While summertime is somewhat easier on ferals, it also has its difficulties as well. In drought ridden areas, it can be difficult to find water and, like all mammals, cats need a good deal of water to survive.
If you are a caregiver who puts out food for ferals, please also remember to provide fresh water each day. Dry food is great to give them because wet food attracts flies and spoils quickly, but you definitely need to have water alongside the food.
Summertime brings loads of kittens with it and if you are aware of a mother cat struggling to care for her babies outdoors, contact a rescue group who will trap the mother and kittens and take them in. Don't give up trying. Shelters are always full in the summer but then they adopt out and you may just hit it just right so please don't give up trying! Also, you may want to consider becoming a foster family to these cats. It is a commitment and if this is something you'd like more information on as to what is necessary, please email us at: milosmews@gmail.com for more information.
Finally, if you are able to provide a small shelter for feral cats, there are numerous websites with great instructions, whether it be a standalone house that you can easily find on chewy.com or amazon.com, or the homemade kinds made with coolers and straw. Additionally, if you are handy like my husband, you can build a lovely roomy hut with an ingress and egress since cats prefer having an escape in the event of a predator attack. Always remember to switch out straw at least once during the summer months and again during the winter months. Use straw rather than hay because straw stays dry. Hay becomes a soggy mess and is horrible to use as bedding.
Always remember to try to somehow get these cats humanely trapped by either yourself or a rescue group and have them spayed/neutered. Often, rescues will show you how to use the traps and will loan them out. Please make sure to get the right traps; some are somewhat dangerous to smaller cats. Once trapped, get them to a rescue vet immediately for spay/neuter. Make sure to have a plan in place well before trapping.
Some cats are able to be socialized, depending on their age; others can be released back to where they were trapped but at least they will no longer be reproducing and you can continue to care for them knowing that you have made a difference.
July 2022 All rights reserved
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