By Cathy M. Rosenthal
If you’ve spent years feeding and caring for feral or semi-feral cats in your neighborhood, you know they’re more than just strays. They’re your responsibility. So what happens when you move? While relocating feral cats (or even a small colony) isn’t ideal, sometimes it’s the only humane option, especially when no one else is able or willing to step in to take over their care. If you leave without a plan, they’ll likely suffer, and hunger will set in quickly.
So here are your options:
Find a neighbor to take over their care. Post on Nextdoor, local Facebook groups, or ask around your vet or shelter. A kind neighbor may be willing to help if they understand what’s involved.
-
Reach out to a local feral cat group. They may know caretakers who are set up to help or have experience with relocation.
-
Ask the new tenants or homeowners if they’d be open to feeding the cats. Many will say no, but some might surprise you, especially if they are animal lovers.
-
Relocate them with you. If you’re moving to a rural or cat-safe property, you can bring them—but it requires a step-by-step acclimation process to help them adjust and stay safe. If you choose this route, keep reading. I’ve included a detailed relocation guide below to guide you through the process.
Step 1: Prepare the New Location
- Check local laws or ordinances about outdoor cats in your new area.
- Make sure the new environment is safe: low traffic, no nearby aggressive pets, no local predators.
- Get permission if the property isn’t fully yours.
- Have a quiet, sheltered area ready for confinement (garage, shed, barn, or secure outdoor enclosure).
Step 2: Set Up a Confinement Space
Feral cats must be contained at the new location for 2–4 weeks, allowing them to adjust and imprint on the new territory.
- Use large dog crates (42” or bigger) or build a secure enclosure.
- Each crate should include:
- A hiding spot (covered box or carrier)
- Litter box (use familiar litter if possible)
- Food and water bowls (placed far from the litter box)
- A towel or blanket draped over part of the crate for privacy
Step 3: Trap the Cats
- Use humane live traps (like Tomahawk or Tru-Catch).
- Do not feed the cats for 24 hours prior to trapping to increase your success of catching them.
- Label each trap with the cat’s name/description.
- Cover the trap with a towel or sheet once the cat is caught to reduce stress.
- Transport them directly to your confinement area.
Tip: Move all cats at once (if possible) to avoid breaking up a bonded group and so they can all be confined at the same time.
Step 4: Confinement Period (2–4 Weeks)
- Feed on a consistent schedule and maintain a calm environment.
- Visit regularly, but minimize stress—talk softly and observe quietly.
- Clean litter daily and refresh food/water.
- Use familiar-smelling items from their old territory if possible (blankets, straw).
- Avoid letting them out early. They need time to be very familiar and bonded to the new space.
Step 5: Release
- Choose a quiet morning for the release.
- Open the crate/door and allow them to exit at their own pace.
- Do not force them out.
- Leave food and water in the same spot where they were during confinement.
- Gradually move the feeding station to your preferred long-term spot over the next 1–2 weeks.
Step 6: Ongoing Care
- Provide daily food and fresh water.
- Offer ongoing shelter (insulated cat houses, straw-filled crates, under a porch, etc.).
- Monitor for signs of illness, injury, or if any cats go missing.
- Keep the area clean and avoid attracting wildlife or pests.
Additional Tips:
- Remember, relocation is a last resort. Cats form strong bonds to their territory, and relocation can be a stressful experience. But if you’re their only caregiver and there’s no one to take over at your old home, moving them is justified and needed.
- Feral cats may disappear for a few days after release, but often return if they’ve been confined properly.
- Consider microchipping them before the move if you haven’t already.
Hello Cathy,
I have been taking care of a dozen feral kitties for 7 years now at my home in West Bloomfield, MI
We are of retirement age now and want to travel. I need to rehome these sweet kitties. Do you know of anyone I could call to see about this?
They are all really sweet, and I can pet most of them.
Thanking you in advance for your prompt reply,
Lynne
Dear Lynne,
First, thank you for caring for these cats for so many years. Seven years is a long commitment, and it’s clear these cats have been safe, loved, and cared for because of you.
I would begin by reaching out to local feral cat or Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) organizations in your area to discuss your options. These groups often know of local barn cat or working cat placement programs, foster networks, or other local resources that may not be widely advertised.
Unfortunately, finding placement for adult community or formerly feral cats can be very difficult right now, especially in large numbers, because shelters and rescue groups across the country are overwhelmed. However, because many of your cats are social and can be petted, some rescues may be willing to evaluate whether a few could transition into adoptive homes, barn cat programs, or sanctuary-style placements.
That said, my first choice — if possible — would actually be to see whether someone could continue caring for the cats where they already live. Community cats are deeply connected to their territory, and relocation can be stressful and risky for them. Sometimes a nearby neighbor, friend, relative, or even another local cat caregiver may be willing to take over feeding and monitoring responsibilities, especially if you help with food costs or veterinary care.
Even if the person does not live next door, it can still work. Many colony caregivers stop by once or twice daily to feed, provide fresh water, and monitor the cats. Some caregivers also set up feeding stations with storage bins for food, automatic feeders, insulated shelters, or outdoor water stations to make daily care easier. A local TNR organization may even know experienced colony caregivers in your area who could help or advise you.
If you do contact rescue organizations, I would explain:
– How many cats you have
– Which are socialized and can be handled
– Whether they are spayed/neutered and vaccinated
– Their approximate ages
– Whether any can live indoors
– Whether you are able to provide financial support or supplies during transition
You may also want to ask specifically about:
– Working cat or barn cat placement programs
– Foster-based rescue groups
– Sanctuary placement options
– Assistance with gradual rehoming rather than all at once
Contact local feral cat groups, local humane societies, local animal control, and cat-specific rescue groups in your area.
I wish I had an easy solution, but I do want you to know that what you’ve done for these cats matters greatly. Many would not have survived without your care.
I have fed and watered 3 feral cats in my complex for the past 4 years.
They enter my apartment, eat then leave. Still a little stand offish. While I can’t pet them they will sit 12” from me waiting for their food. I’m getting ready to move and want to take them to my ranch in TX. I can lock them inside my feed room or tack room in the barn. After 4-6 weeks I can open the cat door and let them roam the barn. Is this a good idea or should I let them fend for themselves at the complex. A number of tenants put out dry food and water. Though they prefer my patio since I feed them moist food
Hi Karl,
You have a difficult decision because there can be reasonable arguments for both leaving the cats where they are and taking them with you.
Community-cat and animal-welfare organizations generally recommend leaving healthy community cats in the territory they already know when that territory is safe and they have reliable care. Cats become very attached to their surroundings. They know where to find food, water and shelter, where they can hide, which people and animals are safe, and how to navigate their environment. Moving them somewhere completely unfamiliar can be stressful and carries the risk that they will leave the new property in an attempt to return to their old territory. For those reasons, organizations that work extensively with community cats generally consider relocation a last resort rather than the first choice when a caregiver moves. So, there is a good argument for leaving your three cats at the apartment complex. They have lived there for at least four years, apparently know the territory well, and you say several other residents already put out food and water. If the cats are spayed or neutered, healthy and safe there, and you can identify someone willing to take over their care and assume full responsibility for them, remaining in their familiar territory may be the least disruptive choice.
But I wouldn’t simply move away and assume they will be fine because other people occasionally put out food. Before deciding to leave them, talk with your neighbors and find someone willing to become their regular caregiver. Show that person when and where you feed them and share anything you know about each cat. That turns “letting them fend for themselves” into transferring their care to another person.
There is another side to this, though. You haven’t simply been putting out an occasional bowl of food. You have cared for these cats every day for four years. They voluntarily enter your apartment to eat, sit within a foot of you, and clearly recognize you as a safe and dependable person, even though they don’t want to be touched. That relationship deserves consideration, too, because few feral cats would enter someones home like that to eat. They definitely have a relationship with you. If their continued care at the apartment complex is uncertain, and your ranch offers a safe environment where you are prepared to provide food, fresh water, shelter, and veterinary care for the rest of their lives, relocating them together could be a reasonable option. Barn and working-cat programs successfully place unsocialized cats in these kinds of environments, but the cats must be properly acclimated to their new home before being allowed outside. Your idea of keeping them securely confined in the feed or tack room first is on the right track. The room must be completely escape-proof and provide hiding places, litter boxes, food, and water. Recommendations vary somewhat among community-cat programs, but I would err on the side of a longer acclimation period—six to eight weeks. During that time, continue the same feeding routine and spend time quietly around them so they learn that this new place—and you—are now their source of food and security.
When they are eventually released, continue feeding them and providing fresh water every day. Don’t expect them to live off rodents simply because they are barn cats. They also need permanent access to safe shelter and as much protection as possible from dogs, coyotes and other hazards on the property. I live on 10 acres in Texas with feral cats, and over the years my colony of six has dwindled to two. There are lots of predators out in the Hill Country, so your barn can serve as protection for them if you can get them to go in there at night.
So, I wouldn’t make this decision solely on whether the ranch seems like a nicer place for them. From a cat’s perspective, familiar territory has tremendous value. If these cats have a safe home at the complex and someone dependable will continue caring for them, leaving them there is a very reasonable—and generally recommended—choice.
But if you cannot ensure that someone will take responsibility for them after you leave (people can say yes and then not do it, or they can move and not find a new feeder, etc.), I would give considerably more weight to the other option: moving all three together to a safe ranch where the person they have trusted for four years intends to continue caring for them.
Whichever choice you make, the important question isn’t simply, “Where would I rather have them live?” It’s “Where are these particular cats most likely to have reliable care, safety, and stability for the rest of their lives?” And based on what you’ve told me, I can understand why you are leaning toward taking them with you. You have already demonstrated a four-year commitment to these cats, and if you are prepared to make that commitment for the rest of their lives, that deserves considerable weight in your decision. Let me know what you decide. I would like to hear about their journey moving with you to the Texas Ranch if that is what you decide to do.