In This Chapter
- Defining the problem
- Overcoming objections to feral cats
- Doing your part to solve the problem
- Explaining the trap, neuter, and release approach
If you’ve ever put a saucer of milk out for a hard-luck
kitty, or if you’re spending your lunch hour sharing sandwiches with the ferals
near your office, this is the chapter for you. We added this new information to
this edition in hopes of helping the estimated 60 million cats in the United
States who live wild and need our help to survive.
Perhaps because the cat of all our animal companions chose
their own path to domestication, it’s only natural that many cats should live
still in the shadowed zone between tame and wild. In the alleyways of our
largest cities, the parks of our ubiquitous suburbs, and the rural spaces in
between, millions of cats spend their lives living just out of our reach.
The feral life is not an easy one, to be sure. Feral cats —
domestic cats living a wild life — breed constantly, with each young mother
producing as many as three litters a year. Of those kittens, few live to
maturity. Those cats who do live to see their first or second birthdays
struggle to live much beyond them. Starvation, disease, predators, and traffic
take a heavy toll.
Technical Stuff
Cats become feral when people don’t care for them, or don’t care about what happens to them. For example, people move and leave their cats behind. Or people let their cats breed and don’t pay attention to the fate of the kittens. Or people figure that their cat can do just fine on his own, and they drop the hapless kitty along a country road or in a city park because they don’t want the responsibility of caring for him anymore.
On top of everything else, feral cats must contend with
people who believe them to be pests and who therefore decide that the best way
to deal with them is to exterminate them. Until recently, these beliefs were
nearly universal. Communities dealt with the problems caused by feral cats —
real or imagined — by trapping and killing them.
More than a few cat lovers knew there just had to be a
better way to deal with these homeless cats. These cat lovers were determined
to find a better way and they did. In a little more than a decade, the future
for ferals has brightened considerably, with programs designed both to lessen
the numbers of cats on the street and to help the cats who remain live more comfortably.
Remember
One person can make a difference. Progressive thinking — and action, in an increasing number of communities — is decreasing the population of feral cats and helping those who remain to live healthier lives while minimizing the potential for conflict and controversy.
Help for the Wild Ones
It’s only fair that feral cats have human help to make their
way in life easier, because humans were largely responsible for the problem in
the first place. Because cats are so adaptable to their environment, and
because they can manage pretty well on both sides of the line dividing “wild”
from “tame,” many people let their pet cats cross that line — or throw them
across it by abandoning them. And when cats go wild, they . . . well, go wild.
They pick up the natural wariness of all wild creatures. And they breed, and
breed, and breed.
Remember
Feral cats have always been around and will always be around. But we can do something about their numbers and their suffering. And we should.
Finding the solution that isn’t
We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that any plan
for dealing with feral cats that includes rounding them up and killing them is
based on an idea that needs updating. These catch-and-kill plans don’t work (at
least not for long) because they ignore the fact that as long as people keep
allowing their cats to breed, and keep dumping their unwanted cats, feral cat
colonies will keep re-establishing themselves, year after year after year. A
couple of cats, then a couple dozen, then more — and it’s time for the great
round-up again.
Because we’re faced with a never-ending supply of cats, the
old idea of mass killings cries out for an alternative, one that lessens the
impact of ferals while dealing with them in the most humane way possible. How
can we, as cat lovers, settle for anything less?
Offering a new way of thinking: Trap, Neuter, Release
If you accept the idea that feral cats will always be
around, then wouldn’t it be better to make dealing with them easier on the
environment, the animal-control budget, and the cats themselves? Enter the idea
of managed care for feral cats — Trap, Neuter, and Release.
Trap, neuter, and release is a proven method of humanely
dealing with wild cats. Millions of people feed feral cats — from the person
who sets out some tuna for the cat who hangs around the back door, to those
dedicated souls you can find at any pet-supply store, stocking up on large bags
of whatever food’s on sale. What if these caretakers went one step further and slowed
down the rate of feral reproduction? Could a cat colony be managed in place?
Some tried it, and the answer soon became obvious: Yes, there was a better way.
The people who hauled 20-pound bags of cat food to the cats
they wouldn’t let starve, who named the adults, and who tried to find homes for
the kittens decided to try an extraordinary idea: Alter the cats and let them
go again. (We talk about how to manage feral cats with this humane strategy
later in this chapter.)
Spaying or neutering a feral cat never seemed to be worth
the effort, at least as far as officials in many communities were concerned. If
you trapped a wild cat, the reasoning went, killing him seemed to make more
sense than altering him. With so many more docile cats and kittens around, a
feral is a poor prospect as a pet. So why not just do him in?
Perhaps they were just trying to end the heartbreak of
seeing litter after litter of kittens born into a very hard life. But before
too long, some feral cat caretakers started realizing that their efforts to
control the feral cat population were working out better than they had imagined
possible. They discovered that a policy of “trap, neuter, and release” goes a
long way toward taming the problems of cats gone wild.
Cool Cat Facts
If you’re one of those people with a soft spot for ferals,
you’re certainly in good company. One animal group has estimated that 17 million
people feed feral cats.
But aren’t these cats pests?
People hate and fear feral cats for any number of reasons,
and those who care for feral cat colonies have to argue their way past a whole
mountain of objections in their efforts to have cat colonies managed rather
than destroyed. But it turns out that the needs of the cats, and the concerns
of both those who love them and those who hate them, can be solved through the management
of feral colonies.
Technical Stuff
Programs in the United States are modeled after those in the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as parts of Africa. Successful programs in the United States include those assisted by shelters such as the San Francisco SPCA, as well as small grassroots groups dedicated to managing cat colonies.
If you work on behalf of feral cats, you need some help to
counter those who think your efforts don’t make much sense. The following list
covers the most common objections and explains how a trapping, neutering, and releasing
program helps:
- So long as cats remain, so will the problem. Well, maybe, but you aren’t going to get rid of feral cats. Studies have shown that as long as a source of food exists, feral cats will move in. Institutions such as college campuses, military bases, and hospitals are tailor-made environments for feral cats. Where there is food, there will be cats. It makes sense to try something that has been shown to work elsewhere.
- Feral cats fight and are noisy. Unaltered feral cats fight and are noisy. Cats are breeding machines: Females are in heat virtually all the time they’re not pregnant, and males spend their time fighting and yowling for mates and territory. Neutering removes a lot of this behavior.
- Feral cats can trip people, or even attack people, causing liability for the property owner. As much as possible, feral cat colonies are fed away from areas where people are numerous. Ferals are by nature afraid of people. If they don’t have to go near them to find food, they usually won’t.
- Feral cats have more kittens than can possibly survive, and dead animals are a health hazard. In a managed cat colony, neutering keeps animals from reproducing. Instead of dozens of sick or dying kittens, a managed colony produces a few babies who can be caught, altered, tamed, and placed.
- Feral cats cause traffic accidents, as drivers swerve to avoid hitting a loose cat. Altered cats don’t need to roam in search of mates, and well-fed cats don’t need to roam in search of food. The chance of a feral cat turning up under the wheel of a car is lessened when the animal is content to stay in territory where he feels safe and knows he’ll be fed.
- Feral cats are carriers of disease. In a managed colony, cats are vaccinated for rabies (which can be transmitted to humans) and tested for feline leukemia and other diseases that can be transmitted cat to cat. Cats infected with feline leukemia are not released; they’re either put in a single-cat home with an understanding owner or humanely killed.
Technical Stuff
A special concern is toxoplasmosis, a disease that can cause birth defects, and that can be transmitted through contact with the feces of an infected cat. Actually, you put yourself at a higher risk for toxoplasmosis by handling improperly cooked meat than by handling a cat. Keeping cats away from areas of heavy human traffic keep whatever risks there are minimal.
Cat Tracks
Toxoplasmosis is a legitimate worry for pregnant women, but you can reduce the risks significantly by taking a few basic precautions. Please see Chapter Ten Cat Myths Debunked for tips on how to handle your cat safely while you’re expecting. As for diseases that put your pet at risk, the best way to protect your cat is to keep him inside, and work with your veterinarian to decide which vaccinations are right. Check out Chapter Preventive Health Care for Your Cat for more on vaccinations and information on rabies.
For the birds |
|
Don’t feral cats eat birds? Cats aren’t native to a wild
environment, and birds are. Shouldn’t we be worried about protecting
endangered birds? Of course we should. But feral cats aren’t the biggest
threat to wild birds — people are. Consider: Feral cats have always been
around, and so have birds. But now bird numbers are declining. Are cats to
blame? Nope. The bigger threat to birds is loss of habitat, not cats. Besides, when cats hunt, they’re better at catching
rodents. You could argue that feral cats do us a favor by keeping the rodent
population down — and those critters really do spread some nasty diseases. Cats aren’t a fraction of the threat to birds that
humankind represents. And a feral cat colony that’s well maintained is even
less of a threat than one that’s not. A managed colony doesn’t grow, and
isn’t as hungry. Fewer cats, and fuller cats, are both good news for birds. |
Getting Your Feet Wet: How to Help
You don’t have to care for every homeless cat in your
community to start making a big difference in the lives of ferals. Everyone can
help, in many small ways that all add up. You just have to care enough to make
the effort.
First, do no harm
Feral cats are there because people put them there, or let
them go wild. You can help be a part of the solution by making sure no cat you
know adds to the problem. We offer a few ideas to get you started:
- Consider keeping your own pet cat indoors. A cat can lead a perfectly healthy, happy life without ever setting a paw outdoors. You’ll always know where your cat is and who she’s hanging out with if you keep your pet inside — and you also know for sure that your cat won’t end up a feral. (We offer tips on changing a free-roaming cat to an indoor one in Chapter Getting the Relationship Started Right, as well as tips to keep indoor cats happy in Chapter Ten Ways to Make Your Indoor Cat Happier.)
- Alter your cat. Cats who are spayed or neutered make better pets. Spayed females aren’t always crying for mates, and neutered males are less likely to spray urine. And if your cat doesn’t reproduce, you don’t need to worry about finding responsible homes for the kittens. One unspayed female, if allowed to breed freely, can be responsible for thousands of kittens, as her kittens breed, and their kittens breed and so on. A simple fix is all it takes, and it can be done as early as 8 weeks. (For more on neutering, see Chapter Littering: Should Your Cat Become a Parent?.)
Helping the helpers
You don’t have to actually do the hands-on work of caring
for cats to help the feral cat population. You can get involved by simply
supporting those people and groups who do. Here are a couple of suggestions:
-Support feral cat management with your voice, your vote,
and your donations. Let your community government know that you oppose any program
that has a goal of eradicating ferals. Write letters, go to hearings, and let
your voice be heard on this issue. Support nonprofit groups in your community
that put trap, neuter, and release programs in place. The support doesn’t
always have to be monetary. You can contribute items for a group’s garage sale
fund-raisers, or you can donate materials — everything from old towels to cars
— that the groups use in their work.
Tip
You may be able to find other cat rescuers by asking at your local shelter or by checking with pet-supply stores that offer adoption space to community groups.
- Considering adopting a formerly feral cat or kitten. Even in areas where cats are trapped, neutered, and released, a few kittens always manage to be born. And no matter how hard animal activists work to educate, some people always figure that dumping a cat is easier than finding him a home. Kittens and domesticated cats are often available for adoption from feral cat groups, and are something to consider when you’re thinking of getting a cat. (For help in selecting a cat or kitten, see Chapter Choosing Your Feline Companion.)
Feeding feral cats: Help or harm?
Feeding feral cats without caring for them otherwise isn’t
very helpful. Some people do this on a grand scale, and we have no doubt their
hearts are in the right place. But feeding feral cats who haven’t been neutered
leads to a population explosion, with all the problems that entails. In the
end, your cats may be fruitful and multiply to the point where they become a
real nuisance, and when that happens, someone will call for their removal.
Caution
If you feed feral cats, we’re not suggesting you should stop. Your cats have come to rely on you, after all, and to stop feeding will hurt them. Instead, get educated on how to keep population levels down and cats healthy, and see whether you can find help in your community to get your colony under control.
Not ready to take that big a step? Then maybe you’d better
think twice before offering your tuna sandwich for the very first time to a
feral cat. If you are ready to take
that step, the information you need to get started is in this chapter.
Learning to Care for Feral Cats
Caring for feral cats is not a responsibility to be taken
lightly, nor is it a short-term project. The animals will come to rely on you.
If you don’t believe you can handle the long-term commitment of caring for
cats, it’s really best not to start.
But if you are ready to really help the wild ones, you don’t
have to re-invent the wheel. By following the lead of other cat-lovers, you can
make learning how to manage a cat colony — including trapping cats to be
altered and released — as easy as possible.
Tip
Strength really is in numbers! Working with an established group, or at the very least with another person as committed as you are, makes caring for feral cats much easier. Having someone to share the good days and the bad can mean the difference between burning out and continuing to help the cats who need it most.
Cat Tracks
You can find excellent information about caring for feral cats on the Internet. We include a couple such Web sites in Chapter Ten Cat-Related Attractions on the Information Superhighway.
Setting up a routine
If you already feed feral cats, you’re ahead of the game. If
not, you need to get your ferals on a routine, which makes it easier to trap
them later. Seeing your cats every day also allows you to monitor any changes
in the group and to be aware of newcomers, pregnancies, or new kittens.
Cats are creatures of habit. If they know that food appears
in a certain place, at a certain time, you can be sure they’ll be there. Pick a
time that’s convenient for you and a spot that’s away from high-traffic areas.
Tip
Feeding your cats and then taking the leftover food away makes them more interested in turning up on time for dinner. Removing food after your cats are done also prevents wildlife from getting into it and helps keep rodent populations in check.
Remember
Once you start feeding them, they’re your responsibility — every day. And that’s why you’ll find the role of caretaker much easier if you find someone with whom to share the job. That way, illness and vacations won’t mean hungry cats, and you can reduce your chance of burnout.
Critter quandry |
|
Gina has a former coworker who called her one day about
the feral cats on the property she’d just bought. The woman was a lifelong
dog owner who’d never paid that much attention to cats, but suddenly she was dealing
with a dozen of them every day. The cats expected her to pick up the feeding
duties that the previous property owner had taken on. The woman didn’t know what to do. “Can you tell me who to
call?” she said. “I need someone to pick up these cats and find them good
homes. I’ll be home this weekend, if that’s convenient.” Gina let her know as gently as possible that she was
pretty much on her own with her new cats, and told her about the choices she
would have to make on their behalf. She guessed the advice would fall on deaf
ears, and she’d never hear about the cats again. Gina guessed wrong. The woman did her research and decided
to trap, neuter, and release the cats. A year later, their numbers had
stabilized, and the cats were doing well. And the woman came to enjoy their presence! |
Lining up help
Because the heart of a compassionate program of caring for
cats gone wild involves trapping and neutering, you need some help from the
beginning to understand how to use these tools.
Tracking down traps
Technical Stuff
If the word trap is conjuring up some ghastly leg-hold bit of cruelty, please stop worrying. The traps used to capture cats are designed to catch and hold them safely. Made of sturdy wire, these boxlike cages have a door that snaps shut when a cat enters — holding the animal until help can arrive.
Perhaps the most convenient source of traps and advice on
how to use them is your local animal-control department. Many lend out traps
for free to citizens who put down a deposit to ensure the equipment will be
returned.
 |
| Figure 4-1: Box traps are designed to lure cats inside and then hold them safely until help arrives. |
If you’re trying to work with cats on a university campus,
hospital, or military base, check with the maintenance department to see
whether they have traps — most do, although you may need to go through some paperwork
to use them.
Tip
Although borrowing traps is probably the best way to get started, you can also buy them directly from the same companies that sell to animal-control departments. One such source is Tomahawk Live Trap, P.O. Box 323, Tomahawk, WI 54487; www.livetrap.com.
Setting up veterinary care
After you trap a cat, you need a place to take him. In other
words, you need a veterinarian.
Talk to your own veterinarian first. She may well be
interested in your project and willing to help, and even if she’s not, she’s
likely a good source of referral to other veterinarians who are more actively
involved in the care of feral cats.
Remember
What you’re asking your veterinarian to do is make a charitable contribution, of her time and her staff’s time, and of her equipment and supplies. Spaying, in particular, is major surgery, and veterinarians routinely do it at a loss, as their contribution to helping combat animal overpopulation.
Tip
Don’t forget to check with your local humane society in your search for veterinarians who are interested in helping out. Some shelters have veterinarians on staff to provide low- or no-cost neutering, or they can refer to those in the community who donate a certain amount of surgeries each month.
Be sure that the veterinarian is aware that you’ll be
bringing in feral cats. These animals are more difficult to handle, and the
staff needs a heads-up before you bring any trapped cat in. Good communication
is the key to working with your veterinarian under any circumstances, and
that’s doubly true when you’re dealing with these special needs cats.
Cool cat Facts
Veterinarians make a notch in the ear of a feral cat after neutering. That way, if the cat is ever trapped again, cat caretakers and veterinarians will know that the surgery has already been performed.
Trapping cats
After you have your trap and your veterinarian is on
standby, you’re ready to get down to the business of catching cats. Make sure
that the trap is clean to start with. Scrub with hot, soapy water and follow
with a spray of diluted bleach (a half cup of bleach to a gallon of water will
do). If you can manage it, prepare several traps at once. Cats quickly become
wary of the traps after seeing others caught, and your best chance may well be
a mass trapping.
Tip
Stop feeding your cats for a couple days before you put traps out. You want them hungry!
Set the trap in a protected area, such as under a bush, or in the shade of a fence or building. Cover the trap with an old towel or blanket to make the cat feel more secure after he has been captured.
If you set out more than one trap, position them so that
they’re out of sight of one another. Set the trap according to the instructions
that came with it, and choose something irresistible as bait. A common
recommendation is canned cat food, with a big spoonful of tuna canned in oil on
top. Another hit with ferals — canned mackerel, which is relatively inexpensive
and very smelly!
Remember
Check your traps every three hours or so — and more frequently in cold or hot weather. Traps offer no protection against the elements. A trapped cat is also vulnerable to attack by dogs or by people intent on mayhem.
Caution
After you have a cat trapped, don’t attempt to remove him from the cage — you’ll be bitten. Keep the cage covered and use the handle to transport the cat, cage and all. Your veterinarian and her staff are trained and experienced at handling less-than-cooperative cats. Don’t risk a bite!
Neutering cats
Discuss with your veterinarian what medical care the cat
needs in addition to altering. You’ll likely want the animals tested for
infectious disease, treated for parasites, and vaccinated. Any cat who turns up
positive for feline leukemia (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)
should be placed in a single-cat home, if possible, or humanely killed. A tough
call, to be sure, but part of the deal when you care for feral cats.
Remind your veterinarian to use absorbable material for
closing the wound made by altering. Once you’ve turned a neutered feral loose
again, you won’t be able to catch the animal again to have stitches removed.
Tip
If the cat or kitten you’ve brought in is destined to be tamed for a future as a pet, ask the veterinarian to trim the animal’s claws. Taking the sharp tips off the claws will make the cat much easier for you to handle.
Releasing cats
Bring a carrier to the veterinarian so the animal doesn’t
have to be returned to the trap — you’ll need that for more trapping after all.
Your eterinarian will put the cat in
your carrier while he’s still unconscious. Take him home and leave him in the
carrier, in a quiet place. Have food and water available, but leave him alone
otherwise. When the cat is fully conscious, he can be released to his old
stomping grounds.
Tip
Line the carrier with newspapers, and with an old towel. The cat will likely relieve himself when he wakes up, so you want something absorbent in the carrier to keep him as comfortable as possible.
 |
| Figure 4-2: Cats should be spayed as soon as kittens are weaned, to prevent “more littering.” |
Taming the ones you can
Because of the sheer numbers of cats available for adoption,
you’ll be doing what’s best for feral cats by making sure as few as possible
are born. But what do you do with the kittens? And what about the cats
themselves? Are there homes out there for them?
Adult cats are a hard sell, and not enough homes are out
there for friendly, tamed cats, much less wild ones. For the most part, any
feral adults you trap will be neutered and released back into the colony. The
same is true of any kitten past the “adorable” stage. Once they get leggy and
lose that kittenish appeal, you’ll find it nearly impossible to place them, so
you probably ought to neuter and release even these youngsters.
Tip
If a cat suddenly turns up and seems well fed and in good health, chances are that he is a stray or has been dumped. Many of these cats are friendly — they were pets, after all — and may be the exception to the rule. Even if a little skittish when trapped, these strays will likely settle down quickly and relish a second chance to be a loving pet. By all means try to find an owner through flyers, newspaper ads, and so on, but don’t be disappointed if no one responds.
Remember
Young kittens have the best chance of being tamed and placed. If you catch them young enough and take your time, many will tame quite nicely.
Patience is the key
Feral kittens have been taught by their mothers to be wary
of humans, and it takes some time to counter that training. The younger the
kitten when she’s removed from the wild, the better — an ideal age is from 5 to
8 weeks old.
Technical Stuff
You may end up with a kitten who’s younger than 5 weeks, sometimes because the mother has been killed, other times because that’s when you were able to trap the baby. Your veterinarian can help you determine the age of your kitten. If the kitten is too young for solid foods, your veterinarian can provide you with formula and show you how and how often to bottle-feed.
A feral kitten is not going to react in the same way a
kitten who has been born to a pet cat will. You have to know that up front.
Your kitten will hiss and spit in fear, and she may well try to bite you if you
come close. You must be willing to take your time and help the kitten adjust
gradually. Kittens born wild are rarely sociable with large groups of people,
but many form a tight and loving bond with the one person they trust.
Caution
While you’re gently getting a feral kitten used to the idea of human contact, he’s thinking of contact of a different variety. Even the littlest cats have formidable teeth and claws and will use them when they think they’re in danger. Cat bites and scratches are not to be taken lightly. Wear long sleeves and protective gloves around feral cats and never try to grab a cat who’s wriggling free. Let him go. (This applies to fully domesticated cats as well.)
Gentle handling over time
Before you start taming your kitten or cat, make a trip to
your veterinarian. You want to make sure the animal isn’t deathly ill, and you
need to have him treated for any problems and vaccinated as your veterinarian
recommends. Discuss neutering as well — the procedure is now done on pets as
young as 8 weeks of age.
When you get your kitten home, set her up in a cage or
carrier with food, water, and a cat box, preferably located in a quiet, lightly
trafficked room with an easy-to-clean floor and a door you can keep closed. And
then let her be. She’ll need to chill for a while.
Tip
At this stage, visit the kitten frequently, but resist the urge to handle her. Talk to her and leave a radio playing when you’re gone, but stay strictly hands off for the first two days. After a couple of days, an easy way to socialize a wild one is to bring the animal’s carrier into a corner of the busiest part of the house — like the kitchen. Cover the entire carrier except the front grill to make the cat feel more secure while she gets used to the sights, sounds, and smells of a human household.
When the kitten seems to have settled down some, use a towel
to gently catch and hold the animal, getting her used to being handled. Watch
those teeth and claws: A scratch behind the ear probably won’t be too objectionable
to the youngster, but one beneath the chin will likely get you bitten.
Tip
Keep petting sessions very short. Better to build on a small amount of trust than to scare a kitten and have to go back to the beginning.
After the youngster seems more comfortable around you, let
her graduate from the carrier or cage to a small room. Leave a carrier with the
door propped open as a “safe haven” that can provide security and a warm place
to sleep. Let her come to you. Don’t try to pull her from the carrier or from
behind a favorite hiding place. Make use of her natural playfulness to help
forge a bond: Use a toy-on-a-string to lure the kitten into a chase game. Treats
are another way to convince a kitten that you’re a friend.
Cat Tracts
Your kitten will do best if placed fairly soon into her new home. We include tips on how to find a good home for a cat or kitten in Chapter Littering: Should Your Cat Become a Parent?, and the same strategies work for the formerly feral. Just be honest about the animal’s past and shortcomings. Some people relish the opportunity to take on the challenge of a cat with special needs!
by Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion
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