Hi and wondering if anyone else is familiar with this more current way to deal with stray(feral) cats? Last year, I lost my sweet outdoor kitty (she was 15 years old and died of old age). I live in the country (mini-farm) and feel its okay (and beneficial) to let cats outside. Anyway, I began a search to find a new kitty and found that most of the local shelters would not let me take a cat if it were allowed outside. Finally, I found one that had feral cats available that I could have for free as barn cats. They were neutered, healthy (FIV neg) and shots up to date. Not having much experience with feral cats, I said "yes" and two nice volunteers brought 3 kitties (3 was the minimum you could take). They brought everything I needed....cage, all supplies (litter, litter boxes, scoops, dishes) along with tons of food. The cage was set up in my barn and the cats installed. They were pretty fearful of me despite my soft, kind words, feeding and cleaning of litter daily. After 2 wks. I decided to leave the cage door open for awhile. One of them left and the other 2 stayed in the cage. I left a new bowl of food out for the one that was free and she would come back to eat every night. So, after another week I let the other 2 have their freedom. Those left and never returned. The first cat is still with me and has become tamer, mews sweetly at me and does a great job of keeping the rodents out of the barn! She is a nice cat but will probably never really trust me because she is feral. All in all, this was a good experience but I miss being able to go and get a kitten and having it bond with me from a young age. Occasionally I will see an ad for free kittens in the paper but I'll call the same day and all of them will have already been taken (probably by the shelters). I think the shelters' intervension is good for the most part, but maybe they are removing too much freedom (from honest people like me who would give a cat a good, loving, outdoor home). Any comments?