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Feral Cat Resources
The size of the feral cat problem is one that most animal lovers are unaware of. When I worked at the shelter, one of my jobs was handling incoming calls from the public, and I had at least two calls a week from people looking for help with feral cat colonies. Not individual cats, but colonies. Most of these folks lived or worked in an area near someone who fed cats but did not care for them, or it was a dumping spot for unwanted animals. The extent of the problem gradually dawned on these good Samaritans, and they were looking for help. Now, if I was handling calls about 50 cats a week, that would be ~2500 a year. And I guarantee you, the cats who were lucky enough to have someone trying to help them, let alone calling about them, is a small fraction of what's out there.
The difficulty with feral cats is that even if they are sterilized and vaccinated, they are still not tame, and few people are willing and able to deal with that wild behavior inside a house. So the approach that has developed is TNR, trap-neuter-return, where all the feral cats in a colony will be trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, and then released into back into the colony. If funds or resources are limited, then the focus is on neutering the males, with the idea that a female can have 6 kittens at one time, but a male can father multiple litters at one time, and that will produce proportionately better results. The idea behind TNR is thatferal cats are very territorial, and will prevent other feral cats from entering the area, so if TNR is done, then a potential public health hazard has been eliminated (i.e., reservoir for diseases like FIV, feline leukemia and rabies). Public health programs which have tried to control feral cat colonies by repeated trapping and euthanizing
have not worked well, and ended up costing more. This article describes the results of several different cities and communities in their efforts in control feral cat popultions.
I think everyone recognizes that it is far from the ideal, but it is a first step.
There is a local group, AWASA, which is an umbrella organization with people from a variety
of animal welfare organization. They are the closest thing locally to an organized effort to address this problem,
but they also deal with a host of other issues, and although they do have occasional spay/neuter clinics, it never really seems to get off the ground. I just rechecked their website, and a lot of what is posted is several years old.
And meanwhile, there are many, many folks out there taking care of individual little colonies. It can be difficult to network if you are an individual colony manager; many people who help colonies do not share information with strangers, because as we all know, there are people out there who would use that information to help themselves to some cats for bad purposes. So I would recommend checking out these public resources, and starting from there. You are also welcome to email me after you've read up on the alternatives, and after visiting your colony, I will put you in touch with others in your area of town.
I wish to make very clear that I DO NOT condone in any way the Hermitage's Barn Cat Program, which is attempting to place cats which have lived in the shleter, some for up to 7 years, in open barns. Their program should be more accurately called Trap-Neuter-Hold for 5 Years-Release into a Different Environment. Some of the cats they have attempted to place in that program were also not true feral cats, but merely shy. Their Barn Cat Program is not a last-ditch attempt to help cats in a situation where they have not other options; their Executive Director has stated in the newspaper that she views the feral cats as taking up space, and it is a thinly veiled attempt to decrease the shelter population. I also caution anyone seeking advice from the Southern Arizona Humane Society -- their official policy is to put down all feral cats brought in to their facility, and they are the ones who provide vet care to the Hermitage. To participate in their programs, you must register your colony; think long and hard about whether that is wise in view of their other work.
I have listed below some resources to help folks. If you are looking for clinics willing to sterilize feral cats, be sure to also check out my Spay, Neuter Shot Clinics page, where I note if a clinic is willing to handle ferals. There are also public resources on this page to pay for sterilization for feral animals. Please note that these references DO NOT help people find homes for cats.
Alley Cat Allies
is the national organization most in the public view. This would be the first place I would start to educate myself.
They have specific sections for the first-time visitor, vets, an FAQ, legal, caretakers, shelters and events.
Lots of practical articles and videos on feral cats, colonies, TNR, how to start a community program, and online networks for contacting folks in other communities to see how they do things. Brought to you by the North Shore Animal League
A good introduction to what TNR is all about, for the Good Samaritan who is trying to figure out where to start. This is a pdf file.
Best Friends Feral Cat Library of resources
Feral Cat News is a blog primarily on news stories involving feral cats, but includes general cat articles as well.
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