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| Feral cats live in streets, alleys, and parks because of human neglect of their unaltered domestic cats, allowing them to roam and reproduce. A California study revealed that about 60% of unaltered household cats become feral within three years. Many people abandon or dump unwanted, unaltered cats, and these often end up in feral colonies. Stray and lost cats congregate near food sources such as garbage dumpsters where rodents collect to feed. The cats start breeding and form colonies. An estimated sixty million feral cats live in the U.S., and worldwide are part of the urban ecology in virtually every city. They live in deserts near human settlements as well as on islands near Antarctica. |
| There are three classes of feral cats. This was done in an effort to know how to approach these cats and which cats would be the easiest to re-domestic for companion animals. It has been proven that any feral cat can be re-domesticated given the right circumstances and enough time. Class one, is true feral cat or kitten, which means born to a cat that was born of a feral (i.e. 2nd generation.) These cats are very afraid of humans. They will run from you. If you get too close they may hiss, growl, scratch, and even bite you if they are cornered. It is very difficult to socialize adults of this class. Yet it can and has been done. Don't ever give up on a feral cat. Class two, are cats or kittens that have recently been abandoned by owners and live on the streets. These cats will run from you at first, but not too far. They are jumpy and scare easily at sounds. If you have food with you and feed them regularly, they are easy to get close to. After a short time these cats will run to you when you come to bring them food and may even rub against your legs. These cats are more easily socialized, than either of the other two classes. Class three, are cats or kittens that have been abused and run away from the abusive owner. These are the saddest of all. They are terrified of humans, yet lack the knowledge of how to survive on their own. They are often rejected by established colonies. Of these cats, some may be able to be socialized and some not. It depends a great deal on the level of abuse they sustained from their owners and whether they can ever trust a human again. These cats are the ones you don�t generally see. They come out late at night to forage for food and will run at the slightest sound. The average life span of a Feral cat is less than two years on their own. If they are lucky, enough to be in a colony that has a caretaker to feed them and see that they are spayed or neutered, the life span may reach five years. Very few live longer. It's a tough life out on the streets. |
| I believe the only humane way of dealing with the problem of feral cat over population is to establish Trap, neuter/spay, release programs (TNR). Non-lethal control is accepted by many well-respected institutions and organizations including the American Veterinary Medical Association, Cornell, and Tufts University veterinary schools, and the Doris Day Animal League. England and Denmark started much of the work in this field in the early 1970s and where the organization Cat Action Trust established extensive spay/neuter services for caretakers. Other countries, including South Africa and Australia, have been using the trap-neuter-return (TNR) control method for many years. TNR has been implemented successfully time and again in cities throughout the US. One must take into account that it is not the cat's fault for all this feline overpopulation. The fault lies with humans, the irresponsible owners, people that want their children to witness the miracle of birth, the ones that think it's natures way, breeders who are it only for money, and people who say it's only a cat. As you can no doubt tell, I have a hard time dealing with these types of people. Alley Cat Allies, Washington, DC, and The Feral Cat Coalition, San Diego, CA are two of the forerunners in helping Ferals. They have supplied much of the information you have read in this article. Education, Spay and neuter clinics, TNR programs for managing feral colonies are all ways to help Ferals. There are Rescue groups and Colony caretakers in all areas that are in need of help. They need people to volunteer their time, food, supplies, and donations to continue their efforts. If you want to help, there are many ways, in which you may do this, including making sure your own animals are altered and properly taken care of. |
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