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Understanding the Feral Cat
By: Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance
Predatory and independent, (qualities for which they are both valued and detested), house cats have retained many of the characteristics of their wild ancestors. Living on the edge of domestic identity, cats easily revert to a wild, or feral state. The distinction between stray (lost or abandoned) and feral is often difficult to pin down, but the definition for feral that everyone can agree on is "never socialized with humans".
The notion that cats can "survive on their own" is a tragic myth that results in millions of unsocialized cats breeding, suffering and dying in perpetuity. Even the wildest ones rely on humans to survive.
Feral cats live in family groups, or colonies. Females tend to stay close to the colony throughout their lifetimes, while older males will travel far to mate and return to the colony now and then if they survive. With no intervention, the size of the colony will begin to self-limit at around 30 cats in a single habitat through disease and starvation.
Ninety-eight percent of unowned cats are fertile. The most common call for help any feral cat organization receives is, "We saw her out there a few months ago and now, all of a sudden , there are kittens and I can't catch them!" Most lone strays are abandoned or lost pets, and most are in serious trouble. We are left with a situation where people who care about animals become the victims of those who don't. A civilized society can learn to take action before feral kittens are born.
Most animal shelters have no choice but to euthanize feral kittens and adults brought to their facilities. People who desire another alternative have two choices: Do nothing (which results in the problem rapidly growing worse), or make the best of a difficult situation by having the cats sterilized and providing care. In feral cat lingo, this is referred to TNR (trap, neuter and return) or the longer version, TTVARM (trap, test, vaccinate, alter, return, and manage).
If strays can be distinguished from true ferals, they may have an opportunity to be placed in a home. Formerly owned cats may appear feral at first, but if a cat meows at you, it was probably someone's pet once and can be resocialized for adoption. Many mothers that are not part of a colony are tame, though their kittens are feral. It can take weeks or months to make this discovery, so sterilization should take priority over uncertainty.
In many areas, neutered ferals are identified by ear-tipping, so a cat missing a straight tip (less often a "V" notch) from the left ear may already be neutered.
Feral kittens can be placed in adoptive homes if they are properly socialized at a very young age. Five or six weeks is ideal, and every delay after that makes the process a little more intensive. After 8 weeks of age, the personality of the individual kitten becomes a factor. Kittens can still be socialized after 10 weeks of age, with increasing likelihood they will only be social with their caretaker and decreasing likelihood they can be adopted by someone else.
All free roaming cats are susceptible to injury and disease, and neutering drastically diminishes the risk of both.
Anyone confronted with a feral cat situation should remember the following social guidelines: There is no solace found in blame; unsympathetic neighbors should always be approached with extreme respect and an attitude that conveys helpful intention; and care should be provided without drawing attention to the cats. It's also helpful to understand and accept that animal welfare and control agencies have limitations in the services they can provide.
The world of ferals looks like this: Ideally, all pet owners neuter their cats. If that fails, no one abandons their pet. If that fails, the first person to see the cat recognizes its plight and takes action. If that fails, we work together as a community to keep things from getting worse. In the end, and even then, we are all responsible for the wild ones.
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