Maintaining Feral Cat Colonies

You've seen them lurking behind dumpsters; lopping across parking lots; slinking around the edges of buildings. From afar, they look just like your own cuddly calico or your neighbor's tame tabby. But if you take a step closer, you’ll see they are nothing like the domestic cats you know so well. Instead of sidling up to you for petting or a handout, these feral cats bolt away so quickly you’re left wondering whether the creature you saw was feline or phantom.

Any domestic animal which has reverted back to a wild state is feral. The first generation is pets which have been abandoned or lost. When they have kittens, they will teach them to be very wary of humans and to defend themselves.

A lost or abandoned house cat will survive an average of only 2 to 4 years away from home. According to Alley Cat Allies, a national feral cat support organization in Mount Rainier, Maryland, 50% of a typical litter dies shortly after birth. The rest may fall victim to disease, predation, and starvation, and the ever-present threat of cars. Females spend most of their lives pregnant and hungry. Most female wild animals are pregnant every year. Unneutered toms get in fights, and the resulting untreated wounds can eventually kill them.

Feral cats can produce up to three litters of several kittens per litter. One pair of unneutered cats, breeding exponentially, can potentially produce thousands of offspring. Even conservative estimates place the number of homeless cats in America at 40-60 million - about as many as there are house cats.

Cat lover that you are, you've probably felt the urge to rescue one of these feline wraiths from its paw-to-mouth existence. But unfortunately, most adult feral cats won't adjust to the domestic life. True ferals are born in the wild and never experience human companionship during their critical period of socialization (about 2 to 9 weeks of age), so they will always remain frightened of people. Only very young feral kittens can learn to adjust fully to living in a home.

But, leaving feral cats to fend for themselves isn’t really an option either. Untended street cats face death by starvation, disease, inclement weather, traffic, and predatory animals. Experts estimate that 60 to 70 percent of wild-born kittens die in their first 6 months. Feral cats that do survive kittenhood then spend the rest of their lives struggling to find food and repeatedly breeding - adding more homeless kittens to the population.

Some feline enthusiasts try to help feral cats by leaving dishes of food. But, unfortunately, feeding alone doesn’t solve any problems. Extra food usually brings more cats into the area - leading to fighting, infectious-disease transmission, and lots of homeless kittens. Meanwhile, unattended dishes of cat food may attract other creatures besides cats - including rats and rabies carriers such as raccoons and skunks. Plus, some people in the neighborhood may complain about the noise and urine odors and seek to rid the area of cats.

Most humane experts believe the only permanent solution to the feral cat problem is for owners to become diligent about neutering their pet cats. In the meantime, there remains the need to control the feral population. For years, the standard approach has been to trap groups of cats and humanely euthanize them. But some humane workers question the effectiveness and ethics of this method. As long as there is a food source such as garbage, more cats will simply move into the area once the first group is removed. "It’s such a complicated issue, and there are no easy answers," notes Carter Luke, vice president of humane services at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "No one wants cats to die."

"You can't just trap the cats and take them to a shelter," says Diana O'Shea, assistant manager of PAWS Animal Shelter in Montclair, NJ. "Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they'll be put down." And in crowded shelters, the ferals go first. Instead of reducing their numbers, killing simply makes room for new cats to move in, and the breeding process begins all over again.

"Lethal control cannot be ethically justified. Birth control and altering human behavior are both proven methods of humane control that work. Alien, exotic, feral, or invasive species of animals - whatever you choose to call them - are just as much the victims of human greed, neglect and ignorance," explains Louise Holton, former director of Alley Cat Allies.

TNR - Trap, Neuter, Return (or TNVR - Trap/Neuter/Vaccinate/Return):

In recent years, some humane groups have begun to use another strategy for dealing with ferals. This method involves capturing, neutering, and vaccinating feral cats and then putting them back in their former territory or in another area (preapproved by the land owner and neighbors) if the original location is too dangerous. Caretakers provide food and shelters to protect the cats in the colony from wind and weather. Proponents of this strategy say it can effectively control feral populations because the neutered cats no longer reproduce, yet they continue to defend their territory against incoming cats. So, a maintained feral colony will stay the same manageable size until the cats live out their natural lives.

Caring for ferals can also help educate people in the community. "People see you put all this effort into fixing alley cats, and you can tell them: 'We have a major over-population crisis,'" states Ms. Holton. "And it teaches compassion."

Of course, managing a feral cat colony is no mean feat. "It's a 365-day-a-year job, just as caring for your cat or my cat is," notes Mr. Luke. And it takes money. Since the life-time cost of food and veterinary bills for one pet cat is estimated to be about $4,000, properly caring for a group of ferals can be quite a financial undertaking. Mr. Luke also notes that with 30 to 60 million feral cats in the United States alone, controlling the feral population must involve a variety of approaches. But the trap/neuter/vaccinate/return approach has been demonstrated to work in many areas where there are willing cat caretakers.

If you have enough time, resources, and technical support, you might find keeping a feral colony right up your alley (so to speak). But first, take stock of the situation. "The cats have probably been there for a while, and unless they're in imminent danger, they can stay for a little longer while you plan something," advises Ms. Holton.

Start by establishing a regular feeding pattern. Bring food once a day - at close to the same time each day - and pick up the dishes after every meal. At the same time, search for a local veterinarian who's willing to neuter and vaccinate feral cats. Ask what days might be best for neutering surgeries so you can plan your trapping schedule. Also, talk to people in the community to explain the situation and garner their support.

Keep old linens, pillows, rugs and blankets, baskets and wooden crates (look for any of these items at garage sales and flea markets) in various places for any cat seeking protection from the elements. Daily clean this area - check for flea residue and make sure there's no standing water to attract the breeding of mosquitoes. Stock with fresh linens and have plenty of cozy sleeping nooks for any cat seeking additional protection during any time of the year. For colder weather and heavy rain protection, construct several shelters which should be placed facing south to maximize warmth.

You should be able to obtain humane traps through an animal shelter or humane organization. Most traps can be purchased between $40 and $75, or rented, and some clinics will let you borrow theirs for free. Hardware stores such as Ace Hardware stores and home repair centers such as Home Depot carry Havahart traps. Two other online trap resources are Tru-Catch Traps and Tomahawk Live Trap Co.. Or you or the handiman of the family or neighborhood can build your own. PetRescue.com, Inc. has instructions on how to build a silent trap for feral cats with pictures and description included. In order to read the document, you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader®, a free program. (This is a very useful program to view and print documents in their original formats.)

The following is a list of tips before trapping:

  • Make arrangements for an exam and altering with an veterinarian who is experienced with ferals willing to work with them, but make sure he/she understands the cat is feral.
  • Get a pre-exposure rabies vaccination and update your tetanus shot.
  • Have a game plan. Trapping a cat the wrong way will frighten the cat, at best. In rare circumstances, cats have been injured or killed. Also, if you mess up, you probably won't be able to catch the same cat twice. Ferals learn very quickly.
  • Get the cats used to being fed at the same place and time of day.
  • Leave the unset trap in the area, covered with a large towel so that the cat will get used to seeing and smelling it.
  • Don't feed the cats the day before trapping so they'll be hungry.
It's best to trap the night before surgery, at the cat's normal feeding time. Line the bottom of the trap with newspaper, just covering the trip plate. Make sure it doesn't block the mechanism. Then place the trap on a level surface in a secluded spot.

To be extra sure of success, don't use cat food. Bait with tuna or sardines (something different and strong scented). Place the food on a small scrap of paper and set the trap over the food above the trigger plate. This will make the cat go all the way in and stay there long enough to trip the mechanism. Don't worry about soiling the trap - when you wash it down after trapping, the food comes off the mesh wires easily. Set the trap according to the instructions, and cover all but the opening with a large towel. This will be added camouflage and will help to calm the cat after he's caught.

You can tape newspaper all around the trap, leaving only the opening uncovered. It gives the cats one way in - they can't see or smell the food at the food end and sometimes, jostling the trap trying to get to the food through the mesh will set it off with no cat in it. Use tuna or sardine cat food; the stinkier, the better. In fact, Havahart strongly recommends for feral cats the use of fish, meats, oil of catnip, or canned tuna, chicken, and sardines. The idea is to entice the cat with these foods to enter the trap; not to feed the cat a steady diet of "forbidden" foods which most caring cat owners don't give on a regular basis.

Keep the traps open and unset with food inside for a few days. When you begin actual trapping, leave your traps set for an hour or two at most. Never leave them set overnight or all day long. A captured feral cat will be terrified and could seriously injure you in its panic, so always keep your hands and face well away from the trap, wear protective clothing and gloves (I wear heavy long-sleeved shirts, jeans and ACES' Talon Gloves), and drape a heavy cloth or towel over the trap to calm the cat. Wait quietly in an area where you can still see the trap without disturbing the cat. Check the trap every 15 minutes or so; you may actually hear it trip.

After you have the cat, place the trap in a protected area, such as a garage, utility room or basement, while waiting for the veterinarian appointment. Find out about food and water restrictions before surgery. Keep the cage covered and check it periodically, but don't stick your fingers in the trap or allow children or pets nearby.

Unless you're an old hand at trapping, don’t try to transfer a captured cat into a carrying cage. Instead, keep the animal in the trap for the trip to the veterinarian. Most feral cat programs require that ferals are brought in traps only, not carriers. A veterinarian experienced with ferals must be able to inject an anesthetic through the wires of the trap.

When the cat is anesthetized for neutering, the veterinarian can also administer essential vaccines and take blood samples to test for feline leukemia virus (FELV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). If the animal tests positive for either of these deadly ailments, most experts recommend euthanizing or permanently confining the animal to prevent it from spreading the disease to uninfected cats in the community. However, this is an additional expense most feral caretakers can't add to their caretaking responsibilites; therefore, unless you suspect a communicable disease in your colony, by all means by-pass this step. This is one of the heart-breaking aspects of being a feral caretaker and rescuer. If there aren't any FELV or FIV colonies or adoptive homes for infected cats available in your area, your only humane recourse will be euthanization.

Another procedure many humane workers recommend is the painless removal of the top corner of the cat's left ear ("ear tipping"), or to remove a small "V" or notch ("ear notching") in one ear. Ear notching is the same idea as eartipping but the small notch that is cut out of the ear is not as obvious as ear tipping. Often male cats have notched ears caused by fighting. Ear tipping is a highly visible means of identifying feral cats that have already been neutered and vaccinated.

Another alternative to ear tipping or notching is tattooing inside an ear. Please note, however, many vets don't have the experience in tatooing, these take longer, are messy to perform, there is a greater chance of infection, and cannot be seen except upon close examination. Alley Cat Allies is working to get ear tipping universally recognized in the U.S., as it is in the United Kingdom, so that if animal control gets a cat who has been ear tipped, they will not kill the cat but try to locate the caregiver so the cat can be returned. If animal control locates a colony of cats with their ears tipped, they will know it is a managed colony with a caretaker and will not trap the cats. Advise local vets your means of marking your colony for identification in case they should happen to see one of your ferals in the future.

One last factor you must consider is the rabies law of your local area. Some states require ferals to be vaccinated when they are trapped. To prove ownership, take a picture of each cat in the trap before taking to the vet. Should Animal Control contact you about any of your ferals, you will have a file with the cat's picture and rabies tag attached, proving that the cat in question is not only spayed/neutered, but vaccinated against this deadly disease.

Too many people are under the impression spaying/neutering can only be done after a cat reaches the age of 5-7 months. Early age altering of cats has been practiced for over 25 years in North America. Early age altering means spaying and neutering cats between the ages of 6 and 14 weeks. By tradition (due to years by-gone anesthetic techniques that weren't available at the time) waiting until a cat was older increased survival rate during surgery. However, with modern technology, there is no need to prolong spaying and neutering as a medical reason. Susan Little, DVM of the Cat Fanciers' Association Health Committee states:
Over the years, the safety of early altering has been questioned, mainly by veterinarians who may be unfamiliar with the surgical and anesthetic techniques required for pediatric patients. As well, concerns that early altering could increase the incidence of feline lower urinary tract disease, could affect skeletal development, and affect behavior have been voiced. These concerns have largely been laid to rest by many studies, and early altering is becoming more widespread and available. A study recently published by researchers at the University of Florida found no significant differences in the physical and behavioral characteristics of cats altered at 7 weeks of age compared to those altered at 7 months of age.
Be sure to ask your veterinarian if he's comfortable altering a cat as young as 6-12 weeks. Unfortunately, many still adher to the tradition of waiting until 5-7 months. Remember, although it may be sad, pregnant females can also be spayed. Many clinics and veterinarians offer discounted neutering, especially if you don't have much income. Contact the organizations listed at the bottom of this page for more information.

For additional information regarding early altering, check this article published by Alley Cat Allies.

It may take several months for you to trap, neuter, and vaccinate all the feral cats in your colony, but you will be rewarded by the knowledge that you are doing your part to control overpopulation while giving one group of animals a new chance at life. "I know it’s time-consuming, but it’s also extremely fulfilling," says Ms. Holton, who tends to her own feral colonies every day. "I love these cats - even the little wild, hissy ones."

Information on Ferals:

If you need more information about TNR (trap/neuter/return) programs or on how to maintain a feral cat colony, contact one of the following organizations:

Alley Cat Allies
1801 Belmont Road, NW, Suite 201
Washington, D.C. 20009-5164
Phone: 202-667-3630
Email
Web Site

Feral Cat Coalition
9528 Miramar Rd, #160
San Diego, CA 92126
Phone: 619-497-1599
Email
Web Site

Information on Low Cost Spay/Neuter:

If you need more information about low cost spaying and neutering, contact one of the following organizations:

Doris Day Animal Foundation
227 Massachusetts Ave, NE
Suite 100
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-546-1761
Email
Web Site

Friends of Animals
National Headquarters
777 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
Phone: 203-656-1522
Email
Web Site

What You Can Do To Help Ferals in Your Neighborhood...

As an Alley Cat Ally, there are many ways you can get involved:

  • Find out about ordinances in your community. If your town has, or is considering, a feeding ban, contact ACA for help.

  • If you have feral cat experience to share, become a Feral Friends member. Join ACA's national network of feral cat caretakers and community activists.

  • Spread the word about TNR. Request materials and merchandise from ACA to distribute and display in your neighborhood.

  • Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Educate readers about TNR success stories in other towns.