Open Door

Open Door
Indianapolis, Indiana

Friday, September 27, 2013

It’s the Little Things – Cats


One of the things that has greatly surprised me about this project is how many little things there are to be dealt with. Some of them are everyday problems that would crop up for anyone who purchased the property and some are unique to our situation. Either way, there are a significant number of things to do that are just plain time consuming. One of these is a problem with stray cats.

There are a number of strays that I think have been living on the HH property. We see them around frequently and one of the neighbors had mentioned that there were some living in the garage. And while the garage is no longer standing and that eliminates one hiding place, we still have a number of cats that call the HH home.



For many people this would be a nuisance, but for us it’s a danger. My father is highly allergic to cats and even a scratch could be enough to cause the worst of reactions. So, what do we do about the cats? That has not been an easy question to answer.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with IndiFeral asking if they have any program for this. Their program involves you catching them, spaying or neutering, re-releasing them, and seeing to their shots, etc. Umm, that’s not going to work. I don’t want to make the place into a kitty resort, but a kitty free zone. I even offered to pay for the spays or neuters, but they can’t remove the cats.

After talking to the Humane Society of Marion County and running through all of the suggestions/people that they had given me the only “answer” we could come up with is not one that makes me at all happy. We can trap the cats and call animal control, and we can try and repel them, but that’s really it. At this point I’ve hit a dead end. We don’t really want to hurt these animals, but it’s imperative that we remove them from the property. If anyone out there has a better idea or resource, I would love to know what it is.

-Amanda

5 comments:

  1. I am a neighbor (around the corner on Wentworth Blvd) and there are several people that feed these animals which is why there are so many. I would ask you to trap them and call animal control- this is really the only humane thing to do. They spray on my car tires and use the flower beds for litter boxes and the smell is awful. I too, am highly allergic to cats and I believe this is the best possible thing to do.

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    1. I wish there was more someone could do to move the cats to a willing new location. Or may be just trap neuter release them and less spaying and figting will go on . Plug up the holes and hope they disperse to a manageable level. Ask the people who feed them to help get involved the service is free. But you have to trap them In with food. they can be given dens on the feeders property instead of your basement ... Tell a few cat fenatics about your plight before you just end them... Its better Karma to try. If you write something up I will send it to every friggin cat lady I can find.

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    2. I received a private message from a neighbor who has a colony with IndyFeral and she is going to work with us to find ways to remove and keep the cats off the property, but not have to call animal control. We are THRILLED to know that we have such great people in our neighborhood who are willing to help us and these innocent animals.

      Indygirl - I can check with the person who contacted me and see if she would be willing to work with you as well. If absolutely nothing else I will be researching "deterrents" and will pass on what I learn.

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  2. Alley Cat Allies also has a lot of information available.

    FWIW, if these are ferals the risk of getting scratched is less than you'd think, simply because they won't allow a human within 6 feet of them without running. That said, I hope you can indeed get and keep them off the property!

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    1. I did find the list of things that Alley Cat Allies say will deter cats. We have to be careful because we have dogs and many of those things are repellents for dogs too!

      Thank you for the link. We are so happy that there are those in the community willing to help us. For some crazy reason my Dad seems to be a magnet for cat attacks. Feral and house cats both. Our biggest concern is that he will come across one when it is "cornered".

      And once we move in, the dog smell will help, but unfortunately this property has been a cat haven for so long that it's going to take time for the local colony to figure out it is no longer hospitable. :)

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