Should I release feral cats locally or let them settle in my garden?

[FireAdvice]

So there are some feral cats near me, at least three. I rang the local cat rescue (think it’s independent) assuming once they knew about them they would sort everything out. Now I am the proud borrower of some cat traps and have been tasked with catching them, getting them to the vets and getting them neutered.

I asked the cat rescue people about them being rehomed and was told that wasn’t a thing and I’m just to release them back where I’ve found them (which is five miles from my home) once they’ve been spayed/neutered. Like literally the same day the vet releases them with stitches in and no aftercare. Been assured they’ll be ok. I don’t think anyone is feeding them or looking out for them currently.

I can’t have semi wild cats in my house. I have dogs and house cats already. Dh already complains it’s like a zoo. However I am half contemplating letting them live in my back garden and feeding them. If I buy/build insulated shelters for them and provide food are they likely to stay here? I could possibly clear a bit of space in a shed and let them stay in a shed for a week while they recuperate and maybe get used to the area. Or is it better to let them go back to where they are familiar with? One looks like it’s limping badly so I’m not even sure if it will need more than just been spayed.

If you want them to stay at your house you will have to keep them in your shed for at least a month first. If you don't do that they will go straight back to where you got them from. You could set up a feeding station at their current territory and pop over every day to put some food down? It's very common in cat rescue to release ferals straight away after neutering. I used to volunteer at a rural rescue and out of dozens of cats which were released the same day they were neutered we never had any reports of any problems.

There’s no way I can do a ten mile round trip every day. I work full time. I guess they have managed to eat via hunting up till now so will just let them go then. Just feel sorry for them, they look so dirty and matted.

I'm not in the UK and have looked into spaying/neutering local stray cats who I've become fond of and want to stop reproducing(!), and have been told that they need to be kept quietly in an enclosed space (such as a bedroom/laundry room) for a week to 10 days, or they risk bursting their stitches.

So if I were you, I'd just get the female cats fixed and not bother with the males, as the females are the real issue, and keep them in the shed in a cat playpen (so they can't escape when you go in to feed them) for a week. Because the thought of them bursting their stitches is just horrendous.

and not bother with the males
Unneutered males live horrendous lives. It would be more humane to euthanise than leave them unneutered.

OP - I know in the US they release back where they find them. They know where the food is, where the water is, where shelter is, where to hunt. You could always go back in a few months and reassess as to whether to bring back to yours.

Sometimes the rescue centres recruit people locally to feed the cats, is there anyone living near where the cats are at the moment? I think the centres sometimes even provide the food.

There is one person living close by as I spoke to her to make sure they weren’t hers. She said they’re strays and seeing as she’s done nothing about it I assume isn’t too bothered about helping them. I’ll try and ask her I guess.

I’d keep them in my garden if I could! I must admit I wouldn’t just be able to dump them back where they were!
Will the rescue not help find a farm or something that would take them? I know my local one try to find suitable homes for feral cats!

This is shoddy practice from the welfare organisation.

I used to work for a cat charity who would neuter feral cats and re-release them. They would often give the trap to a householder for catch them, but then a volunteer (like me) would pick them up and take them to the vet.

The vet would neuter, worm and deflea them and check them over in general. Thee cat would be kept in at the vet overnight and we would release them the following day. They should not be released back into the wild the same day as neutering.

And it should not be your problem what happens to them afterwards. They will be happier on their original territory in theory, but it sounds like they are in a very sorry state with manky fur, no shelter, and possibly little access to food. You will at least being doing them a favour by getting them neutered so they don't breed more cats into the same situation.

You could try keeping them in your shed but they are likely to bolt out as soon as you open the door and you won't see them for dust.

You shouldn't have been put in this situation, it isn't fair on you.

Thanks everyone. I have emailed another cat rescue organisation and asked them and they have said they don’t think the cats should be returned . They’ve asked where they are so I’m hoping they might help.

I thought it was an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to release non-native species once trapped? I know for example that if you catch non-native crayfish you are not permitted to re-release them.

That is good news.

If ferals are young enough, it may be possible to home them with an experienced owner. I had an ex-feral female cat myself. If not, they are either returned to where they were found, with someone checking on them and feeding them, or they may be moved to a rural area like a farm.

If you can find someone to try and socialise them and not release back then great but if not, then....
Boy cats can be released the same day and they are usually fine. Girls cats, I try and keep them in for one night but to be honest, they don't sit and groom like house cats for hours on end so as long as their stitches are ok; they are usually released. They get more stressed being trapped indoors than the danger of stitches in my experience.

If you want to keep them around, release them into your garden maybe into a shed or somewhere with a plate of food so they know where you are and they can choose to stay or go. If you have somewhere that they can shelter in, set that up before they come back. But be prepared for them to just go back to their old haunts. I find once they know where the food can be obtained they often come back even if just to eat once a day.

Giving them shelter and feeding them while the recuperate sounds like a good idea, letting a cat fend for its self is a big deal if it’s been spayed, not so much neutered. They might stay close to your house, or they might disperse. It doesn’t sound like there’s a population of feral cats near your house so it should be so stressful.

The male strays I have near my house (I live on a farm with a colony of feral/stray cats near the milking sheds) have quite happy, long lives compared to the females, honestly. I've seen several grow quite elderly, in seemingly good health. The females tend to have litter after litter (that I catch and take off to the SPCA), and then disappear to die quite young. But my point was more that if you fix the females, they can't get pregnant by the males, and that limits the colony.

It's interesting to hear from pp that the females are unlikely to burst their stitches - that makes me feel more secure in getting them fixed!

I’d have them euthanised. What’s the point of letting them live and procreate more cats to live shit lives

Result OP! Thank you for looking out for these cats! 😻

How are they going to procreate when they've been neutered?

Do you care about birds

I rescured two kittens from a local cat charity, who turned out to be ferel, was glad when they died age 2.5yrs from something lukemia related, bloody things pissed everywhere, hissed, bit, scratched and it was the most miserable experience ever. Ferel cats should be put down.

I do actually which is why my two cats are housecats. I would not choose to have outdoor cats but I also can’t leave these suffering nor could I have them killed . Hopefully getting them neutered will lessen the impact. Nature is nature. They have to survive.

That's a really helpful comment, and also you sound lovely.

That’s a shame. I’ve trapped a feral kitten before and a neighbour took him in, she still has him and he’s very sweet natured now. But he was totally wild when I first caught him and for weeks after.

We have several local feral cats. They’ve been trapped, neutered and released. They know who to go to for food or shelter when they need it. Sometimes they can be relocated to farms a long way from their territory. I think best neutered and released. They can’t be tamed or rehomed. It would be cruel to try. They are wild and best left. I love cats, lost my old boy last year to a RTA. However my experience of ferals is leave them be, chuck food out or make a shelter they can use but they are used to that life and are hardy and hunters! Locally we may not see them for months at a time but they do always reappear. One local lady has trapped an injured one but he was treated and released.

She's having them neutered. Trap/neuter/return is the best that can often be done. She's stopping them reproducing. That's the whole point.

Cats aren't crayfish. Trap/neuter/return of feral cats is the recognised method of control of feral cat colonies.