at the top of my lungs:
SUPPERTIME, KITTY.
within 5-10 minutes she shows up.
as an experiment, this morning i brot out a little bit of friskies, at 9:30am.
i yelled out it was dinnertime n, sure enow, she was eating in 5 minutes.
it is now possible to get her into the garden during the day.
 
Good job! Thanks for the report. Every cat we have ever owned was trained to come for food by the sound of a "Clicker" used by my wife. You can find them at Pet Smart or Petco. Just a small plastic gizmo the clicks when you push it. It's loud enough for them to hear it from quite a distance. Our newest cat Molly comes running back to the house every time and she has only been with us less than 2 months. Just give it a few clicks every time you feed them...works like a charm and saves your voice!

Keep up the good work
 
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when she gives me a chance, zip, i'll get a pic.
this is not the same cat that showed up here.
she looked like she was dieing of malnutrition.
she now looks healthy.
cat people sneer at friskies. they want you to spend more on cat food than prime beef.
but, for a working cat, friskies are great.
a couple weeks of good food n she looks great.
i don't see her in person, but i'm feeding before dusk, so i see her from the window.
 
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Great. I'm glad to see it's holding it's own in that high-threat environment out there.

I'd like to offer up a graphic for HPK from another feline that thrived in a high threat environment, the F14 Tomcat. ;)

Anytime.png
 
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Susie is havin' about the same luck I use to have with wimmen.. After a few months they would stay in the same room with me.. That was about as far as I ever got though.

Maybe one of them clikkers is what I needed.
 
My grandmother fed feral cats on her farm who were dumped off by city folks who didn't want them any more. Every night after milking she would put out a pan of milk with some stale bread.

They were ornery critters but they earned their keep by taking out the mice and rats.
 
thanks for the link, lee. i'll check it out.
saw her last night. she jumped to the top of the fence.
i froze in place n talked to her for a while.
i promised i wouldn't chase her n i told her we could share this place.
she listened for a while before she left.
i ordered a factory second cooler that was cheaper than the plywood it would take to build her a house.
i'll cut a cat door in it.
if she moves in, i'll be able to keep her alive thru the winter.
if she lives in the garden, i can keep her fed even after heavy snow.
 
Feral cats can be tamed, somewhat, if you have the time and work at it. We have had two feral cats over the years on our place that we could eventually pet. We couldn't pick either one up and wouldn't have tried it but both were great cats. Neither are around anymore. I suppose something happened to them or they moved on. I like to think it's the latter.
 
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susieqz said:
got a recommendation for an air tight container, rusty?
a 16 pound bag is pretty big, but it's the cheapest way to buy, as long as it doesn't go bad.
Click to expand...

Take a look at the common 5 gallon buckets with lids.


ordered a factory second cooler
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest looking for one at a thrift shop.

Glad you and cat are making progress.

Bekeat
 
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