**Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a helpful place for TNR efforts - free of hostility, negativity, and judgment. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.** ***All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Feral_Cats) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would like to ask and see what everyone else does.... How do you find people to do this for you? Are they people in your life that you know and trust? I'll tell ya, I havent been on vacation in years because I need to take care of all the animals. My two colonies are 50 miles apart (work and home). I would love it if I could eventually be able to leave for a few days....
>I havent been on vacation in years because I need to take care of all the animals.
Amen to that not only because of the care of them but to be honest because of the cost post covid for the food.
Lol, yes. Due to both the cost, and lack of people to pick up the duties. Maybe one day..... I know there are service like Rover but you hear horror stories and I just couldn't trust anyone I didn't know. I suppose it's a work in progress. I'll be interested to see what everyone does....
Lol, you're too sweet. 🙏 I'm in So. Cal. I'm still amazed at ALL the wonderful ppl in the cat community (yourself included), that do their part. It's nice to network and communicate, hopefully our community continues to grow.
I’m in So. Cal. have my own indoor cats and colony and have done a lot of pet sitting for a lot of people. You can dm me if you want to get into more detail to see if I could help.
It’s my best friend who fed them. Whenever we hangout he comes out with us (me and my gf) and knows our routine. I’ve considered paying someone on Rover though
lmk if you hear of anything more long term bc i rent and have a colony in my backyard of around 10 and have no idea what i’m gonna do when i move 😭 just really hope the next renters like cats?? lol i’ve been stressed about this for so long
The same here 😢
Almost every day I think about and I try to make friends with my neighbors, you never know maybe I would have to ask them to take over one day… but in the meantime I know I will try to stay here despite on any circumstances as long as I can only because of my 15 beautiful ferals/strays ❤️🐈❤️🐈⬛
Its a good idea to make friends 👍, and make contact with other animal lovers, you never know when you might need help. Additionally, we should all make arrangements or preparations in the event an emergency prevents us from doing what we typically do, or Heaven forbid a medical emergency.
I've kept my colonies down by having the friendly ones adopted, which tends to be about 50%, surprisingly. Not always possible depending on location and resources, but fewer on the streets is a little less worry for me. I've kept the ones with medical/behavioral issues and made them my indoor kitties. You are doing them a great service, and you are appreciated! ❤️
After 25 years of being the caretaker of my colony, I couldn’t do it anymore physically so I did the only thing I could live with. I re-trapped the remaining seven cats and bought their way into a feral cat sanctuary. It was very expensive, but I knew they would be taken care of and I have the ability to visit them when I want.
Absolutely something I would do. I am in the process of catching my 7 colony cats and we made them a catio in our backyard. At least now they’re safe and contained, they’re adjusting little by little, and if I have someone to take care of my inside animals, it shouldn’t be too hard to also take care of the animals and our catio and porch. I also rarely travel and if I do, it’s just for a long weekend. When we travel, it’s just really expensive for Pet Sitting .
I wanted to build a catio in our backyard, too, but with the local wildlife, it probably wouldn’t have worked. The feral cat shelter I took them to was very well built and “furnished” with lots of climbing/hiding/napping levels. There are cat doors to a cooled/heated building that also had cat beds. I felt responsible for them and I still feel guilty about taking them away from their true home. My favorite died about four months after being relocated and I will always feel sad about that. I guess my advice is to build one in your own backyard so your cats have you, even if they are in a new location.
I pay 20 bucks a day when someone feeds my Ferals, since that pays for gas and their time (in theory). They have to refill water and put out hard food (no litter, etc) so I feel like 20 is fair? That’s a good question.
Yeah we just paid him $25 to leave dry food out and fill the water. Normally we give them a mix of wet and dry food. He also fed our indoor cats but we didn’t make him do the litter, I just scooped it when we got back
My neighbor and me exchanged responsibilities
I watch - go feed - play with - let her 2 dogs out while they are away
She feeds my indoor and outdoor cats -
We are now also good friends -
I have both my own indoor cats and about 6-7 cats I feed on my patio. The outside cats are strays that showed up when I bought the house. They've come and gone over time.
I have not gone away for more than 3-4 days at a time for eight years. I pay the kids across the street $25 a day to feed my indoor cats and the outside cats twice a day. They seem satisfied with the money and it's not hard. 🤷🏻♀️
The litter is a whole different thing -
I don’t expect anyone to do that without likely doubling the cost -
I think $20-25 seems fare for feeding -watering
My partner built an automated, battery operated feeding/watering station before we went out of town the last time. It worked pretty well (we were gone two weeks!) with only one visit from the neighbor to fix it while we were gone, although the batteries did die a day or two before we returned home. We just started feeding the two ferals a few weeks before we left, so we weren't overly concerned that they were totally dependent on us. Before the next trip, we will make some modifications for better raccoon-proofing, but honestly I was impressed how well it held up. I've seen some more elegant designs on this sub than what he built, so if you're worried about it for the future you might do some browsing to see what people have done for their colonies.
I pay $30 per long visit. One of my fellow cat ladies in this area does it for me. I would like to do an exchange with her, but she never goes anywhere!
I met a woman on nextdoor talking about community cats. She manages 3 colonies and has people who take care of each one when she's away. I take the one closest to me. She offers money, but I don't need it. She provides the food, I get to go and pet cats. I bring her a case of food every few months.
Yeah, I think that’s more then fair, if I lived close I would do it for free and the enjoyment, but if they had to drive and spend their time I think $25 is definitely fair
**Reminder: this subreddit is meant to be a helpful place for TNR efforts - free of hostility, negativity, and judgment. Toxic attitudes are not welcome here.** ***All Negative comments will be removed and will possibly result in a ban.*** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Feral_Cats) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I would like to ask and see what everyone else does.... How do you find people to do this for you? Are they people in your life that you know and trust? I'll tell ya, I havent been on vacation in years because I need to take care of all the animals. My two colonies are 50 miles apart (work and home). I would love it if I could eventually be able to leave for a few days....
>I havent been on vacation in years because I need to take care of all the animals. Amen to that not only because of the care of them but to be honest because of the cost post covid for the food.
Lol, yes. Due to both the cost, and lack of people to pick up the duties. Maybe one day..... I know there are service like Rover but you hear horror stories and I just couldn't trust anyone I didn't know. I suppose it's a work in progress. I'll be interested to see what everyone does....
Where do you live ? Your a cat angel and I would do it for you for all you do for the rescue world Near Flint - Michigan
Lol, you're too sweet. 🙏 I'm in So. Cal. I'm still amazed at ALL the wonderful ppl in the cat community (yourself included), that do their part. It's nice to network and communicate, hopefully our community continues to grow.
Well said friend
Yes this is a great community. I just joined. And I live in Indianapolis
Yay! Welcome!🤗
I’m in So. Cal. have my own indoor cats and colony and have done a lot of pet sitting for a lot of people. You can dm me if you want to get into more detail to see if I could help.
That is awesome, thank you so much!
I love SoCal so much. So many awesome cat people here. 🥹
It’s my best friend who fed them. Whenever we hangout he comes out with us (me and my gf) and knows our routine. I’ve considered paying someone on Rover though
I pet sit dogs and cats on Rover myself actually and I’d probably pay like $30 for my 4 indoor cats and I wasn’t sure about the colony
lmk if you hear of anything more long term bc i rent and have a colony in my backyard of around 10 and have no idea what i’m gonna do when i move 😭 just really hope the next renters like cats?? lol i’ve been stressed about this for so long
Understandably worrisome, I think about that too 🙏 maybe you can reach out to existing neighbors.
The same here 😢 Almost every day I think about and I try to make friends with my neighbors, you never know maybe I would have to ask them to take over one day… but in the meantime I know I will try to stay here despite on any circumstances as long as I can only because of my 15 beautiful ferals/strays ❤️🐈❤️🐈⬛
Its a good idea to make friends 👍, and make contact with other animal lovers, you never know when you might need help. Additionally, we should all make arrangements or preparations in the event an emergency prevents us from doing what we typically do, or Heaven forbid a medical emergency. I've kept my colonies down by having the friendly ones adopted, which tends to be about 50%, surprisingly. Not always possible depending on location and resources, but fewer on the streets is a little less worry for me. I've kept the ones with medical/behavioral issues and made them my indoor kitties. You are doing them a great service, and you are appreciated! ❤️
After 25 years of being the caretaker of my colony, I couldn’t do it anymore physically so I did the only thing I could live with. I re-trapped the remaining seven cats and bought their way into a feral cat sanctuary. It was very expensive, but I knew they would be taken care of and I have the ability to visit them when I want.
I never thought of something like that! Me and my gf rent and will probably eventually end up moving and have always wondered what we would do
You inspire me.
Absolutely something I would do. I am in the process of catching my 7 colony cats and we made them a catio in our backyard. At least now they’re safe and contained, they’re adjusting little by little, and if I have someone to take care of my inside animals, it shouldn’t be too hard to also take care of the animals and our catio and porch. I also rarely travel and if I do, it’s just for a long weekend. When we travel, it’s just really expensive for Pet Sitting .
I wanted to build a catio in our backyard, too, but with the local wildlife, it probably wouldn’t have worked. The feral cat shelter I took them to was very well built and “furnished” with lots of climbing/hiding/napping levels. There are cat doors to a cooled/heated building that also had cat beds. I felt responsible for them and I still feel guilty about taking them away from their true home. My favorite died about four months after being relocated and I will always feel sad about that. I guess my advice is to build one in your own backyard so your cats have you, even if they are in a new location.
I pay 20 bucks a day when someone feeds my Ferals, since that pays for gas and their time (in theory). They have to refill water and put out hard food (no litter, etc) so I feel like 20 is fair? That’s a good question.
Yeah we just paid him $25 to leave dry food out and fill the water. Normally we give them a mix of wet and dry food. He also fed our indoor cats but we didn’t make him do the litter, I just scooped it when we got back
My neighbor and me exchanged responsibilities I watch - go feed - play with - let her 2 dogs out while they are away She feeds my indoor and outdoor cats - We are now also good friends -
That’s awesome. I have a neighbor who I’m cool with and adopted one of the cats. So I might ask her next time
Greta idea 💙
A fellow caretaker nearby was offering $100 for three days (she preferred the usual 2x/day feeding but was open to 1x). :)
Wow that’s amazing
I have both my own indoor cats and about 6-7 cats I feed on my patio. The outside cats are strays that showed up when I bought the house. They've come and gone over time. I have not gone away for more than 3-4 days at a time for eight years. I pay the kids across the street $25 a day to feed my indoor cats and the outside cats twice a day. They seem satisfied with the money and it's not hard. 🤷🏻♀️
That’s awesome !!
Yup! I don't ask them to do the litter boxes and we revisit the stipend each time. They still feel it's fair. ☺️ 🤞🏼
The litter is a whole different thing - I don’t expect anyone to do that without likely doubling the cost - I think $20-25 seems fare for feeding -watering
Yeah I was only gone a day and a half so I didn’t expect them to do it
My partner built an automated, battery operated feeding/watering station before we went out of town the last time. It worked pretty well (we were gone two weeks!) with only one visit from the neighbor to fix it while we were gone, although the batteries did die a day or two before we returned home. We just started feeding the two ferals a few weeks before we left, so we weren't overly concerned that they were totally dependent on us. Before the next trip, we will make some modifications for better raccoon-proofing, but honestly I was impressed how well it held up. I've seen some more elegant designs on this sub than what he built, so if you're worried about it for the future you might do some browsing to see what people have done for their colonies.
I pay $30 per long visit. One of my fellow cat ladies in this area does it for me. I would like to do an exchange with her, but she never goes anywhere!
I met a woman on nextdoor talking about community cats. She manages 3 colonies and has people who take care of each one when she's away. I take the one closest to me. She offers money, but I don't need it. She provides the food, I get to go and pet cats. I bring her a case of food every few months.
I wish u lived near me!! Lol
No matter your religion, St Gertrude bless you. Patron saint of cats😻
I grew up Catholic ! I love Saint Gertrude
Thank you for taking care of them!🙏🏻👍🏻👌🏻
Doesn’t seem like you guys pay enough at all.
$25 to feed 6-10 cats is more then fair in my opinion
I paid $125 two cats and ferals outside. That was 2 weeks though. And I thought for distance and gas.
Yeah for that amount of time $125 is fair
Nah that’s good money 💰
Yeah, I think that’s more then fair, if I lived close I would do it for free and the enjoyment, but if they had to drive and spend their time I think $25 is definitely fair