Outdoor heating pads are an excellent addition. We recommend providing insulated shelters stuffed with straw to keep cats comfortable. They grow a very thick coat of fur in the winter and find places to seek refuge from the elements. Outdoor cats are amazingly resilient to cold temperatures. Feral cats thrive best in their familiar outdoor environment where they are comfortable and free. A feral cat can thrash against windows trying to get out, get into rafters or other inaccessible places, or urinate or defecate in undesired locations. Captive feral cats can get upper respiratory infections, diarrhea and even depression. As with humans, stress can lead to illness.

If a cat is not socialized to people, he/she will be extremely stressed in captivity. Margaret, donate here.It is unwise to bring a truly feral cat indoors. So far, they've given out more than 1,700 pounds of cat food and more than 1,100 cans.Īs of now, they're maxed out. 'They can be stigmatized by people in the neighborhood, even by family who just think of them as crazy cat people,' Ciccarone said. Fortunately, she now has support from the cat community too. Margaret is going to keep looking after them. 'If cats aren’t spayed and neutered, they become outdoor cats because they want to have sex, and the cycle just continues,” Ciccarone said.

Volunteers have worked to trap, neuter and return the felines. I’m on social security, and I already pay out like $500 a month for a unit, and I spend $300 a month easy,' Harmon said. Margaret can use her own money to pay the bills and take care of her brother. “And it’s tough because like Margaret, a lot of the caretakers are elderly or on fixed incomes, a lot of them are primary caregivers for an adult in their lives, and even though they may be struggling financially, they’re moved to support these cats that no one owns,' Ciccarone said. It's no small task, and it used to cost her hundreds a month before Ciccarone stepped in to help through the Cat Colony Food Pantry nonprofit. 'My heart hurts for them,' Margaret Harmon said. She feeds the wild kitties in her Goodlettsville neighborhood.

(WTVF) - The Cat Colony Food Pantry is helping people in need feed feral cats in Davidson County.Įrica Ciccarone dropped off cat food for Ms.

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