Feral Cats
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National Feral Cat Day is October 16th
In addition to traps perfect for capturing feral cats, Tomahawk also has "cat graspers" and Kevlar gloves. Both probably good investments
Cat Wrangling 101: Caring for homeless cats. An informative course
The Messy Beast Not-for-profit resources for cat care, welfare, behavior, breeding, rescue and general interest
- Feral Cats... Kittens Who Have Lost More Than Their Mittens
- How Did She Get Here?
- Now, What Are We Going To Do... ?
- Who's the Real Problem?
- Is Legislation Necessary?
- And, Rita... ?
- As for Alexander...
Feral Cats... Kittens Who Have Lost More Than Their Mittens
Rita is a feral cat. Young... less than a year old I would guess. Every day at breakfast time in the morning, and again at the dinner hour in the evening this feral waif comes to my home. When she first started to come around, I couldn't get closer than 20 feet to her. Even now, as some trust has been developed between us, she still won't come within 10 feet of me. She sits or lies on the other side of the yard watching me with yellow-gold eyes peering from her jet black silhouette. I imagine a call across an ages wide chasm and only with instinct can she and I understand what she needs. Food, and probably shelter, too. She knows it's here, but, she doesn't know how to ask for it, or even how to accept it. She's definitely a feral cat.
And yet, she seems perfectly content to live the life she has been given. Accepting without complaint her existence on the edge on socialization. The compassion I feel for her is exceeded only by my admiration for the ease with which see accepts her fate. She sets an example that's hard for many people to follow.
Feral cats are the result of what humans have a propensity to do from time to time... abrogate their responsibilities. Maybe that is a bit harsh because not all homeless cats are a result of human irresponsibility. So, let's back up a little. Feral cats, to be sure, are defined as cats that are either:
- Domesticated cats that have, for one reason or another, found themselves without a home.
or
- Are the progeny of cats that were once a domestic pet.
Feral cats are not Wild Cats. Wild Cats are cats born of animals that have never, ever been domesticated, and they will never become domesticated themselves. Tamed maybe, but never domesticated. That's another story. Feral cats become homeless in a variety of ways. Many, if not most, are just abandoned. Some may become lost, possibly during a change of residence, which is usually traumatic to a cat's psyche. Or, they might run away for one reason or another. Abuse, poor care, too many other pets in the home. More than likely if they find themselves without a home, they probably haven't been neutered or spayed. Here is where the problems begin.
People think of cats as capable, independent providers... or survivors. It's a concept far from the truth. Surviving in the "wild" for a homeless cat is just as difficult as it would be for an urban dweller if he were to suddenly find himself dropped into the middle of the Gobi Desert. Against all odds our stranded urbanite might make it home again, but it sure wouldn't be easy. He would have to overcome thirst, starvation, buffeting of nature, and avoid predatory animals. In just such an environment do feral cats roam. Looking for the high protein food they need to survive, water sources, shelter from the elements and safety from predators. Eventually they may find themselves joining in colonies for mutual protection, forming communal nurseries, and finding friendly companionship.
(I can visualize the campsite so well... small flickering fires, soft murmuring relating the days adventures, a loud chortle now and then... and, of course, the long, lonely wail of a train whistle far in the distance evoking the foggy remembrance of a home long gone.)
Sadly, there is the specter of constant pregnancy, or for the males, an ever fighting for the right to mate. Infection and disease are always lurking just around the corner. A feral's life is significantly shortened from 12 to 16 years for domestic house cats to as little as 2 years. And for kittens born feral, it's a major victory to survive kitten-hood. Litters have a mortality rate of only 50%. That means half the kittens born feral never make it to adulthood.
So, here it is again. Please take note. A house cat finds herself homeless. She's most likely not neutered since responsible pet owners take care of business and "fix" their pets at the first opportunity. Her life expectancy as a feral cat may be short, but, long enough to have a litter or two (3 per year on the average). Each litter is 6 or 8 kittens, half of which die young and the surviving females then begin the cycle all over again producing litters of their own. The result is an exponentially growing homeless cat population that is rampantly out of control in some parts of the world. Humans take house cats wherever they go. Even taking them into environments where cats have never had a presence and the effect of a new species on the natural diversity of an area can have long, and usually disastrous impacts.
Now, What are We Going To Do... ?
Collectively, there seems to be two camps offering answers to the "feral cat problem". One group proposes the knee-jerk reaction of a "search and destroy" solution aptly called "Trap and Kill". Just gather up those pesky feral colonies and eradicate them. The Wildlife Society has gone so far as to make it official policy advocating the "humane elimination of feral cat colonies". They even call for legislation to make it a crime to feed feral cats and oppose ordinances that legalize managed feral cat colonies. Their argument is that, because of their sheer numbers, feral cats have been responsible for the decimation of bird populations and threaten public health. How much impact feral cats have on specific species is moot at best, even in light of the fact that few can argue that there isn't some kind of impact. According to the National Geographic Society, though, they represent only a portion of the greater problems of loss of habitat due to sprawling new home communities, pesticide poisoning, pollution and window strikes. It would be my guess that eliminating ferals may have little effect on the decimating wildlife numbers at all when measured against the statistics of these other influences. Moreover, the estimated number of feral cats in the U.S. alone is upwards to 60 million. To succeed with a program like that would require euthanasia camps, at huge costs of operations, all over the nation. No thanks... ! And the likelihood of success is still highly debatable. What about all those millions of compassionate people who feed feral cats and care for feral cat colonies trying to ease their plight. Do you really think they are going to be complicit in this kind of mass eradication? "Fa-geta-bout-it".
On the other hand, there is the TNR movement. TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Release, a process of capturing feral cats, taking them to a veterinarian or clinic for vaccinations, health check-ups and tagging, neutering (or spaying) then releasing them back at the place where they were trapped. Early on it was recognized that TNR programs were ineffective when applied to individual feral cats. They were multiplying so fast that it was impossible to keep up with the breeding rate. The Feral Cat Coalition pioneered the concept which is widely accepted by TNR programs that dot our towns and communities nowadays. Instead of capturing individual feral cats, whole colonies are brought into spay/neuter clinics where teams of volunteers, veterinarians and medical aides come together thereby saving time & money, and effectively deal with the problematic feral cat situation. Then the colony is returned to its "home", where they are continued to be fed and sheltered by their care-givers.
(Back at camp... lots of moaning and wondering what the heck happened? "There I was, just strumming my old guitar and then... WHAM!! Next thing I know everyone's laying around with stitches and having the eerie feeling of somehow losing track of time, or memory loss... and it feels like there's something's missing. Like a giant weight has been lifted".)
The method is expensive and requires the dedication of whole teams of volunteers, veterinarians and medical facilities. But, this approach is much more compassionate and in tune with the human ethos that recognizes feral cats as living creatures, not just a statistical problem that irritates our personal (and selfish) sensitivities or bias. While this debate rages, there is a much larger group of people who seem to have little awareness of the situation. They probably don't have cats, are unaware of feral cat "colonies", or worse, have the attitude of "Oh well. SOAP (snakes on a plane), what're you goanna do". And, then we have the "there's nothing I can do about it" excuse. Out of site... out of mind. Unless we are aware of a problem, then there's no reason to think anything will be done about it. Fortunately, the drum beating of groups such as Alley Cat Allies is proving to be the attention getting notice that is needed to address the feral cats situation.
Solutions offered by the Wild Life Society and other conservation groups as well as efforts by TNF organizations unfortunately are only treating the symptoms of the problem. The real culprits are:
- The people who find themselves with a cat they don't want, so they abandon them. (Such as unwanted litters)
- People who don't provide the proper care for their cats and don't vaccinate or neuter/spay.
Any knowledgeable pet owner knows that one of the first tasks of proper pet care management is to secure a pet's good health with the necessary vaccinations and "fixing" ASAP. Even if giving up a pet to the Animal Control authorities is not the desired choice for someone who decides that cat ownership is not for them... then at least neuter/spay the animal before dumping them into a vacant lot or field. Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating abandoning any pet for any reason. But, the costs are so minimal. In my area the price for a spay is around $45.00 and neutering is $60.00. Clinics (which are regular events) cost even less. A simple phone call to a veterinarian could direct you to a humane solution to an unwanted cat situation and save everyone time and money over the long term. And while you have the vet on the line, you might even ask about the local TNR programs in your area.
Before even getting a cat some simple questions should be asked of yourself:
- Do you know if you have a cat allergy?
- Are you inquisitive enough to research the proper care of a cat?
- Do you have the patience to engage in cat training?
- Can you realistically financially afford to be a cat care provider?
If you answer "no" to any of these questions maybe you should consider a pet rock, instead.
But, you can see the point here. If a person finds themselves in the position of being a cat care provider, whether by design or accident (Whoops! I didn't even know she was pregnant!), there is an implied responsibility to vaccinate and neuter/spay. Or, find someone who can. If for no other reason than should your new family member ever find herself homeless, she won't be burdened with constant pregnancies and health or disease problems... or passing them on to other cats. Yep, the buck will stop right there.
(And in our camp story... The old Tom's were curious about this new lady. As they approached they could tell she had obviously been well cared for and looked very healthy. "Forget it boys", she hissed. "You won't find what you're looking for here". With disgruntled mutters they returned to their own tents where an old ping-pong ball became the game of play).
Maybe. Rhode Island thinks so. It has become the first state to penalize owners of intact cats. According to Cat Watch, a publication of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine a fine of $75.00 a month can be levied on owners of cats that have not been spayed or neutered. There are exemptions available for farmers, breeders and those who promise to not let their cats become pregnant. There's also a $250.00 fine for abandoning a cat. Dogs have jumped onto the band wagon by placing a .50¢ surcharge on dog licenses to defray costs of spay-neuter clinics for cats. See! Even Fido is concerned about the feral cat boom.
She's only been coming around for a few days and already she has come to expect 2 small meals a day. I've made contact with the local TNR clinic to begin the process which will get her the vaccinations she needs and a date with Dr Spay. I'm trying hard to earn her trust and I hope the Trap-Neuter-Release experience doesn't scare her away for good. But, if it does, I'll feel better knowing she will not be constantly pregnant and safe from most diseases. She'll still face dangers, though. Maybe... just maybe she'll come back to the safety of my back yard where she will always find a hot meal, and by winter some shelter, waiting for her.
"I know", our calmly confident Abyssinian purrs, "that my brother in Africa would not take kindly to having certain body parts of his removed. But then, he should remain intact because he might one day face the opposite problem that feral cats face. That of extinction". He pondered, "People... what are we going to do with them. They just don't seem to ever get it right. You've got to give them credit, though. They really do keep on trying".
Under certain circumstances, taming
feral
cats is possible. But, it ain't easy
Pictures and stories of feral cats and their life apart from us, but not out of sight
Alley Cat Allies is dedicated to changing ineffective animal control practices like trap and remove, and to providing resources for the thousands of caring individuals and organizations in the United States and Canada who have stepped forward to feed, sterilize, and care for feral cat colonies.
Explore the successes of the Feral Cat Coalition of San Diego