Sounds like maybe they cannot afford to get them fixed. I can understand if that is the case. If you are willing to pay the vet bills then I say yes. Too bad it has gotten to this point. Best of luck.
Judy

gosh, that would be hard for me to live next to. i absolutely love animals and i would hate to see them suffering. but i also know not everyone feels the same as i do and i respect that as long as they are not knowingly harming animals. seems like their good intentions got out of hand maybe?

i would go broke myself trying to help them or have to take on a part-time job just to help lol. i would maybe stop by your aspca and talk to someone there. you could call but you might get a better reaction or response in person. find out if they might be able to do very low cost spay/neutering. good luck! i hope everything works out before winter weather comes. ~ liz

Good for you for wanting to help! I would imagine the couple may be feeling somewhat overwhelmed. There may be some feline rescues or TNR (trap neuter and release) organizations in your area. I don't know where in Oklahoma you live, so I GOOGLED for some information on cat rescues, and tnr's in OK.
Perhaps this may help. I also visit the Cats forum on About.com - I find them to be a great source of information.
If I can be of any assistance please let me know.

Here is a link that might be useful: OK Cat Info

I'm glad you are concerned and are willing to be active in getting help for these cats. I hope there is a way you can get them one by one if nothing else and get them to the vet. Also, it wouldn't do any harm to talk to the vet. He may be able to offer some help.

We had feral cats in the pasture next door to us when we lived on acerage too. I put food on the front porch for them. They and the raccoons ate it. There was a little mama cat who had a litter. I tried to capture them and her to have them neutered and spayed. I wasn't able to. Her kittens came for a while and little by little they quit. I don't know what happened to them and hate to even think about it. I borrowed a raccoon trap from a co-worker and after a couple of weeks I finally got the little mama cat in it. I was able to have her spayed. When we sold our house I told the people moving in that feeding the cat was part of the sales deal. They assured me they would. They had an indoor cat and said setting some food out for the other one was no big deal.

Here's the little mama cat keeping her distance.

My mom works with a group, I think she's on the board, that is called CaaP. They do a spay and neuter clinic in Stillwater I believe once a month or every six weeks or so for very little money. Some people get it free but my mom is the phone person and she is not shy about getting to facts of the situation and then determining who will benifit from Caap services. They get huge grants and she wants to use it for first for sincere folks who are in need and truly want to maintain a good home for their pet.
They have done thousands of cats and dogs. It might be a good place to bring some of the momma cats to be spayed for a reduced fee.

Here is a link that might be useful: Caap,,,,,,spay and neuter clinic

I can see that this is a very delicate and somewhat difficult situation. It sounds like this elderly couple do love the animals, and try their best (within their means) to care for them. Keep in mind that if these are wild cats, gathering them up and neutering/spaying them one at the time, when they can afford it, probably would not be enough to keep the "population explosion" from happening. I hope a solution can be found, that will help the cats, without hurting the old couple, who probably are well intentioned.

Elisabeth

They sound like they are what is referred to as "hoarders". It's a psychological disorder of which there is relatively few studies, until recently. If it is hoarding, it's out of their control and you may want to assist in helping them find treatment.
I've supplied a link so that you can see if if they fit the pattern.

Here is a link that might be useful: Animal hoarding

My friend Tina had that problem. She lived on a farm, and people would go there and just drop cats off, and they would breed. She had about 13 to 15 of them, and then started on a program of catching them all and having them fixed. Niagara Action for Animals helped her with the costs. As has been stated, there may be a similar program where you live.

Susan

I genuinely appreciate everything that has been posted so far.

Yes, I think they want to do the right thing but at this point they just don't know what to do except continue feeding. I am very willing to cover the cost to help with this.

Elisabeth, you are right. One here and there probably isn't the answer.

Bostonpat and Toni: thank you! I will do some more checking tomorrow!

msscippy: that's a beautiful cat! Bless you for helping her along!

I admire your willingness to help out. It would be great if you were able to find a group that might offer some assistance, either financial or to just help you catch them. It's only going to get worse unless something is done. I hope your neighbors will be receptive to your offer. Good luck.

I feel for you, I was in a similar situation a few years back. I am rural and cat dumping is common here. A lovley lady the next property over is kind hearted and will feed them and provide shelter. She ended up with about 20 kitens all with what "looked" like eye infections,it turned out it is a respritory infection and the cats were very sick. I was able to contact a rescue group and all the cats were captured. 4 of the "teenage" cats had to be put down because the infection was to advanced but the younger kittens and the two Mom cats were saved. I would try contacting every rescue group you can. Kittens can usually be captured and are more easily adopted. Getting rid of the kittens will help the population down the road and give you more time to work on the breeding age cats. You may be able to get ahead of the game with a little persistance. Bless you for caring and being willing to help. Good Luck!

They are overwhelmed and cannot handle this themselves. You are kind to help. Talk to local authorities--county animal control, humane society, whatever you have there--as to the best approach. If you can talk to a vet you might get good advice there too. The problem will only grow unless it's handled.

Susan

Ditto what Socks said.

We have a couple in our neighborhood (county) that has a bazillion animals..that aren't only in their yard..I don't know why animal control hasn't done anything about them.
Their chickens rove, geese, ducks...and the cats...omg..the cats...They were inbreeding too..but now he's got some "new" cats, so the have some fresh genes...some of them anyway.

Yesterday he was out collecting eggs in the front yard. LOL
I don't think he feeds his cats very well at all..they are all thin and scraggly... and a friend went and got a kitten from him a few weeks back. The kitten was full of worms. Which didn't suprise me. I bet all the adults are too...

You've gotten some really good advice...There are agencies out there what are willing to spay/neuter for a very low charge...Alley Cat is a good one to help with information on spay/neuter and release program..
It is a nationwide problem and it's a shame more people aren't as concerned as you...Just 1 female cat can produce many, many litters..Spaying/neutering improves the way of life as well as the health of the cat/kitten....
Bless you for caring about your neighbor as well as the fur babies....

Thank you for caring, Rita. Wouldn't it be nice if there was something that could be put in these poor animal's food that would sterilize them and address any other problems such as illness or parasites? Maybe the day will come.

~Betsy