First world guilt over feeding an outside feral cat

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=wendy;8054586]
Please don’t feed feral cats. Anything. It’s very illegal in most places to feed feral cats. The idea is to GET RID of the feral cats, not feed them so they can kill even more endangered bird species and out-compete the native predators. If you really feel concerned, catch it and bring it indoors. Or shoot it.[/QUOTE]

:rolleyes: No, it’s not “very illegal” in “most places” to feed feral cats, what a nonsense phrase to be throwing around. There are SOME towns in SOME states that have ordinances, and that’s about it.

My feral brings me rats, voles, and pigeons, and he is welcome to all of them. He stays in my barn and my greenhouses where the bobcats, foxes, and coyotes decidedly do not go, so he is not “out competing” anyone. They are also welcome to eat him if they happen to catch him, but at six or seven years now, he’s been smart enough to stay alive.

He’s fixed, vaccinated, and useful. That is more than I can say of most PEOPLE, so he is welcome to stay.

[RPM]

Originally posted by candyappy:

Yes, there are some bad , cheap, worthless, crappy brands out there that I wouldn’t feed, but not all is bad for the cats. Your feral cats will do fine on any of the recognized brands and be happy to get it. Expensive doesn’t always mean better.

How true.

I am glad to hear that your kitties do so well on Kit-n-Kaboodle. I feed my two senior kitties Purina Indoor or Friskies Indoor (guess it’s the same since Purina owns Friskies now) supplemented with canned Friskies. They are doing very well.

[FLeventer]

I am not going to lie I feed the feral cats the tractor supply brand or meow mix. Whatever is cheaper for the 15# or 30# bag. I just cannot justify spending big $$$ on cat food for wild cats.

I have four inside that do quite well on meow mix or claws and paws. They are fat, happy, and shiny. No issues with digestion or puking. I feed tuna as a wet food. I just can’t look at the nasty wet foods and think that it is appetizing.

I was feeding Taste of the Wild for a time. They look the same on that as they do on the cheaper brand. If there was an issue I would switch back but so far, so good.

[tallyho392]

wow…didn’t realize I was in such remarkably good company with my “food for ferals” guilt…
I have between 25 and 30 barn cats. ALL fixed and UTD. Since the trapping and neutering, the ones that make themselves plainly visible on a daily basis has dropped to between 15-18. Either way, STILL a bunch of mouths to feed. I too, was going the Meow mix/Kit Kaboodle route due to price. Then one of my older,former house cats began to look “off”. I pulled him aside for special foods and added L Lysine to canned food for him, and it really made a huge difference. THEN the guilt really hit…how could I deprive the rest of good health? I was mixing the Purina stuff with Authority (Petsmart brand), and everyone seemed happy to eat both types of food. THEN ,I began to think ,gee, is gving them a “little” bit of poison daily REALLY an improvement over feeding a total diet of crappy food? Plus, a number of my guys are getting to the 10-12 year stage,which justifies better nutrition…and then there are the younger ones who need good nutrition to grow up and BE healthy…and then there are the ones who were compromised from kittenhood (the ones my vet called poster children for chronic health issues)… So, I gave in to my guilt, feed strictly Authority dry food, and put it away after dark so that I am not feeding other critters. This schedule has 2 benefits…not feeding unwanteds, and I am able to do a nose count every morning at breakfast time. I also get the large cans of friskies from the dollar store, open several cans at a time, and mix powdered L Lysine into it. Toss by the spoonful to cats at breakfast so I can be sure everyone is getting fair share. This is also a good way to make them less wary if I have to mix meds into food for a specific cat. Although it seems like a "duh"moment, I hadn’t considered the rodents,etc the cats get on a regular basis into my assessment of “quality” diet. So, adding that nutrition makes me feel even BETTER about my food choices…lol…
My cats are healthy acting and looking, still providing efficient rodent control, and the barn swallows return every year,along with the wild birds that eat seeds. I don’t have a bird feeder (that would be unfair), but still see plenty of birds to know that the population is doing well. And no neighbors surrounding my acreage have complained of marauding cats.
And anyone near SE PA how wants to provide a home for a barn cat, just send me a PM. Friendly, healthy UTD and fixed barn cats available! Well, except to Wendy.

[Donella]

Humans (the most destructive species on the planet by far and away) are worried about the effect of feral cats on the environment? What a laugh.

[Calamber]

Now we get the anti-human agenda going, oh joy.

[Simkie]

Ha. I go through the feral guilt complex. My indoor cats get pricy ultra high end canned food. No grain, NEVER any dry.

The barn kitty we got from a local TNR program started on the Paws and Claws (or whatever it’s called) and I tried to give her a little wet every day to get her to like me. Nuh-uh. Doesn’t like wet food.

So now I feed her the grain free 4Health stuff from TSC. She leaves me small rodents as payment. I think it’s fair. I found two dead voles in the aisle yesterday. Good kitty

[jen-s]

I’m so glad that I’m not the only one. I love COTHers.