Today is National Feral Cat Day
Today is National Feral Cat Day! Please take a minute to learn more about the nature of the feral cat problem, especially as it relates to our nation’s animal control and shelter system. You can drop by the Alley Cat Allies (alleycat.org) website for additional information.
Our backyard opens out onto open space, so we’re no strangers to feral cats. There’s one that we feed regularly, a black spayed female, and my hubby (who is “not a cat person”) spent three months last Fall coaxing her into the garage and getting her to sleep in a heated cat cup so that she would be safe, dry and warm during the winter months. She is wholly feral; she will talk to us and sometimes we can get close enough to sorta-kinda pet her, but there’s never any doubt that she prefers her wild ways to the lap of luxury. She only tolerates her proximity to us because she recognizes a food source when she sees one.
We were more successful in socializing our “psycho stray cat,” Tripper. He was about six months old when he started showing up, and although my intention when we captured him and delivered him to the vet for a hooha-ectomy and shots was that we would release him and leave him be in the wild, Tripper had other ideas: he wanted to live in the house. It didn’t help that I fell in love with him. A wild thing still stirs within him, but he’s all housecat. And he knows exactly one trick: on command, when I say “Kiss me, Trip!” he enthusiastically licks my hand.
Traditionally, I thought of feral cats as housecats I just hadn’t tamed, yet. But the truth of it is that, although feral cats are the same species as companion cats, they aren’t socialized to people, and so they are fearful of humans and usually are not adoptable. They live healthy, natural lives on their own, content in their outdoor home. Well-intentioned citizens might think they should call animal control when they spot a feral cat, but here’s the catch: In the current animal control system, the only happy ending for animals is adoption. Animals who aren’t adopted are killed. This includes most every adult feral cat who enters a shelter. Quite simply, feral cats do not belong in the shelter system.
Feral cats live outside, but are killed in pounds and shelters, so think twice before you call your local animal control, and educate your friends and neighbors about the best course of action in dealing with a feral cat colony.
Tripper was lucky. We were able to socialize him as a kitten, before he became irreversibly feral and treated to a one-way trip to the animal shelter through the actions of a (perhaps well-meaning) neighbor. Trip was a rare Trap-Neuter-Return case who elected to bid adieu to the feral life (perhaps lured to domesticity by the siren call of tuna), but still, TNR is an excellent option for feral colonies, allowing ferals to lead happy, un-reproductive lives.
Through education on feral cat management, many communities are learning to deal humanely with feral cat populations. You can help! You can donate your time (even just a couple of hours each month) to caring for feral cat colonies and/or setting traps. You can TNR any feral cats you encounter rather than calling animal control: many communities offer free spay/neuter services for feral cats. For example, here’s what they’re doing in Chicago:
At the PAWS Chicago Lurie Family Spay/Neuter Clinic we spay and neuter feral cats for FREE all year round. Rabies vaccine, ear tipping, a dose of penicillin, Droncit dewormer and Revolution flea and tick preventative are included for only $17. (If you live in one of our targeted twelve zip codes or are on public assistance there is no charge.)
To Celebrate National Feral Cat Day all Ferals will be Fixed and Receive the Complete Feral Package for FREE on October 16, 17 & 18!
Check your local shelters to see if they offer similar services — either on National Feral Cat Day or year-round. If every cat lover in the U.S. donated an hour of her time each month to either trapping ferals or caring for feral colonies, we’d be very close to eliminating the number of feral cats needlessly killed in shelters each year.
Learn More:
- Alley Cat Allies
- New York City Feral Cat Initiative
- Chicago offers free spay/neuter programs
- The Feral Cat Project: How You Can Help the Cats
- Country Cats Feral Cats Sanctuary (No. County Humane Society, Central Calif.)
Here’s a link to a group here in New York City for all your East Coast kitties!
http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/nycfci/
Meowm is SO feeling this today. A well meaning neighbor coaxed one of the ferals in out complex into his apartment. When things didn’t work out his sister called the Humane Society. Well we know what happens to ferals there. Meowm was super upset because she would have paid for his neuter so that he could be released, but it was to late.
We really wish everyone would spay/neuter and work at TNR!
We have a feral cat in our neighborhood that we see at night once in a while. It will not come to you and runs and hides when it sees a human. Sometimes we will see it eating items that we earlier had put out for the birds to eat. We’ve never seen the cat attacking or hurting the birds though. There are a lot of small field mice and voles in the area and we feel the cat is keeping the rodent population in check. It is good to have a hunter in the area as the cat harms no one. We enjoy reading these nice columns. Bosco.
For anyone who may reading from California’s Central Coast: North County Humane Society is a no-kill shelter and supports feral cat communities around San Luis Obispo County. We always need volunteers to help feed and care for these colonies. Also, the Country Cats Feral Cat Sanctuary needs volunteers. The sanctuary, which partners with NCHS, is where rescued ferals from Animal Services who faced death enjoy life on an expansive ranch, where they are free to be feral but also enjoy plentiful amounts of kibble!
CatSnip IS the answer. hahaha! We a huge supporters of T-N-R and No-Kill shelters!
What a great post. I am currently feeding a feral who seems like she might have had a home at one time. She wants to be inside yet very fearful of people. She did let me pet her while she ate the other day. Hoping to get her to the vet soon for the works.
I did this last year with a feral that showed up so small and skinny. He ended up being about 5 years old. After I got him neutered he turned into a total love bug and through the Humane Society where mom volunteers he found a wonderful new home.
Cheers for all those who help with our feral friends.
One of my kitties was supposably a psycho feral before I got him but once his ears cleared up he was a total lap cat.
I now have a former feral kitten and she’s become a sweety too.
I think every kitty deserves a chance.
What a grate post, Fud Lady! Maybe that gurl cat is intimudated with all the mancats yoo have arownd yer howse. Fud Lady+Mr. Tasty Face– yer SOOO grate to be so grate to the grate ferals in the Valley De Castro!
And wure happie yoo got to fall in luv with trip cawse he’s supur kul and has a grate trick!
Excellent post! Our mom got a lot of very useful information from Alley Cat Allies website after she met her first feral cat and wanted to help it. We’re so glad that they are working to spread the word about how to improve the welfare of feral kitties and the benefits of T-N-R.
Today is the annual kick-off of Alley Cat Allies’ national education campaign for feral cats… Read all about it! http://is.gd/4dy7
Thank you for this great post, and for bringing wider attention to TNR.
For those out there wanting to set up a TNR programme but who are unsure of what it will entail, please check this link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/TNR-Trap-Neuter-Return/30213318793
The completely free TNR template offered is based on the experiences of two UK animal charities in Oradea, Romania. They are not funding or managing new projects; they simple want to put their advice and expertise into the hands of those who have the passion and dedication to reduce the problem of street animals humanely.
Although the template is dog-focussed, it is designed to be adapted as appropriate for the organisation and area.