I forgot to mention my other furkids yesterday. The area around my townhouse has a lot of feral and wild kitties. On Thanksgiving I put out a huge bowl of kibbel for them, (this did not sit well with Isis who was not amused at seeing "her" food walk out the front door!).

Anyway I watched as all these scrawny, half-starved, kitties scarfed up the food. It was heartbreaking. So now I put out food and water on my stoop for 2 hours in the morning and @ 4hours at night. I go through @ 8-10 cups of kibble a day.

It's amazing-I was afraid of cat fights and problems-but there's been none. I guess knowing that the food dish is always full and there's no need to fight for it keeps them calm. We have a huge colony of black cats-mostly feral, but one or two don't run when they see me and are more than likely abandoned and wild now. There were 2 cats that were very friendly and with a little digging around I found that they were lost and their owners were looking for them-I got them back home.

I'm going to look up the feral cat coalition here and see what I can do about trapping them and getting them neutered. I already see that some of the cats are pregnant-what a life to be born to. It stinks.

Anyway-I figure I have about 10-14 other furkids. And, oh yeah, one great, big, festively plump racoon who scared the bejeesus out of me one night when I went to bring the food in. He didn't even move-just stared and continued eating. Rude creature.

Katalina, I think it's sweet that you are taking care of the wild critters in your neighborhood; however, you might check with your local animal control office to see what the laws and ordinances are concerning feeding strays. In our community, if you feed strays, you have made yourself responsible for them, and if they bite or scratch or otherwise harm someone or someone's pet, then you are financially responsible for their medical care, even though you do not own the animals. Just feeding them makes you responsible. And that would include the cost of rabies shots if needed for anyone bitten.

It's heartbreaking to see them starving, I know, and if you are able to do what you do, I'm all for it. Just make sure you're not setting yourself up for a lawsuit or any such thing.

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Nita

Nita-Thank you for your concern about the legal ramifications of feeding stray cats, as it is something that a lot of folks don't realize.
As someone who suffered through 2 years of law school before regaining their wits and quitting, I did wonder about that and looked into it. I'm okay as these are (mostly) feral animals and our county laws won't hold me responsible.
I did hook up with the feral cat coalition after I posted yesterday, and I'm going to get some help in trapping them and getting them some basic health care and neutering. They have a big van that goes from neighborhood to neighborhood to perform the surgery.
I'll then be responsible for feeding them which is okay by me.
I'm sure that no matter what I do though, there will be more cats abandoned around here and left to fend for themselves. I live smack up against a park and a wetland area and idiots are always dumping their pets here. I just don't understand why people get pets when they are unwilling to properly care for them. Ticks me off something fierce.