I think he is out of his MIND

We went through a time when we had way too many cats - I think 15 at one time. I always had the feeling that I might become one of those *slightly eccentric* old cat women too lol.. We did finally have to do some not so pleasant things, found homes for some, but a lot of them just plain disappeared too. Seems like the ones you wanted to stay around, didn't.. Finally had 3 cats for many years, two got old and we finally had them put down, now we are down to one...

I don't have any advice, except that some hard decisions will have to be made... it's too much to have that many... The feral part is tough too.. We trained several of them (our daughter would make it a challenge to find and catch them, I'd lock them in the spare bathroom for a few days until they'd settle down. One time my dh opened up the bathroom cabinet and a feral kitty cat jumped out at him lol.. yup, he survived.

Good luck, hope it all works out.. A no-kill shelter would be best. (I am soft in my old age and now can't think of the alternative any more!).

Just moving away and leaving them is no better than how they were dumped in the first place. Either kill them outright or take them to somewhere that will.

__________________
http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/

http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

..............Coyotes will field strip a cat in short order if they catch them out looking for breakfast . Better too use a 22 for a humane control method than allow disease too exercise it's control methods . , fordy

A box of .22s is cheap if you have anyone who has the will to use them.

.....Alan.

Of course, your husband may never forgive you.

__________________
http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/

http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

I have found it very difficult to move barn cats. We have lost every one we tried to move to our new places in our last two moves. We locked them up for a few days and as soon as we let them out, they are gone. Maybe they tried to go back home?

You most likely don't want my advice. One thing though, don't move near me.

__________________
"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

Don't just leave them for someone else to deal with. Put them down, find someone who will or take them to a kill shelter. No shelter is going to want a bunch of half wild intact cats. The kittens you might be able to find homes for. Next time don't feed wild unfixed cats. IF you want some barn cats to keep mice down then you must get them fixed. I think your hubby should fix this problem since it sounds like mostly his doing, but if he won't man up you'll have to handle it yourself.

__________________
Check out my Blog to see what's happening on the homestead!
Automatic Chicken Coop Door Plans

we are in a "pet drop" area too..we live across the county line..people drive out to the county line and dump them across the line..maybe cause our county has a no kill policy..but also they will not accept new pets now.

our girl is a ferel cat who was either dumped preggie or with a litter and another adult male cat..before we could UNFEREL her..and get her fixed she had 4 litters..not good.

we did manage to give all the kitties away except she lost 3 somewhere..?? coyotes..neighbors?? and a couple had to be put down..one died of poison..someone was poisoning either animals or had it out for rats or mice and animals got into it.

we gave 3 of her kittens to our son..2 were poisoned.

so now we are down to her..fixed and her son..fixed..Joel has one daughter now fixed and a baby male cat.

it generally all works out..good places to go with the babies when they are ready to flea the nest (play one words)..is to a walmart or some other store parking lot with a basket if kitties at the cute stage and give them away to people coming out of the store..maybe buy a few small bags of pet food to give them away with?

I wouldn't suggest keeping more than four "fixed" kitties..son has 2 and we have 2..mama fights with the kids..except our boy..but the boys get along fine.

we don't have any mice problems here..they are all good hunters.

you will want to catch the ferel cats and get them fixed..right away..and yes mama can be fixed if she is preggie..it cost like $5 more most places.

Some counties will 'fix' feral cats for a catch and release program, they notch thier ear which is a sign that this has been done and then animal control will not pick them up. We had that done to our 3rd cat -- born under our house to a feral mom and dad in the neighborhood, then I just couldn't release her - wish I had as she has had medical problems and we have spent over $1000 on her so far -- she turned into my wifes cat -- sits on her lap when we're watching TV, sleeps next to her whenever she can, etc.

__________________
Apocalyptic and Survival Fiction - Readers and writers welcome

Why do I even open threads like this?

Sorry. Good luck in whatever decision you make.

__________________
Cows may not be smarter than People, but some cows are smarter than some people.

This sounds like your best option in the long run!

__________________
"Never stop questioning - curiosity has its own reason for existence." Albert Einstein

"I used to be a terror, now I am a tired man" Jim Croce

put them down yourself and fix your favorites, There is no way you can care for that many cats the way they need to be cared for.

Search on feral cats and spaying. Here's an organization that spays for free...don't know if they are in your neck of the woods or not but there might be others:

http://www.feralcatproject.org/howuse_step.aspx

__________________
CJ

when we get pregnant drop offs we deworm them and deflea them. bring them into a spare room of our house thats completely empty, with no carpet, just a liter box. we let them have their kittens, then as soon as they are old enough to leave we bring them to our local cattle and horse auctions and people take them home for their farms. we never had to bring any back home. including the mom. sometimes we will have the kids stand infront of our supermarket with the kittens. When people see the kittens they are gone within and hour. people can see an add and walk away from it but when they see fluffy healthy kittens they cant say no...lol

We never let them have the kittens in the barn cuz then you cant catch them to get rid of them. and they will get fleas and worms all over yer property.
Get rid of them!!!
one cat was such a good hunter we had her spayed and kept her. but if we feed her catfood, she wont hunt at all. so we feed her dogfood, she dont care for it much so she hunts great. and she lives outside. only comes in on occasion and catches the house mice.

There isnt anything more grose than the smell of cat in someones house, and it seems the person who lives there dont smell it as they get used to the stink. Im sorry but cats, IMO are outside animals. litter boxes are nasty.

I appricioate all the suggestions,

We will not just abandon them, we are responsible pet owners...

We do have 2 dogs as well a Great Dane and a Black Lab nad they all seem to get along....

we have 2 cute kittens right now, they should be ready for homes soon...

I found someone who will dispose of them for me...But I am afraid hubby would lose it...he is sensitive and loves animals of all kinds.

I don't want to dump them on someone else....so for now they are staying at the farm and the wild cats at the new place will stay there.

I told hubby this is his problem, not mine...I never wanted a cat let alone a pack of cats.

I may have to pay to drop them 70 miles away and I will if I have to...

There was a time when I had over a dozen cats (stopped counting). Lived in the boonies. Cats fed themselves and the local wild life fed on the cats that weren't smart enough to survive. No way could I have afforded to fix all those cats, which were there when I was given the place. Hate to sound cruel but if you can't afford it, let nature handle it.

Country vet will cost ya less than a city vet to spay and neuter. Might even offer a volume discount, if you can work around his or her large animal work. My city friends all come to our country doc for that stuff now and save a bundle. A 25 minute drive saves them about $150 on spay work.

You could also just neuter all males and hold it down quite a bit.

The old country way was to stick the tomcat's head in a cowboy boot and hold the boot closed while the quick slice/count to 2/pull was done to the back end sticking out. Not recommended for PETA members or tenderfoots, but it was cheap and quick.

__________________
Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

This might depend on the city. Many cities offer very low cost or even free spay/neuter services for cats.

__________________
Ever tried? Ever failed? No Matter, try again, fail again. Fail better.

- Samuel Beckett

I am sure everything is dependent on location, and that's been true in my travels from what I have seen, but where I live little to nothing is free. So it becomes a matter of how much one is willing to pay.

__________________
Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates