How many times have you seen feral cats in your neighborhood? If you have not seen any feral cats, you are lucky, as most neighborhoods seem to have an ever increasing number of feral cats. Feral cats are cats that were once domesticated, perhaps even beloved pets, but, somehow or other, they, or their kittens, have descended into the chaos of the wilds. They inhabit neighborhood backyards, living under houses, sheds, and decks, in carports and under heavily landscaped areas. In the winter, they will sometimes dig small holes below fallen trees and make beds in mounds of leaves. They hide in the out buildings of farms and rural properties, and even along the exterior of commercial buildings in urban areas and business districts. They are scavengers living alongside civilization in a parallel existence, eking out a living on discarded waste and small animals.
We recently became even more aware of how much we who love cats, need to educate the public on cat care. In one week, two different people have mentioned feral cat population problems in their areas. They discussed their ways of handling feral cats in their neighborhoods. One lady suggested that they should be caught and taken to the country and let loose! One man thought he should shoot them with buckshot and run them off. Both of these "Solutions" indicate the enormous amount of work we cat lovers need to do to educate the public on the proper care of feral cats.
Cats loosed in the country often die needless deaths to predators. It is horrible to hear the screams of the little cats as the coyotes take them in the night. There can be no hope of rescue from the coyotes once the coyotes are on their trail in the forest. The coyote knows the forest and the coyote is king. The little cats are at a tremendous disadvantage and without a means of defense. Forest predators can easily take them and their young as a favorite evening meal. Dropping cats off in the country is a very bad idea! It is also illegal!
Shooting cats with buckshot will often cause infectious processes, leading to a slow and painful death in the cats. Shooting cats with buckshot is both cruel and illegal!
Cats can produce a dynasty in a few short years. It is estimated that a male and female cat can have a total of 10,000 descendents in ten years! The group numbers are depleted by diseases such as feline AIDS and feline leukemia. Such diseases are said to be very painful, highly contagious, and deadly.
What happens when cats get loose in the wilds? They reproduce. If they are initially unvaccinated, or if they do not have continued vaccinations, they usually die early from preventable diseases. Preventable cat diseases cause needless pain and suffering. Feral animals infected with disease can possibly even infect domesticated cats with whom they come in contact in neighborhoods. All cats should be spay/neutered.
What is the solution?
1. Trapping the cats
2. Spay/Neutering/Vaxing the cats
3. Placing/adopting out the cats, and all young kittens, that seem tamable
4. Releasing wild/feral animals that cannot be tamed, to a licensed cat colony, that is tended by a person who has responsibility for them.
Check your local cat rescue organizations for info on:
1. Traps
2. Vets who do low cost spay/neuter
3. Newspaper for ads and placements in adoptable homes, and, finally,
4. The local rescue cat organizations that have licensed cat colonies.
Enlist the help of several friends, some local high school students who need a special project, or the local rescue organizations.
©deborah owens