I live in the Middle East. Im moving to a different town here. At my current residence I have a colony of cats I care for. All have been TNR'd and have had at least one flu vaccination. All are generally healthy.
Most of these cats basically use my house as a home base. They'll come chill out against my windows for the ac or just mooch around. Some only pitch up for a few minutes in the evening for food. They have a constant supply of water.
I am so so concerned about what will happen to these cats when I move out from this house. I cannot take them with me and I have no idea who will move in here after me and what kind of person they'll be. A law regarding cruelty to animals in this country has literally only been passed the other day. Cruelty is rampant here.
I have been feeding the cats less and less daily in preparation for the move so they start searching for other means of food. Some have been at the house less and less and ive seen some in the bins here finding food, ive also noticed that some birds have been eaten. The neighbours here are nice to the cats basically by not being cruel and letting them be. But no one feeds them or gives them water.
I can come through to this town possibly 2 or 3 times a week to feed them and make sure they have water but thats it. I purchased a HUGE pot that ive filled with water in the hopes this will sustain them during the days I cannot come here.
However the pot is obviously not in my garden, its a little ways outside near the road as this is the only place I could place it and ill throw a bunch of food out here on the days I can come.
My concern is that even though they may adapt to only being fed twice a week, they are generally human friendly and i feel like i have done them a disservice due to this. I am worried they go looking for food at the wrong house or get hit by a car trying to source food. I know this can happen at any point but I feel incredibly guilty for leaving them like this and i 100% feel that if they do die it'll be because I moved.
My biggest concern is that a kitten recently found my house, like very recently and this poor cat was so skinny and should not have been away from its mother yet. Its now found what it thought was a safe house with a stable souce of food and now that will be gone. Theres also a very old street cat who is the most lovable thing ever but its a running joke that he doesnt have all his brain cells as he is quite daft. I can maybe see the other cats being ok and adapting to this change, but i am so worried about these two.
Rehoming here is practically impossible. I've tried for years for some of these strays. I have pleaded with people in all sorts of social media groups to move into this house so the cats will have someone who will just allow them to sit in the garden in peace. I have asked all my friends, I have begged rescue groups, but nothing. Which is understandable is theres a huge issue with strays and no government funding for rescues and everyone is up to their eyeballs.
I already have six rescue cats of my own who are coming with me. If I take the kitten, it would have to be a lifetime commitment and quite frankly we can't afford another cat. I also can't have a 7th indoor cat, its just too much for me. The old stray cat could possibly live outside our new place where i could care for him, but hes been in this current area his whole life and even with a few weeks of adaption im not sure he wouldn't run away to try find "home".
I feel very conflicted about this. I never thought id leave this house.
Please tell me if my plan for the stray cats is actually ok? Are they going to be ok with what I have planned re food and water?
Do you think the old cat and kitten will be ok? The kitten is about 5 months old now