Celebrating Feral Cat Week

Misunderstood and often mistreated, feral cats have lived alongside us for thousands of years

Feral cat58 million – that’s the estimated number of feral cats in the United States. Where did they come from? And what, if anything, should we do with or for them?

First, it’s important to know not all outdoor cats are feral. Feral cats are unowned cats who aren’t accustomed to—and often afraid of humans. Feral cats have been around for more than 10,000 years, and are the ancestors of our pet, domesticated cats. But because feral cats aren’t socialized to us, they’re poor candidates for adoption and not interested in living indoors. 

Like wildlife, feral cats have acclimated to the environment and typically want little to do with humans. And some humans want little to do with them.

“Mostly, I get calls from people who are having a nuisance problem with feral cats,” says Cheryl Szkutnicki, HSHV’s Community Cat Coordinator. “They mention they are spraying and continuing to multiply.”

People have different philosophical and moral stances on whether any cats should be outdoors. Some US cat owners believe it’s only humane to keep indoor cats, while many UK cat owners believe it’s cruel to not allow cats outdoors. In fact, up until 50 or 60 years ago, few cats lived entirely indoors! Regardless, most people agree that lowering the population of feral, unowned cats is a good thing—for people as well as the cats.

Trap-Neuter-Return or “TNR” is a method of population control for feral cats. TNR involves humanely trapping the cats, neutering (or spaying) and vaccinating them. After recovery, the cats are returned to their outdoor homes. TNR has been in practice for decades in the US, and even longer in Europe—and has been shown to improve the lives of the cats and reduce nuisance complaints from people.

TNR has been shown to not only be more humane, but also more effective than antiquated "catch and kill" methods. Unlike removing and killing cats, TNR has been scientifically shown to decrease the size of feral cat colonies over time. By contrast, removing and killing cats has proven to be futile. Why? Because resources still exist, neighboring cats move in. Further, the population rebounds; cats’ evolutionary survival instincts kick in, and they reproduce more and at a faster rate when there’s an immediate, unnatural hole in the population.

Why does TNR work? Spayed female cats stop going into heat; not only do they stop having litters of kittens; they also stop attracting the attention of male cats! Neutered male cats are less likely to fight for females, spray territory, yowl or fight. And it’s beneficial for the cats, as well; spayed female cats are less likely to get mammary cancer, and all cats TNR’d by HSHV are vaccinated against rabies, too.

Of course, feral cats can’t read about TNR—so we need your help! You can help cats and our community by volunteering to trap or transport. Sign up for a free training or read more about TNR at HSHV here, and help us spread the word. 

 

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Humane Society of Huron Valley

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