Tomorrow is National Feral Cat Day! Did you know that over 70% of all cats in US shelters and pounds are killed? There just aren’t enough homes for them all. For feral cats, the kill rate is pretty much 100% because the cats are not suitable for adoption.
Feral cats (AKA wild or stray cats) can be controlled in a humane way with TNR or Trap, Neuter, Return. Basically, that means that kind souls trap the cats (in humane traps), get them spayed or neutered, and then return them to their feral colonies. The cats’ ears are clipped (while under anesthesia) to signify that they have already been spayed. Then, the kind humans usually feed the colonies on a regular basis.
I have trapped and spayed a feral cat once. Let me just tell you – it’s hard work, but so worth it. My neighbors called her Puma, and she would come around for food. She was a beautiful, tiny little thing who had apparently had several litters of kittens before I found her. We think that Puma was also blind. Puma was lucky enough to be spayed and relocated to a ranch with lots of free-roaming feral cats. Frequent pregnancies are hard on female cats and many of the kittens would have starved to death or been killed by well-meaning or not so well-meaning people. Alley Cat Allies volunteers were nice enough to loan me a trap, and they continue to help promote TNR in the United States.
No one seems to agree on the number of cats that can be produced from one female in 7 years (she has kittens, those kittens grow up to have more kittens, etc.), but it’s clearly exponential. If everyone would trap, neuter and return one feral cat, the results would be incredible.
To raise awareness, Alley Cat Allies launched the “I’m an Alley Cat Ally” Campaign to represent the millions of Americans who care for stray and feral cats in their communities. Celebrities, like Portia de Rossi, Angela Kinsey (from The Office) and Rue McClanahan (Golden Girls y’all!) represent the individuals from all walks of life who share compassion for these cats.
Millions of Americans have opened their hearts and wallets to stray and feral cats. A national survey by the respected research organization Harris Interactive found that over 40 percent of Americans have fed a stray cat in their lives, and one out of five has done so in the past year.
If you have a stray cat that you want to neuter, check out the Alley Cat Allies website for more information and assistance.
My cat used to live in the alley behind our house. He used to be someone's pet. He is such a sweetie and has become more friendly and trusting in the 5 years we have had him. He's still a scaredy cat, which I don't mind since he stays close to the house. His ear is clipped, which I wish it hadn't been, since he looks a little tough with two clipped ears! Lol.
People forget that not every cat that wanders over to your house is a stray and once you feed a cat, it probably won't go back home. I'm not saying, be cruel and not feed stray cats but ask around the neighborhood and figure out if the cat looks really clean, its probably someone's pet that wandered too far from home or got lost.
Oh I forgot to mention that the cat colony in the alley got too big and due to inbreeding some of the kittens died. Some had bad eye infections and the ones that weren't receptive to people were spayed and released. My guy was friendly so we took him as a foster home while he recuperated after being neutered. We kept him, so my other cat, who had outlived all his siblings would have someone to play with. And we liked him!