On the other hand, I killed a snake 3 weeks ago and the next day found a mama mouse with 5 suckling babies in my garage. (Sure don't need that snake's mama coming after me.)
On the other hand (I have too many hands) Boo left me 2 mice just last week (which means they got in! Probably from the basement.)
Feral cats are a "cat"egory all their own; one I've never quite embraced as these aren't the kind you get to cuddle. Basically all I know is they're wild as haints and breed like bunnies.
When a friend called in a panic saying he was overrun with cats (he had not one, but two litters of feral babies born within a week of each other because his girlfriend started feeding the mamas)...well, suffice it to say the man is rich in cats.
Big trick with feral is to fix before you commit. Cat babies can take over in no time and while there are stories out there that'll make your skin crawl, conservative estimates say a female cat living a 12-year average lifespan can be responsible for some 3500 descendants.
Every farmer I've spoken with agrees: You got chow. You got mice. And if you don't want snakes, a cat is the other alternative." (And yes I know. Black snakes are our friend...They take care of mice and other rodents while keeping poisonous snakes away. But much as I want to believe you, it's in my DNA to scream every time I see one, so while I work on my snake-loving skills, I'm thinking it's kitten time for me.)
One more round of questions and google searches and I'm probably adding to my menagerie. But like everything else around here, it's gotta work for its keep.
(Anybody else interested in a tipped* and snipped barn kitty, shoot me a message on FB. As for my friend, it'll be 2 down, 9 to go come next week.)
*Eartipping is the universal symbol for a spayed/neutered feral cat. The procedure involves removing about a quarter-inch of the cat's left ear in a straight line cut, done while the cat is anesthetized for spay/neutering procedure. Think of it as kitty-ear-piercing. For more information go to: http://www.nashvillecatrescue.org/feral-stray-cats
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