THE TRUTH ABOUT FERAL CATS

Category: Cat Care | Tags: Tags: feral, feral cats, ferals, stray cats, strays, TNR, trap neuter release, trap neuter return

Date: January 28th, 2011

A feral cat is an unsocialized cat.  Either he was born outside and never lived with a human, or he is a house cat that has strayed from home, and over time has adapted to living outdoors.  Feral cats avoid human contact.  When pet cats are forced to fend for themselves outdoors, huge numbers die from exposure or accidents.  The survivors often turn feral, and if they have not been sterilized, they give birth to feral kittens.  And the cycle continues.  Feral cats DO have a home- the outdoors.  They are most content living outside.  However, feral kittens up to the age of about 10 weeks of age can often be tamed and places in home.

Feral cats live everywhere, forming colonies wherever they find scraps of food and a bit of shelter.  Tens of millions of feral cats now live in the US.  They deserve to live EVEN though they live outdoors!

Myth 1:  Feral Cats lead short, miserable lives so its best to trap and euthanize them.

Reality: Studies show that feral cats have about the same lifespan as pet cats.  And they contract diseases at about the same rate.  It is simply not humane or prudent to kill a healthy feral cat, and this practice does not reduce their populations over the long-term because other cats move in and start breeding.

Myth 2: Feral cats are diseased and can make pet cats or children sick.

Reality: Feral cats are generally healthy.  The incidence of disease in feral cat colonies is no higher than among pet cats.  Feral cats shun human contact, especially with unfamiliar people.  They aren’t interested in interacting with you or your children

Myth 3:  Feral cats should be taken to local animal shelters to be adopted.

Reality: The traditional approach to reducing feral cats numbers has been to round them up and remove them.  But bringing feral cats to shelters is the same as a death sentence.  Because they cannot adapt to living with humans, they end up being euthanized.  Even no kill shelters are not able to place feral cats in homes.

Eradication does NOT work.  Trap and remove schemes are extremely costly.  Moreover, other cats move in and take advantage of the newly available resources and they breed prolifically, quickly forming a new colony.

Myth 4: Feral cats are predators that deplete wildlife.

Reality: Studies show that the overwhelming cause of wildlife depletion is destruction of natural habitat due to man-made structures, chemical pollution, pesticides and drought- not feral cats.

There IS AN ANSWER for feral cats that works!

Trap- Neuter-Return is the humane, nonlethal method of population control for feral cats.  It involves humanely trapping feral cats, and having them neutered or spayed by vets.  Afterwards, the adult feral cats are returned to live in their outdoor homes.

TNR works!  The breeding stops, as well as the annoying behavior of breeding cats.  Populations are gradually reduced.  The cats can be vaccinated against disease, and fed on a regular schedule.  This ongoing care creates a safety net for both the cats and the community.

What can you do to help?  First, make sure your own cats are spayed and neutered.  Also, never abandon a pet.  There are plenty of rescues out there if you need help re-homing a pet.  In addition, you can always also contact Whiskers and Leo Pet Care, and we will help in every way that we can!

If you have feral cats in your community, you can contact us, and we can help out with TNR if our sitter is available.  You can also visit http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/sifi.html for help, or if you want to learn TNR yourself!