Ok. I need some advice from DC/Metro Baltimore folks who deal with feral colonies and barn cats. So a week or so ago I got a note from another rescuer asking if I could help with a friendly stray outside of some office buildings in Upper Marlboro MD. I talked with the good samaritan who had made the initial request, and she was clear: This cat was a young unfixed male who was skittish and shy around people he didnt know but was very, very friendly to her - she had been working on feeding him and building trust, and it had paid off. I reached out within my network and found a traditional rescue for him (friendly, adoptable cats = traditional). It took a few days to actually get the cat, named Toni, and get him to the rescues vet. Hes been there since Monday. UNFORTUNATELY, while he may have the ability to bond with specific individuals with whom he has trust, with everyone else he reverts to being semi-feral. At the end of the day, in a rescue-to-adopt environment, he is very, very unlikely to get adopted and hes miserable at this point. He is being neutered tomorrow, has been tested and is getting all of his shots. I seem to have only a few options at this point: 1. Contact the good samaritan and indicate that he needs to be returned to where he was. There are a few problems with this. One, its not a colony; as near as anyone can tell, hes the only cat there. Its near a major road, and theres no feeding rotation as you would see in a managed colony. If the good samaritan goes on vacation, the cat is not going to be fed. He is not fed when the business is closed (on weekends and holidays). The good samaritan is not a feral cat caregiver and while Im sure she would feed him when shes at work, its not a responsible long-term option. 2. Find a good barn home for him. Problem is, I have no barn home network at all. I dont even know how I would go about that. I would need help. 3. Find a managed colony to move him into. This is not an option Im all that thrilled about, because I dont think hes truly feral and I dont know how to move a cat to a new colony in a location and with cats and caregivers with which the cat is unfamiliar. Thoughts? Im open; but I have a BIG knowledge gap here. 4. Find another rescue that is better equipped to work with him in a fostered environment to find him a long-term permanent home. So. I think #1 is mostly off the table because of the lack of consistency with which Toni would be fed and cared for, unless theres a feeder in the area? Linda Saffell, Linda Saffell, this is on School Lane in PG County - any thoughts? On the other three items, Im going to tag a bunch of folks here and include a picture of Toni. I would really like to focus on items #2 and #4, but am open to #3 from my experienced feral colony friends. Karen Stevenson, Florence Homer, Karen Bush Ross, Cindy Ciarpella, Claire Todaro, Laurie Gibb, Lizzie Katzen Lieber - if you can connect me with ANYONE who can help, I would appreciate it because I have woefully few contacts on this side of rescue. Denise Arnot, your thoughts would be valued as well.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 02:29:43 +0000