So I came up with this idea of mine, why don't we start to do something about the stray cats? I mean until recently, there are lots of stray cats and few irresponsible people dumped their cats on the streets and I don't think it's a good thing. Lucky that someone invited me here and this place gave me an idea of how we could avoid cats dying on the streets. So who's with me?

i already do something like this

i take care of strays until i can give them away

<3

If you have a shelter nearby, I highly recommend capturing the cats and taking them to it. Feeding them while they're living on the streets is only increasing the problem.

There area ton of humane cage traps that you can get (or make); just check it a few times a day and un-arm the trap anytime you leave for more than 12 hours. Be sure to include water and food (not just bait) and put something as a roof on it in case of rain. It should be large enough that other cats can't reach in and attack it from the outside.

Not sure about the methods and how it should be done, but its true that it would be nice to let less cat roams around stray. It may be better for them and the birds and prevent a lot of animal cruelty or simply mistakes...

Though dutch capturing cats may be tricky in itself since we need to prevent injuries on both sides and its trying to know if the owner is just letting him roam like that... Its a pain, but can't deny it.

>>4 A humane trap won't injure the animal, and it will allow you to carry / transport them without sustaining injuries yourself. If the bars are big enough for them to poke their arms through, though, you should drape a thick material (like leather) around it or put cardboard between yourself and it.

It's not hard to tell if a cat is stray or not. If the cat has no collar, it is most likely a stray; responsible cat owners understand the importance of a cat collar. If the cat is excessively dirty, heavily matted, bloody, very thin, etc. it is obviously not being taken care of and needs to be brought to a shelter even if it has a collar. Let them sort it out.

If you're not sure, you can take care of the cat for a few days and post Found Cat signs around the area. If nobody picks it up, take it to the shelter.

Most people microchip their pets these days, so the shelter will be able to check where the pet came from. Even if the individual didn't microchip them, the shelter or breeder they bought it from most likely did and has their information in it.

What you do need to be wary of is feral cats. These cats usually have no collars but are very clean. They're often larger than house cats, more muscular, and much more brave around humans. These are cats that grew up on the streets without ever being tamed. Most shelters won't take them, and you're best contacting a specialist to get them spayed, which will help control the feral population. Feral kittens should be taken to a shelter. You can find a list of organizations to help with feral cats in the US here.

There are several feral cats and abandoned ones in my area. All the no kill shelters are stuffed full of cats so they have no where to go and the only place available will put them to sleep because they're all strays and there's no room for strays.

What we do is build small shelters for them so they have somewhere to go. After that we feed them so they don't starve and they have a food source. (be careful when feeding strays because it's illegal in some places). Some of them have gotten really tame to the point we can pet and sometimes hug them so we're trying to scrap up money to get them fixed. We don't want 100 cats running around because as cute as they are, it's a lot of work with 7 or 8. The ones we can't catch are too people and trap savy so I don't know what to do with them.

For dogs too.

I agree with Kuro. In some places, stray dogs are just as common or more common than cats, so we should think about caring for them as well.

I'm not sure about cats, but I know that a lot of stray pigeons (especially King Pigeons) are unable to care for themselves in the wild, so it's a great idea to help them out!

What about doing this to help these fellas:
1) Assess the issue. Are there a lot of strays or ferals in your area? Where do they usually hang out? What paths do they use to travel.
2) Purchase or rent humane traps and set them up in these areas (or, if you don't have the money, try to find someone who can do it for you).
3) When a cat (or dog) is caught, contact a shelter, specialist, or foster home to find someone who can care for and fix them. If no one will take them, take it upon yourself to feed them, give them any medicine they might need, and fix them with the goal of finding them a home or releasing them back into the wild.

What do you guys think?

>>8 i have no idea if there are any animal shelters around where i live (but i will look) and I agree with everything you said. I do take in stray cats, feed them, and give them flea and tick baths. If they are hurt I have someone take them to the vet...

I have never once in my life seen a stray dog, but if I do come across one I will do the same.

But pigeons? I thought they took care of themselves unless they were hurt. The best I can do with that is a bird feeder, because I dont trust them :P

I was thinking about organizing a stray spay/neuter group in my city. We have at least a couple of colonies scattered around. I know that there's an island somewhere, I think off the NC coast, that had a HUGE stray/feral cat problem. Some people got together though and with the help of a few animal control professionals and veterinarians who volunteered their time, they've been trapping the cats, vaccinating and fixing them, tagging them, and then releasing them. It was several years ago that I heard about it but at the time they had been doing for a few years and estimated that they had gotten about half of the cats on the island.

I think something like that would be much better than just feeding them. For one, they can feed themselves. They are, essentially, the perfect predator and their prey, mice and rats, thrives around humans. The fact of the matter is, as long as they're near humans, food is no problem for them.

However, cats, especially in large numbers, can be catastrophic to the local environment. The fact that they are perfect predators means they are really REALLY good at killing things. domestic and feral house cats are to blame for the extinction of several songbird species. The best way to help everyone is to try and control the population.

saa, i think we all have the same thoughts in this matter aren't we? so how about we make a move a.s.a.p

I don't have a car / license, so setting up something like this isn't an option for me at the moment. But good luck to everyone ^^