San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition

We are organized primarily to provide information resources to the public and to other animal welfare organizations. We educate people about issues surrounding feral and free-roaming cats in their environments, tell people where to take cats to be spayed or neutered, how to take care of the cats during post-surgery recovery, and how to take care of the cats long-term after they’ve been spayed/neutered.

We have a supply of humane animal traps that we rent to people that need to trap cats to be spayed/neutered and some large cages (dog training crates) that we also rent to people for holding the cats in after they’ve been spayed/neutered and before the cats are returned to their environment (feral cats) or being placed for adoption (tame/adoptable cats).

We provide information (pamphlets, fact sheets) to anyone who wants to know more about feral or stray cats or who wants information on the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) process. We try to support feral cat colony caretakers to the extent that our resources will allow (food, spay/neuter appointments, etc.). Finally, we work with local government officials to promote TNR in San Antonio instead of the usual way of doing business, which, up to this point, has been trap and kill or doing nothing about the cat overpopulation problem. More information about our organization is located at About.

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No. Adult feral cats usually cannot be tamed and are not suited to living indoors with people. However, feral kittens up to about 8 weeks often can be tamed and adopted. (Source: Alley Cat Allies)

Observe the cat’s appearance and behavior. A stray cat is more likely to approach a human, but not close enough to be touched. It is also more likely to be vocal and eat food right after is it offered. A feral cat is silent, will not approach humans and will only approach food after a human has moved away from it. Strays are more likely to look disheveled, compared to feral cats which have adapted to the conditions and will be well-groomed. (Source: Alley Cat Allies)

See our web page at Resources.

As already mentioned, our organization simply does not have the resources to remove feral or stray cats from your yard, apartment complex, or place of business. We encourage you to feed the cats so that they won’t starve. More importantly, we encourage you to help us resolve the problem by taking the next step and trapping the cats and getting them spayed or neutered. This will stop the breeding cycle. Tame cats can be placed for adoption.

You should really try to get to one of our online workshops. At these workshops, we show you how to trap cats using humane animal traps, cover lots of resources for spaying/neutering, and make every effort to answer any questions you may have about dealing with stray and feral cats. The online workshops are free.

Try the same things we do: Call the Humane Society (210-226-7461) every day at 8:30 am and see if you can get them to take the cats from you; Call the Animal Defense League (210-655-1481) and get on their list to take the cats in; Call SCAT (Stray Cat Adoptions of Texas, 210-363-8010) and see if they will take them in. There are also several other shelters in the area who might be able to take them in, as well as different agencies that place cats for adoptions at various PetsMarts around the city. You might also try and enlist the aid of friends or other family members to foster the cats on a short-term basis until some of the above places have room to take them.

The first thing you need to do is consider the welfare of the kittens. If they are very young (say, less than about 5-6 weeks) then they need to stay with their mother until they are weaned and can eat solid food on their own. [1] Once the kittens are eating solid foods, they should be removed from the environment and fostered by someone until they are old enough to be placed for adoption. From the time the kittens are taken away from their mother and until they are ready to be adopted, this is the time that they should be tamed, or socialized, to learn how to interact with people. Also, after kittens are removed from their mother, the mom cat should be taken into a veterinary clinic and spayed. The spayed mom can then be returned to the place she was living. She should be helped along with regular feeding by yourself or another volunteer.

“Kittens are adorable at any age, but did you know that figuring out how old a kitten is can help determine what sort of care they need? It can be tricky to tell, but our at-a-glance kitten progression guide, featuring Darling the kitten and his siblings, is here to help you out.” Click this link to read more and see photos that show the kitten’s age.

Not sure what to do if you’ve found kittens in your community? Please click this link to read more and see photos and charts that will help you.

Here are some suggested things you can do to help:

• Provide responsible, humane care for your own cats
• Let the City Council and local businesses know that you support the Trap-Neuter-Return program in your community
• Encourage ongoing efforts to humanely address pet overpopulation in the community
• Spay or neuter your own pets and prevent them from roaming
• If feeding stray or feral cats, be sure that they are all spayed or neutered
• Young kittens and social adult strays should be taken in, sterilized and adopted into permanent homes. Contact the Humane Society or other shelters.
• Help local project coordinators identify feral cat colonies; Contact our Help Line at 210-877-9067 and ask if there is anyone taking care of feral cat colonies that you find
• Volunteer to help with trapping or to help monitor and care for the cats once they are returned to their colonies
• Volunteer to help monitor and feed colonies

Notes:

[1] Kittens will continue to nurse from their mother even after they start eating solid foods.