Feral Cat

Literally “gone wild,” a domestic cat that was lost or abandoned and has reverted to a wild state, or a cat that was born to a stray or feral mother and had little or no human contact. Adult feral cats are usually impossible to tame and are not suited to cohabiting with people. They live in family groups called colonies that form near a source of food and shelter. Feral cats can survive almost anywhere and are found worldwide.

Stray Cat

A domestic cat that strayed from home and became lost or was abandoned. Because a stray cat was once a companion animal, he or she can usually be re-socialized and placed in an adoptive home.

Feral Kitten

Any kitten born outdoors to a stray or feral mother. Most feral kittens can be socialized if the process is begun when they are only a few weeks old. Socialization requires that the kittens be confined for a short period of time during which they are talked to and gently held and petted for increasing periods until they come to form a human-animal bond. Usually, the younger the kitten, the easier socialization will be.

Feral Cat Colony

A group of free roaming cats living in a specific geographic area. Prior to the implementation of Trap-Neuter- Return (TNR), feral cat colonies consist of both stray (tame) and feral (wild) cats of all ages, from kittens through adults. After TNR is completed, a feral cat colony consists exclusively of adult feral cats.

Establishing Colonies

This refers to the myth that feral cat caregivers establish new cat colonies, often by rescuing cats scheduled to be killed in shelters and putting them outside. The truth is that feral cat colonies already exist in abundance in the United States (see Feral Cat Colony). Feral cat advocates and caregivers who practice TNR as recommended by Alley Cat Allies humanely trap, sterilize, and vaccinate stray and feral cats already living in colonies, find homes for the kittens and stray cats, and return healthy adult feral cats to their outdoor homes, thereby reducing the population both immediately and in the long term (see Trap-Neuter-Return). Feral cat caregivers do not establish new colonies.

Managed Feral Cat Colony

A group of feral cats living together and having strong blood ties in which all cats have been sterilized and vaccinated and are provided daily food and shelter by a volunteer caregiver. The caregiver regularly monitors cats and captures any who need veterinary care, in addition to trapping any newcomers to be sterilized and vaccinated. A properly managed colony is a healthy, stable colony in which no kittens are born.

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)

A nonlethal sterilization method to reduce the number of feral cats in the environment both immediately and for the long term. A comprehensive, ongoing program in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians. Kittens and tame (stray) cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats too wild (feral) to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers. Cats that are ill or injured beyond recovery are not returned to the environment. TNR was brought to the United States from Europe and the United Kingdom in the late ’80s. The practice of TNR grew rapidly in the ’90s when Alley Cat Allies began providing information and assistance to people caring for feral cats who recognized that their numbers must be controlled and reduced through sterilization. In communities where TNR is widely embraced, feral cat numbers have dropped. TNR programs operate largely or entirely through the dedicated efforts of committed volunteers. TNR works because it breaks the cycle of reproduction. In general, the cost of sterilizing and returning a feral cat is less than half the cost of trapping, holding, killing, and disposing of a feral cat. TNR protects public health and advances the goal of reducing the numbers of feral cats in the environment. The public supports humane, nonlethal TNR as the long-term solution to feral cat overpopulation

Humane Box Trap

A metal wire box rigged so that when an animal steps into it, the door closes, preventing the animal from leaving. These traps do not cause the animal any pain and are the only type of trap to be used for Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).

Ear Tipping

A technique of painlessly removing a quarter inch off the top of a feral cat’s left ear while the cat is anesthetized for spaying/neutering. Ear tipping is the universal symbol of and only proven way to permanently identify (both close up and from a distance) a feral cat that has been evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized. Ear tipping ensures that a sterile cat will not undergo unnecessary repeat trapping and surgery.

Three Options (for Feral Cat Control)

The only options available to communities dealing with feral cats are: (1) Attempt to remove all feral cats from the environment by trapping and removing feral cats so thoroughly that none are left behind, because any cats surviving this effort will breed prolifically. Eradication has been attempted throughout the United States for many decades. The result? Communities that deal with feral cats by trapping and removing (either killing or relocating) them have now as many, if not more, feral cats than ever because full-scale trap-and-remove schemes require a much larger allocation of resources (both funds and staff) on an ongoing basis than communities can afford to dedicate to them. Also, public resistance to the killing of healthy animals is growing ever stronger and goes beyond a simple refusal to cooperate to active sabotage of municipal efforts to harm cats. Without community support, a thorough trap-and-kill campaign cannot be executed. But even if a jurisdiction could dedicate the substantial budget funds and staff hours to successfully trap and remove all feral cats in a territory, the vacuum effect would ensure that the campaign must continue indefinitely (see Vacuum Effect). (2) Do nothing. Although doing nothing is obviously not the answer, it is often the only answer available to communities that do not have TNR programs in place or the resources and/or public mandate for option 1. From a public health standpoint, doing nothing is the least responsible stance. Feral cat populations grow unchecked. Sexually intact, unvaccinated, and uncared for feral cats scavenge sustenance while reproducing prolifically. Common sense dictates that whatever the actual level of risk is, a vaccinated, sterilized, fed, and monitored feral cat will always present less threat to another animal or to a human than an unvaccinated cat roaming for mates and scavenging food. (3) Implement Trap-Neuter-Return programs (see Trap-Neuter-Return).