A wild cat that lives outdoors. Most feral cats cannot be socialized if they had no human contact within their first 8-10 weeks of life.
Can you take feral cats and move them somewhere else?
No. We do not have the resources to relocate feral cats. It is also bad to remove feral cats from their original environments because of 2 reasons:
1) Feral cats live in colonies, usually of 8 to 10 cats. When you remove cats from a colony, it creates a vacuum effect and the remaining cats in the colony reproduce at an accelerated rate to make up for the missing members. This is why euthanizing feral cats—which animal shelters have done for years—does not succeed in reducing the populations.
2) Feral cats are very attuned to their environment, and usually, if moved, will try to run away and return to that original environment.
Feral cats are not stray cats. Stray cats can usually be socialized and adopted into new homes. Feral cats are not the same as wild cats, like lions, tigers, or bobcats. They are the same domestic species as the common house cat. The main difference between a feral cat and house cat is that feral cats have never been properly introduced to humans, so they fear human touch and will flee even from those trying to help them.
Because of this fear, it is not easy to socialize feral cats and can make these cats difficult to place in new homes. It is important to remember that these cats are still living creatures who need care and deserve the respect of people. These cats are not unhealthy or disease carriers. All cats, stray, feral and owned alike, are all protected under anti-cruelty laws.
U.S. Feral Cat Population Estimates
– 45 kittens are born for every one human birth in the U.S.
– 13 million in Winter, 24 million in Summer (Clifton, M., Where cats belong – and where they don’t, ANIMAL PEOPLE [June 2003].)
– 50 million (Levy, J., Humane strategies for controlling feral cat populations , Journal of the AVMA, Vol. 225, No. 9.)
– 60 to 100 million (Alley Cat Allies, Tracking Our Success .)
Feral Cat Overpopluation Impacts:
– shelters and animal control
– public health
– animal welfare
Impact on Animal Sheltering and Control:
– 50 million feral cats = 147 million kittens per year
– Pet cats = 85% sterilization rate (this is great!)
– Feral cats = 2% sterilization rate (this is not so great = opportunity!)
The number of kittens and cats are rising.
This results in an increase in:
– intake and euthanasia
– complaint calls
– financial costs
– opportunity costs
– stress to employees
Impact on Wildlife:
– potentially devastating impact on sensitive ecosystems of rare species vulnerable to cat attacks
Impact on Animal Welfare:
– high kitten mortality
– for adults – short average life span in unmanaged situations (due to cars,
cruelty, disease, fighting, etc.)
What are our OPTIONS?
– Do nothing
– Feeding bans
– Trap and Remove (usually for euthanasia)
– Sterilizations, vaccination, and release (TNR) – the only scientifically proven method of reducing the feral cat population. This has been proven in dozens of communities across the U.S.
Feeding bans fail because:
– Difficult to remove food sources
– Cats remain in the territory and still reproduce
– Malnourished cats lead to parasitic infestations and disease
Trap and Remove fails because:
– Too many cats, not enough animal control resources
– Caretaker resistance (when euthanasia is the outcome)
– ‘Vacuum effect’ – new cats fill the void due to migration from other colonies to take advantage of available food
– reproduction and increased survival rate of untrapped cats (due to more available food)
– Ongoing abandonment plus lack of long-term monitoring
– Less costly if private sector involved
– Caretaker cooperation/volunteer support
– Long-term monitoring
– No vacuum effect
– Nothing else works
TNR addresses Shelter Issues by:
– Ending or limiting reproduction
– Colony size reduced immediately through adoptions
– Attrition reduces numbers over the long-term (fewer cats = fewer complaint calls)
TNR addresses Public Health Issues by:
– Vaccination for rabies
– Spay/neuter eliminates or dramatically reduces noise, odor and roaming (fewer complaint calls)
– A community-based TNR program can mediate and solve common problems like property damage, cats in yards, etc.
TNR addresses Wildlife Issues by:
– Reducing the number of cats in the environment
– Through cooperative problem-solving in situations involving rare, threatened or endangered species
TNR addresses Animal Welfare by:
– Providing consistent caretaking, including food and shelter
– Improved health through spay/neuter
– Less roaming
– Fewer kittens, who are the most susceptible to disease
Sections are courtesy of Bryan Kortis, Executive Director Neighborhood Cats, www.neighborhoodcats.org
Every 4 seconds, a homeless pet is euthanized in a U.S. shelter because no one wants them. Please, help us stop the suffering.
The Lost Companion is a volunteer-run, donation-supported, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible. We rely completely on the support of our communities to help homeless cats and kittens.