Feral Cats: Be part of the Solution

Feral:From Latin fera, wild animal, from ferus, wild.
Existing in a wild or untamed state.
Having returned to an untamed state from domestication.


Taken from Alley Cat Allies Website:


"They sleep in our parks, military bases, alleyways, farmyards, barns, college campuses, and deserted buildings. Abandoned by their human families or simply lost, unsterilized housecats eventually band together in groups called colonies. Without human contact for a prolonged period, the colonies become feral. They make homes wherever they can find food, be it in dumpsters or under a boardwalk. Mothers teach their kittens to avoid humans and to defend themselves. And their numbers steadily increase, even if meager scraps are all the food to be had.
No one knows exactly how many feral cats live in the United States, but the number is estimated in the tens of millions. They are often wrongly portrayed as disease-ridden nuisances living tragic lives and responsible for endangering native species. 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."

At Room for One More we have been Spaying and neutering the Feral cats in our area that come into the shelter and releasing them outside the facility. These cats while wild, come by and recieve food and water. This is called a "Trap-Neuter-Release" program or TNR.

TNR is the the best way to deal with wild cats and eliminates the issues clearly stated by Alley Cat Allies in the above statement. These Feral cats are not dangerous, and do not spread disease anymore than the wild squirrels in the trees outside our Homes. But the fact remains that unspayed, these numbers will grow and the problem of over population will not dwindle. One Cat at a time we can all help prevent the injuries and starvation of these delightful animals.

We are often greeted by Minneloushe and the sweet Calico that was released four years ago as the first TNR cat at RFOM. They remain mostly just out of hands reach and often lay on the ground and roll over to watch us go about our work. Happy, healthy cats with an opportunity to live long undisruptive lives.

Not to mention keeping the population of rats and mice down as an added benefit.

Contact Room for One more for information on Adopting Feral cats for your barn, or how you can help us continue to care for the wild cats of our community.

roomforonemore@gmail.com