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Chances are you’ve seen, or at least have heard of outdoor cats. Some may be cats who are allowed to roam outdoors by their guardians, other may be community (feral or stray) cats who call the outdoors home. In fact, the ASPCA currently estimates that there about 20 million free-roaming cats in this U.S. That figure includes a mix of truly feral cats, semi-socialized cats, and lost or abandoned cats.
For many, it’s hard to see felines living outdoors. The first instinct may be to give them a can of cat food, which is certainly a kind gesture, but in reality, feral cats are often just as safe and healthy as our own house cats. It’s been shown that feral cats have equally low rates of disease as indoor cats. The lean physique of some feral cats sometimes leads people to believe that they are starving or ill, but studies find that feral cats have healthy body weights and fat distribution. Outdoor cats tend to live much more active lives than the house cats who sleep on the side of our beds.
If a cat looks well cared for, they are more likely to return home without your help. If they do hang around, chat with your neighbors or post signs to see if you can find their family. Feral cats are afraid of people and usually, run if approached. They will not allow you to touch them and you shouldn’t try because it can endanger you or the cat. They’ll only eat food you’ve provided after you’ve moved away. A cat is probably feral if he’s still unapproachable after several days of feeding.
Of the 70 million stray animals that live in the U.S. only about six to eight million make their way into the shelter system. Only about three or four million of animals in shelters are adopted into homes. Knowing these heart-wrenching statistics, animal lovers undoubtedly want to help their feline friends. If you want to help feral community cats, other than providing them with food, here are some suggestions that may go a longer way than food.
Ways to Help Feral Cats
Make a Shelter
You can build a feral cat shelter yourself by constructing insulated shelter boxes to help to keep them warm and dry even on the coldest and snowiest days. This video tutorial will walk you through the necessary steps. Smaller shelters work best, as they help to recirculate cats’ own body heat. Also, be sure that cats don’t become snowed into their shelters by keeping doorways free of blowing snow and drifts.
Volunteer
One of the best ways to help cats is to volunteer with a rescue organization that helps manage feral cat colonies. Colonies are groups of cats that live in the same area and form a sort of family bond. Some volunteer groups work to provide shelter and food for colonies to help them get by. Although feral cats are usually very wary of people, they can come to trust volunteers – or at least, trust them enough to happily accept much-needed supplies. You can help even more cats by organizing a group of volunteers to aid feral cats while allowing them to keep their freedom.
Trap-Neuter-Release
Another way to help your community cats is to participate in Trap-Neuter-Release, or TNR, programs during the warmer months. This will help keep their populations under control in the winter. Experts debate whether TNR should be done in the winter since it requires a portion of a cat’s winter coat to be shaved and the trapping process may expose the cats to the winter elements. If TNR is attempted in the winter months, be sure that adequate shelter is provided through each step of the trapping and recovery processes.
If there’s no local group helping community cats, you can TNR the cats! You’ll find lots of great information to get the skills and confidence you need in the Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook.
If you’ve never helped community cats before, don’t worry, you can still be an advocate.There are lots of resources, such as The Humane Society of the United States’ Lobbying 101 for Cat Advocates, to help you be the most effective advocate possible. You can also check out “Managing Community Cats: A Guide for Municipal Leaders,” which can be purchased in print form or downloaded for free.
Do you have experience with helping community cats? Leave a comment below and share with the One Green Planet community!
Lead image source: hkase/Flickr
Janet, how on earth have you never seen a cat kill a bird? That is just… nuts. I “adopted” a semi-feral for awhile, who brought me birds all the time! I watched that cat pounce on numerous birds! I’d shoo him, because I felt bad for the bird, but oh yeah! Heck, I have a hysterical photo of that little guy on the roof of my next door neighbor’s garage so he could be eye-level with my birdhouse which is on a 10 ft post. Seriously HOW have you “never” in 30 years, witnessed a cat kill a bird?? What have you been doing all of this time? 😂
Can’t help but to agree with Rick that Sophia is a bit dim. When I moved into this house 12 years ago, there was a gorgeous and strong female feral cat who roamed the neighborhood. No one could get near her, and she had zero interest in any kind of man-made kibble. One afternoon, as we were heading out to run errands, I happened to glance across the street, and there she was crossing a neighbor’s lawn with a full grown rabbit in her mouth. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen, and it completely changed what I thought I knew about the cats I see wandering the streets. They are survivors, and will take what they need when they need it. Yes, it’s true that they are exposed to the elements, and they do run into dangerous situations, mostly because of stupid humans, and so my cat friends stay indoors. This cat, though. She was spectacular. Wow. Respect ✊
Sophia is correct. It may be hard to hear, but the fact is that the domestic cat has no natural niche in North America. It is bred from a small North African cat. Whether owned and loose or truly feral, they have a devastating impact on the natural world. Many birds nest on or near the ground or are ground foragers. Someone callously suggested in their comment on this thread that birds should “stay in the air.” That shows a alarming ignorance of nature. In another comment, someone suggested that feral cats do not kill birds because they have not seen it happen. Well, it happens, and it happens to the degree that some bird species are being pushed to the point of being threatened and even endangered as a species. I worked in cat rescue at my own expense for several years while on a military base where many cats were dumped. It breaks my heart to say that Sophia is right, but she is, and all of you know it, too. Legislation is catching up with this issue. Many cities now make it illegal to feed feral cats, or to release them once trapped and spayed/neutered. Many cities now make their Duty To Restrain ordinances applicable to both dogs and cats. The way of the future will be to exterminate feral cats, and hopefully it will not be too late for many native bird species and other small wildlife.