Feral Cats - What to Do If You Have a Colony of Wild Cats in Your Neighborhood

Feral cats are cats which are wild animals. They often live in colonies and they can be anywhere. The colony may have started out with a couple of stray cats who were abandoned and they multiply from there. According to www.feralcat.com, a pair of feral cats which have a couple of litters of kittens a year can exponentially produce over 400,000 cats in seven years. That is if they live that long.

A feral cat is different from a stray cat. Feral cats are afraid of people and are truly wild. They must survive on their instincts and they know that if any thing catches them it may kill them. Unfortunately, those instincts can only take them so far. They often go hungry and are subject to disease and injury. If they survive past kitten hood, they don't often live past two years of age.

To Feed or not to Feed?

A couple of years ago, I moved into a new house. Shortly after settling in, I started seeing cats all around. I saw two on a regular basis. It was winter in New York and they were awfully skinny. So, I started feeding them. Big mistake. Soon, I was feeding upwards of five cats a day and my yard was overrun with them. I didn't know what to do.

Once Spring came, I tapered off feeding them and was determined not to get involved. There was a house around the corner that always had pans of food out for them, so I felt that I could absolve myself of responsibility. After all, I had my own problems.

But there were these two cats that I would see over and over. It seemed they were more of the loners of the feral colony, which was huge. Then, it happened. One of the cats who I saw all the time must have had an accident. His tail started to shrivel up. Eventually, it fell off, leaving a raw stub which never healed. The poor little thing would come around with his stumpy butt all raw and stuck with leaves. What could I do? Of course, I started to feed him again. And his little friend too. It became a daily ritual. I would call him, "Noooo Taiilll.... Come get your breakfast...."

Can Anything Be Done to Help?

Turns out I would live in that house for a couple of years. I then bought a house and would soon be moving. What about the Feral Cats? What about little No Tail? So, now it was time to get really involved. Could I move them with me and feed them outside at my new house? Or would they try to get back to the colony and wind up getting killed on the road? And how would I get them? They wouldn't come anywhere near me.

I made several calls to local animal agencies and got more help than I could have imagined. If you have feral cats, there may be local Spay/Neuter and Release programs. You can borrow humane traps and then take the cats to local vets to have them neutered at low cost. Bit I just bought a house and had no extra money for these expenses. What would happen to these poor creatures? I had watched them endure two feet of snow and sub zero temperatures. I watched poor little No Tail endure unimaginable pain as his tail withered and feel off. It had been months and it still wasn't healed.

Finally I got in touch with the Little Shelter. If you live on Long Island, they can be very helpful. You can also check out their website at www.littleshelter.com. They were wonderful and helped me in my quest.

They told me that if I caught the two cats they would pay to have them neutered. They also said they would lend me a large dog crate for a month or so. I could try keeping the cats in the dog crate in my new backyard or garage (it was winter again) and try to acclimate them to the new surroundings. They told me the cats would probably stay at the new location if they understood this is where the food was. Great!

Setting the Trap

They loaned me a trap and told me how to set it. It was a long rectangular wire cage with a gismo that would close the trap door once an animal stepped on it. I should put an old blanket around it so that the cat would stay warm once it was caught and also so that it wouldn't feel so vulnerable.

I couldn't wait to get started. I would be moving in a couple of weeks and was maniacally busy. But I was determined. I set up the trap and baited it with stinky tuna. Would I catch any feral cats? If I did, would they be the right ones? You have to be careful, because they say a cat will not let itself be caught twice.

Well, it didn't take long until I caught something. The trap had sprung, so I went to remove the blanket and see if I had gotten No Tail. Out I crept so I didn't scare him, moved the blanket aside, only to find the most bizarre looking creature I had ever seen. What the heck what that?! In my quest for the feral cats, I had caught a possum! Okay. Let the possum out...very carefully... and start again.

Soon enough, I had No Tail in my grasp! I was thrilled! I called the vet that the Little Shelter has recommended and off he went to be neutered. If you ever need animal care in the Huntington, Long Island area, I highly recommend The Greenlawn Animal Hospital. Dr. Jeff Garretson and his staff are wonderful. You can reach them at 631-757-8700.

No Tail came through his surgery wonderfully. He was neutered and his raw stumpy tail was fixed up so it would heal. I brought him home in the dog crate to wait for the big move. I wound up trapping his little friend right at the last minute and was able to have him neutered too. Off we all went to the new location.

Should They Stay or Should They Go?

Now here's where the tale takes a little twist. Have you all seen it coming? Because I really didn't. Let me say this right now. Feral cats do not make good pets. They will be afraid of you, may scratch you and probably won't let you get near them or touch them.

I had moved into my new house and was settling in. I had the two feral cats recuperating from their surgery in the dog crate in my dining room. Did I have to put them out? It was so cold out. Maybe they would be alright in the house. Would they get along with my 'regular' cat?

To make a long story short, I'll bet you can guess who is now snuggled up on my bed. Yup. It's No Tail and his friend. Along with my other cat, Mallomar. They actually get along fine. Both of the feral cats defer to Mallomar who, by the way, has very few teeth and no claws. I was very lucky.

I am not recommending that you adopt feral Cats. As I said, they do not make good pets. They won't let me touch them and so caring for them can be difficult. What I do recommend is helping the colony.

How to Help

Contact any local agencies you can. Some will come out and set the traps for you so that the cats can be spayed or neutered. This way they won't multiply exponentially. They may be able to catch very young kittens and try to get them adopted. Feral kittens may or may not be tamable. Area volunteers may also come out and care for the colony.

Check out these resources and you will find volunteers who may be willing to help. www.feralcat.com has a wealth of information. You can also visit Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org for some great information.

These poor creatures could really use your help. If you help the feral cats and have them spayed or neutered you will be helping your own community so that they do not multiply. Do what you can to at least notify local animal care centers of the presence of the feral colony. This way, a volunteer may be able to visit the colony daily, feed the feral cats and have many of them neutered. Or, volunteer to help feral cats your self. It is very rewarding.