SCORES & OUTDOORS: Feral cats in our society

A feral barn cat.

by Roland D. Hallee

My daughter just adopted a kitten. They are so cute and adorable, especially when you watch them chase a ball of yarn, fight to grab that elusive string hung in front of them, try to catch the red laser dot, or when they lay in your lap and purr into the evening hours.

There is, however, another strain of cat out there that is not so fortunate as to have a warm home, square meals, and the medical attention necessary.

They are feral cats. A feral cat is an unowned and untamed cat separated from domestication. Feral cats are born in the wild or may be abandoned or lost pets that have become wild. They should not be confused with the wildcat which are not descended from domestic cats. A stray cat, or alley cat, though unowned, still exhibits temperament similar to that of a pet. In popular usage, these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Feral cats may live alone but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies. The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is about two years, while an indoor domestic house cat lives an average of 12 to 16 years.

Urban areas, Australia and North America are not native environments for cats. The domestic cat comes from temperate or hot, dry climates and was distributed throughout the world by humans. Cats are extremely adaptable, and feral felines have been found in conditions of extreme cold and heat.

Feral cats are sometimes at the top of the food chain as predators in local ecosystems, although they are sometimes preyed on by feral dogs, coyotes and other mammalian predators. Cats are effective at controlling small-animal populations, which is one of the major justifications for the keeping of farm cats. However, conservationists argue that feral cats contributed to the killing of songbirds and endangered birds, with estimates that bird loss is at 1 million a year because of predation.

Feral cats on islands have been implicated in the extinction of several species in the Caribbean, Pacific Mexico and Stephens Island. In a statistical study, they were a significant cause for the extinction of 40 percent of the species studied.

A ranger at a Hawaiian Island wildlife sanctuary witnessed a single feral cat kill 33 ground-nesting sea birds in a single incident. He also noted that cats killed 45 of 75 chicks in one bird colony.

A feral cat colony is a population, known as a clowder, of feral domestic cats. The term is used primarily when a noticeable population of feral cats live together in a specific location and utilize a common food source – such as food scavenged from refuse bins, dumpsters or supplemantary feeding by humans – and reach a population density which might be regarded to be undesirable.

Feral colonies occur when unsterilized domesticated cats become, intentionally or otherwise, disconnected from their respective human owners and managed domestic environment. They quickly have to learn to fend for themselves and form the breeding communities.

Although cats are traditionally believed to be loners, even despising the company of other cats, these colonies can actually increase the chances of survival with multiple cats to look after kittens. In addition, some cats seem to enjoy the company of others, especially those born as domestic.

There is debate about how to deal with feral cat populations. Some advocate culling feral cat populations by trapping and euthenasia. Others argue that hunting is the most cost-effective method of population control. Opponents to culling argue that if the factors that allowed the colony population to grow in the first place are not addressed as well, a new clowder can form in the same location when cats that escaped trapping and those moving in from surrounding areas continue to breed.

Proponents of Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs contend that such program are more effective and humane. Volunteers trap feral cats, sterilize them through neutering, then release them. Tamed animals might be adopted out as pets, although many experts believe that it is prohibitively difficult, if not often impossible, to domesticate and adopt a feral cat unless it is trapped and socialized before six weeks of age. There is some evidence, however, that many people have adopted and domesticated adult feral cats. Some feral cat organizations offer techniques to do this.

Various long term studies have shown that TNR is effective in stopping the breeding of cats in the wild and reducing the population over time.

Regardless of the measures taken to control feral cats and feral cat colonies, wildlife rehabilitation centers are constantly receiving wild animals that have been attacked by cats, and few of these injured animals survive, even if the cat fails to kill them outright.

Do you know where your Tabby is tonight?

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel once coached the Tennessee Titans. From what city did they originate?