Feral Cat FAQ

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What is a feral cat?

A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with people or her contact with people has diminished over time. She is not socialized to people and survives on her own outdoors. Most feral cats are not likely to ever become lap cats or enjoy living indoors.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

What is the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat?

Stray cats are socialized to people and can be adopted into homes, but feral cats are not socialized to people and are happy living outdoors.

A stray cat:

Is a cat who has been socialized to people at some point in her life, but has left or lost her indoor home, as well as most human contact and dependence.
Can become feral as her contact with humans dwindles.
Can under the right circumstances become a pet cat once again. Stray cats that are re-introduced to a home after living outdoors may require a period of time to re-acclimate; they may be frightened and wary after spending time outside away from people.

A feral cat:

Is a cat who has either never had any contact with humans or her contact with humans has diminished over time. She is not socialized to people and survives on her own outdoors. Most feral cats are not likely to ever become lap cats or enjoy living indoors.
Can have kittens who can be socialized at an early age and adopted into homes.

Find out more using this illustrated guide: Feral and Stray Cats—An Important Difference.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

Where do feral cats come from?

Feral cats are not a new phenomenon. Outdoor cats are part of our rich history in this country and worldwide.
Cats have been living among us here in the U.S. for hundreds of years. Feral cats are domestic cats. Feral cats thrive in every type of environment, urban, suburban and rural. Some feral cats are offspring of house cats. Yet, not until the last two decades has there been accessible and affordable spay and neuter services for cats. And, until recent years, early-age (kitten) spay / neuter was not practiced (kittens go into heat between 4 and 6 months and traditional conventional-wisdom was to spay a cat at 6 month of age.)

Domestic cats came into existence about 10,000 years ago, when humans began farming. According to scientists, cats are one of the only animals who domesticated themselves—choosing to live near humans to feed on the rodents attracted by stored grain. Evolutionary research shows that the natural habitat of cats is outdoors in close proximity to humans—and that is how they have lived ever since. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1940s—and the invention of cat litter—that "indoors only" for cats was even a concept.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

What is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?

Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane, effective approach for feral cats. Feral cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and eartipped (the universal symbol of a neutered and vaccinated cat), and then returned to their outdoor home. Socialized cats and kittens are adopted into homes. The colony’s population stabilizes—no more kittens! Trap-Neuter-Return improves their lives and their relations with the community: the behaviors and stresses associated with mating stop.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

What is an ‘eartip’?

We use the word “eartip” to describe when a small portion of the tip of a feral cat’s left ear is surgically removed during neuter surgery, to denote that the cat has been neutered and vaccinated. Eartipping is done while the cat is anesthetized and is not painful for the cat. Eartipping is the most effective way to identify neutered feral cats from a distance, to make sure they are not trapped or undergo surgery a second time.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

Why can’t feral cats be socialized and then adopted into homes?

A feral cat is a cat who has either never had any contact with people or her contact with people has diminished over time. They are not socialized to people and cannot be touched, except sometimes by a regular caregiver.

The ideal window for socializing feral kittens is 12 weeks of age or younger—beyond 12 weeks, feral cats may never socialize completely or at all. As a result, we do not recommend attempting to socialize feral cats older than 12 weeks—it is dangerous and stressful for both you and the cat. Feral cats live healthy lives in their outdoors homes and the best thing you can do to help them is Trap-Neuter-Return. Outdoor cats that are friendly and socialized to people are called stray cats, and they can be re-homed.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

What is the primary benefit of TNR?

In the long term, TNR lowers the numbers of cats in the community more effectively than trap-and-kill.

Good Samaritans in neighborhoods all across the country provide food, water and shelter for community cats, and TNR provides a non-lethal, humane way to effectively manage these community cat populations. In some programs, friendly cats or young kittens are pulled from the colonies and sent to foster facilities for socialization and, eventually, placement into forever homes. Stopping the breeding and removing some cats for adoption is more effective than the traditional trap-and-kill method in lowering the numbers of cats in a community long-term.

What are the other benefits of TNR?

The benefits to both cats and communities are numerous.

The benefits include:

TNR reduces shelter admissions and operating costs. Also, fewer community cats in shelters increases shelter adoption rates, as more cage space opens up for adoptable cats.
These programs create safer communities and promote public health by reducing the number of unvaccinated cats.
TNR programs improve the lives of free-roaming cats. When males are neutered, they are no longer compelled to maintain a large territory or fight over mates, and females are no longer forced to endure the physical and mental demands of giving birth and fending for their young.
Sterilizing community cats reduces or even eliminates the behaviors that can lead to nuisance complaints.

Another beneficial component of TNR is the positive impact these programs have on animal control officers and shelter workers. Job satisfaction among these workers increases tremendously when the work does not involve the unnecessary killing of healthy animals for the purpose of convenience. This increased job satisfaction results in less employee turnover and an overall improved public image of the shelter. The reduction in killing and animal admissions also provides more time for staff and volunteers to care for the animals in the shelter and give personal attention to potential adopters.

Equally important, TNR programs allow animal control facilities to take advantage of numerous resources typically unavailable to shelters that employ traditional trap-and-kill policies. Understandably, people are rarely inclined to volunteer for programs that fail to make them feel good about themselves. Through the implementation of TNR, volunteers know they are making a difference in the lives of the animals, and the community is benefiting from their charitable efforts. Volunteers can help trap cats and also assist animal control in locating other cats in need of TNR services. Commonly referred to as caregivers, these volunteers may also feed and monitor the health of colony cats once they are returned to their original location.

Frequent monitoring is an invaluable component of successful TNR programs because caregivers can easily identify new cats who join the colony, so that they, too, can be sterilized, vaccinated and ear-tipped. Another component of a well-managed TNR program is the collection of critical data that can be used when seeking grant funding to expand current TNR programs.

This helpful information is from: bestfriends.org

Why is TNR PREFERABLE TO lethal control?

TNR is a practical solution to the failed trap-and-kill policy.

Lethal control has been used by animal control agencies for decades, but given the current problem of large populations of free-roaming cats, it is obvious that killing as a form of population control does not work. In addition, killing homeless animals as a means of population control is publicly unpalatable. By contrast, TNR puts an end to this perpetual cycle of killing and makes it possible to maintain a colony at a relatively stable number of sterilized cats unable to multiply.

This helpful information is from: bestfriends.org

How does TNR compare to the traditional trap-and-kill method in terms of costs?

Trapping and killing homeless animals is not only unpalatable to the public, it’s a costly and ineffective method of population control.

TNR programs are being adopted by towns and municipalities across the nation out of necessity and good common sense. This shift is being seen on many municipal levels as animal services’ budgets continue to be slashed and the need for better tools to handle animal control issues has become increasingly evident. As Mark Kumpf, 2010 president of the National Animal Control Association, told Animal Sheltering in 2008, “The cost for picking up and simply euthanizing and disposing of animals is horrendous, in both the philosophical and the economic sense.”

The cost savings associated with TNR are location-specific and accurate estimates involve taking into account numerous variables. The immediate savings that many communities experience are a result of tapping into volunteer support and other resources (e.g., private donations) that come from implementing a humane method of managing community cats. Cost savings fluctuate based on the type of TNR program implemented, the extent of animal control involvement, the volunteer base available, and the community’s overall support of TNR. The point, however, is that over time, through attrition and sterilization efforts, fewer cats will be breeding and contributing to the population growth. And fewer animals to contend with inevitably means a decrease in the demand on taxpayer dollars.

Until a TNR program begins, it is difficult to calculate accurately how much money will be saved, either directly or indirectly. A successful TNR program can improve the public image of a town, which may add to economic development. Employee satisfaction within the shelter and animal control facilities is also a huge asset and contributes to a positive image of the community. The hometown pride and enthusiasm generated from supporting a non lethal, practical and effective solution to a community concern must be factored into the equation, even if the resulting cost savings are difficult to calculate.

This helpful information is from: bestfriends.org

What happens to feral cats when they are brought to most shelters?

Because feral cats are not socialized to people, they are unadoptable as pets. In most shelters and pounds in the US, unadoptable animals are killed. In fact, 70% of all cats who enter shelters are killed there, according to the most reliable data available. That number jumps to close to 100% for feral cats.

Many shelters now realize that allowing feral cats to enter their doors is a death sentence and that Trap-Neuter-Return is the humane approach for their care. In recognition of this, some pounds and shelters have a “no feral cats accepted” policy, as well as a policy of returning eartipped cats to the place where they were initially trapped. Unfortunately, there are more pounds and shelters that still kill feral cats—some as soon as the cat enters the facility. Feral cats live full, healthy lives outdoors, but are killed in shelters.

This helpful information is from: alleycat.org

What can I do to help feral cats?

Alley Cat Allies offers extensive and detailed online resources for cat care in the Care for Cats section of our website.

Our How to Conduct Trap-Neuter-Return will teach you how to perform Trap-Neuter-Return.
Our Colony Care Guide will provide tips for feeding, sheltering, and providing ongoing care.
Our Community Relations Center provides you with the tools and information to help you bring about widespread change in your community, and ensure that it continues to be a safe and happy home for both the cats and the neighbors.
Our Veterinary Resource Center is the place to go to learn more about the special veterinary approach for feral cats that takes into account their unique needs and the fact that they are unsocialized to people.
Our Socialized Cat Guide will help if you have found kittens or socialized cats.

You can also find local help with our Feral Friends Network. Request a list of Feral Friends in your area using our Email Assistance Form. The Feral Friends Network is a nationwide database of individuals, organizations, and veterinarians who can provide guidance about Trap-Neuter-Return, borrowing equipment, and obtaining affordable neuter services for feral cats.

A little about ourselves

What is the primary benefit of TNR?

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