Feral Cat Information (Jump to Trapping Guidelines)

What makes a cat feral?

A cat becomes feral (wild) if he has little or no human contact during the first few weeks of life or is a lost or abandoned domestic cat (stray) that over time reverts to a wild state. Feral cats usually cannot be tamed and are most content living outside. They often live in family groups called colonies.

Feral is not another word for "stray."  A stray is a cat who has been abandoned or who has strayed from home and become lost.

Myths & Facts

Myth 1: Feral cats can be eradicated by trapping and killing.

Fact: Many decades of eradication campaigns have done nothing to reduce the numbers of stray and feral cats.  Survivors breed exponentially; new cats move in, and reproduce, to take advantage of whatever food and shelter exist.  This is called the “vacuum effect.”

Myth 2: Feral cats present a high risk of spreading rabies.

Fact: Rabies in the U.S. is overwhelmingly a disease found in wildlife.  From 1990-2002, only 36 people died from rabies in this country, and not one of them contracted the disease from a cat.

Myth 3: Feral cats are sickly and diseased.

Fact: Scientific studies show that feral cats in managed colonies generally enjoy the same good health, fitness, and low occurrence of disease enjoyed by pet cats.

Myth 4: Feral cats are a significant cause of bird and wildlife depletion.

Fact: Numerous studies by government and environmental groups indicate that the overwhelming causes of wildlife depletion are destruction of habitat due to human development, manmade structures, chemical pollution, pesticides, and drought, not feral cats.

 Feral Cat Trapping Guidelines

Set the trap at the cats' normal feeding time.

Place the food in the very back of the trap.

Monitor the trap frequently.

NEVER TRAP AFTER DARK.

Once a cat is trapped, immediately cover the trap with a blanket or towel to help him/her calm down.  Place the cat and trap on newspaper in a quiet safe place where the temperature will remain at a comfortable level.

NEVER attempt to transfer a trapped cat to another container.

Do not trap mother cats with kittens less than 4 weeks old unless you are going to bottle feed the babies.

 Trap/Neuter/Return Program Contact Info:

Please call 271-7071, ext 206 to request help with Trap/Neuter/Return.  AnimalSave may be able to provide traps and transportation in addition to paying for spay/neuter and vaccinations for feral cats.