Four-Legged Friends
Animal Adoptions, Inc.
What is a feral cat? By definition, the word "feral" means "not domesticated", "wild", or "having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication."
Genetically, feral cats and housecats are identical. Stray cats, abandoned or lost by their owners, unneutered and homeless, congregate in groups known as colonies. Deprived of human contact for an extended period of time, the cats become feral. They make homes wherever they can find food.
Mother cats teach their kittens to avoid people, and those kittens, without benefit of socialization, become truly wild. A mother cat can have four litters of kittens in a single year, and kittens can have litters of their own by the age of six months, so the number of ferals steadily increases, even if food is scarce.
The number of feral cats in the United States is estimated at over 40 million. Some estimates put the number of ferals in New York State alone at over 10 million. As a consequence, feral feline communities too frequently are rounded up and because they have had little or no human contact and are thus unadoptable they are killed. But removing and killing feral cats does not reduce feral cat populations. It only provides space for more cats to move in and start the breeding process again. Unspayed, feral female cats spend most of their lives pregnant and hungry, as will the female kittens that survive. Unneutered tomcats roam to find, and fight to win, mates, and often suffer debilitating wounds in the process. Half of all kittens born in feral colonies die within their first year."
According to Alley Cat Allies, the National Feral Cat Rescue, "Feral cats are often wrongly portrayed as disease-ridden nuisances living tragic lives and responsible for endangering native species.
Do you have feral cats on your property? Not sure what to do? FLFAA can help!
FLFAA can educate you on the humane and highly-effective practice of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
We can lend traps and guide you through the trapping process.
We will help you set up neuter/spay appointments with local feral cat sterilization programs. The average cost of these surgeries is $40 per cat (payable to the program which actually performs the sterilization) and includes a feline leukemia test and a state-mandated rabies vaccination.
FLFAA can provide you with a feral cat shelter for your property (if needed) and show you how easy it can be to manage a small feral colony.
Did you know? ...A colony of feral cats will "close itself off" once all of its members are spayed or neutered. This means fewer cats for the long term and no more kittens!
Did you know? ...Neutered cats need less food, display fewer behavioral problems (such as spraying and vocalizing), and do not roam nearly as far or as often as unneutered cats.
