It's experience, having learned through very annoying trial and error what won't work. If you do transfers indoors, you're always safe that if something goes wrong, you can catch the cat, while it's running up and down the walls like Spider-Man, with a net and get it back into a its pen or trap.
There is a female cat that was part of a TNR about 10 years ago in my neighborhood. All were not feral and all found homes in the neighborhood except for two. These two were released and lived outdoors. The caretaker moved to Arizona 2 years ago. I've provided shelter and have been feeding her. I'm considering trapping her and see if she could be introduced to being an inside cat. Problem is I can't keep her due to family allergies to cats. I'm not sure which way to go. She is skittish but lets me pet her but on her terms. Sometimes she forces herself on me Its hard to believe that I can't just pick her up. There are so many cats in need for homes that rescue groups won't consider her. Its' the coyotes running through my neighborhood that's the main concern.
It can take several months (sometimes years, even) to make a skittish cat that has been living feral into a tame pet. With your household allergy situation, it sounds like if you trap her and have her as your house feral with the goal of making her into a tame pet, allergies could drive you to abort the mission and put her back outside before she's tame. It might be an idea to just work on petting her at the colony while she is eating to try to make her more tame. Maybe you could take a photo of her and post an ad online asking if anyone would like her and her friend as a pair of barn cats, with the agreement that the barn home provides a daily meal of cat food and fresh water forever in return for environmentally friendly rodent control. (In the ad, just be sure not to give away the location of the cat colony. Secrecy keeps feral cats safe.) You would have to check out the barn home beforehand and be satisfied that the people aren't going to flake out on you (people often do) once you've got the two cats trapped and ready to deliver. Also, the barn home people would need to be educated about the need to have the barn cats in lockdown for a month in a tack room or workshop or even a large dog crate so they get used the their new surroundings and caretakers and hopefully won't run away when released after a month. Although it's not easy to find barn homes, it's not impossible either. Whatever you decide, staying the course or looking for a next step, good luck! The cats are lucky to have you.
You make it look so easy!
It's experience, having learned through very annoying trial and error what won't work. If you do transfers indoors, you're always safe that if something goes wrong, you can catch the cat, while it's running up and down the walls like Spider-Man, with a net and get it back into a its pen or trap.
There is a female cat that was part of a TNR about 10 years ago in my neighborhood. All were not feral and all found homes in the neighborhood except for two. These two were released and lived outdoors. The caretaker moved to Arizona 2 years ago. I've provided shelter and have been feeding her. I'm considering trapping her and see if she could be introduced to being an inside cat. Problem is I can't keep her due to family allergies to cats. I'm not sure which way to go. She is skittish but lets me pet her but on her terms. Sometimes she forces herself on me Its hard to believe that I can't just pick her up. There are so many cats in need for homes that rescue groups won't consider her. Its' the coyotes running through my neighborhood that's the main concern.
It can take several months (sometimes years, even) to make a skittish cat that has been living feral into a tame pet. With your household allergy situation, it sounds like if you trap her and have her as your house feral with the goal of making her into a tame pet, allergies could drive you to abort the mission and put her back outside before she's tame. It might be an idea to just work on petting her at the colony while she is eating to try to make her more tame. Maybe you could take a photo of her and post an ad online asking if anyone would like her and her friend as a pair of barn cats, with the agreement that the barn home provides a daily meal of cat food and fresh water forever in return for environmentally friendly rodent control. (In the ad, just be sure not to give away the location of the cat colony. Secrecy keeps feral cats safe.) You would have to check out the barn home beforehand and be satisfied that the people aren't going to flake out on you (people often do) once you've got the two cats trapped and ready to deliver. Also, the barn home people would need to be educated about the need to have the barn cats in lockdown for a month in a tack room or workshop or even a large dog crate so they get used the their new surroundings and caretakers and hopefully won't run away when released after a month. Although it's not easy to find barn homes, it's not impossible either.
Whatever you decide, staying the course or looking for a next step, good luck! The cats are lucky to have you.