I came up with a scathingly brilliant (I hope) way to feed the ferals, despite a potential big snow

[Siwsan]

I left the old metal patio table on the deck so I put bowls of food and water beneath it. There are always paw prints on that deck so I feel pretty sure they will find everything. I'll put the breakfast there and once the snow starts to wane, I'll clear off the deck for them.

It was almost dark when I went out to collect the bowls, but I saw Skittish. I reassured her there WILL be food, in the morning. It might take me a while to hobble back there but I'll do it.

My neighbors must think I'm a bit crazy, talking to feral cats. But I think it's a good way to connect with them.

[SheltieLover]

1. Great idea!

[Haggard Celine]

2. I have a couple of ferals that I feed, along with my cat.

I call them in the morning when I walk out onto the porch. They start running up the steps, but when I look at them, they start running away. It's kind of funny. When they start running away, I call them again and they turn around and start coming up the steps again. I'm not allowed to look at them, though. As long as I go back inside the house, they'll run on up to the food bowl and start eating. Sometimes I'll peek out the doorway and look at them eating. It's funny that they trust me enough to eat my food, but are too afraid to let me get too close. I don't want them in the house, anyway, my cat is the only one who can come inside and he eats in here. They're cute, though, so I continue to feed them.

[Siwsan]

3. I would swoop up and take in Mittens the Kitten in a heartbeat

She's the most comfortable with me. The others just remain nervous BUT come running when I bring out the food. I talk to them and do the whole slow blink routine.

[Haggard Celine]

6. Maybe I need to talk to mine.

They might relax some if I talk to them. They like to hear my voice when I call them. When they run away, I start calling to them again and they turn around. They just don't want me to look at them for some strange reason. I'll try talking to them in the morning and see what they do.

[Siwsan]

7. When Scooter starts acting nervous I just say "It's OK." and she calms right down

If I call Mittens, she comes running. Skittish and Spooky seem to know their names. Bruiser doesn't come by every day but I still talk to him and call him by name. Now I have the new one that I suspect is Madoc's dad. I think I'll call him Owain because that was the name of Prince Madoc's father.

And try the slow blink. It's supposed to indicate a lack of aggression. The biggest thrill is getting one back, from them.

[Haggard Celine]

8. Thanks, Siwsan, I'm going to try that!

[kwijybo]

14. I'll try it with Meredith (the Grey)

A little feral that decided to live in my garage. I can feed her, talk to her, but if I pay too much attention to her, she gets skittish. God forbid I should try to touch her. She only jumps away now, doesn't run away.

The fun part was once, we were distracted while walking to the garage to feed and I reached over and petted her. She was "Oh, this is nice, this is goo... OMG He's touching me jump away"

[wnylib]

17. I love slow blink "conversations" with cats.

[Siwsan]

18. Sometimes Madoc pulls that routine when he knows he's in trouble

Example: When I find lick marks on the stick of butter. It's like he's saying 'I know I did wrong, but remember how sweet and cute I am when I'm NOT being mischievous.'

[wnylib]

19. LOL. Ember does the same thing.

"Oops. I didn't mean to mess up. Still friends, right?"

Sometimes when I ask a question that I know she understands, like, "Are you hungry?" she blinks and it looks like she is using the blink to say "Yes."

Or maybe she just means, "No aggression toward that idea."

[hippywife]

4. Thank you for take my care of them, Siwsan. n/t

[Siwsan]

5. I LOVE the challenge of trying to even semi-socialize them

It was so much fun taking care of the ones I rescued. I sometimes wish I'd kept them all, but two of them have a GREAT new mom and a wonderful life in Chicago, now.

[Grins]

9. Guy I know..

Rural living near a town you would LOVE to live in.
Found locals were throwing cats away on his property.
They became feral cats.
He saw that & put out food and water - for years.
And sometimes he caught them.
Took the ones he caught to vet and got them adopted.
Took him almost 20-years but he found a place for all of them.

[wendyb-NC]

10. You are definitely a champion for their well being

You find amazing creative ways to help them out in winter in the perilous north. What a great idea. I agree talk to them. It's a way to help them get a sense of you the kind human.

[MLAA]

11. Forget the neighbors, the feral think you are crazy for talking to them,

but an angel for feeding and loving them😍

[slightlv]

12. Good idea, Siwsan!

That's what we did on our deck in Kansas City! Here in Leavenworth, we keep watch in front, since the back is enclosed with a 7' fence and our puppy who's growing into a pony! We really haven't seen many ferals here... just the Siamese that my neighbor doesn't take care of. We keep an eye out for him, make sure he has plenty to eat and drink, and when we seen him, offer him a chance to come in from the cold and give him loves and pets. He's such a lovie. If these guys ever leave, hubs and I have a bet they're gonna leave this guy behind. If so, we're going to integrate him slowly into our clowder. May take a while, but we love this guy so much... and hate that his people treat him so... ignobly... the rest of the words I have probably can't be said here. (gryn) Bless you, sister!

[calimary]

13. It gets them used to your "noises" (voice, mainly)

And if you’re there a lot, they can get used to your scents.

[summer_in_TX]

15. If possible, it's a good idea to neuter them and then put them back.

That way the area has its occupying cats which keeps others from moving into their territory, and fewer are born to eat the birds. We have a woman here who makes it her mission to trap ferals, take them to get neutered, and then bring them back. She's educated our community on managing the feral cats.

We've had some we fed for years, and then with the help of one of her traps caught and had them neutered. They don't seem the worse for it and I think it's important to keep their population down so the bird population stabilizes.

[nuxvomica]

16. talking to cats is a good thing

Even if they don't understand what you say. It helps with bonding because you are interacting with them as equals, which doesn't seem to offend them at all.