Feral Cats

Everyone loves cuddly kittens and household felines that lounge around on the sofa, but what about those cute cats that run free in the wild? Have you ever seen a stray kitty and wondered about taking it home? Be careful, it might prefer the wild over your house..

Feral Cats are domestic cats that are free roaming and were born in the wild. Feral Cats colonies benefit our community by minimizing rodent problems. Also, individuals who cannot take on the full time commitment of adopting a cat can participate in programs to help feral cats. This provides an alternative to irresponsibly buying an animal that you aren’t ready to take care of.

Did you know there are people that help take care of these cats? Here are some ways that you can pitch in:

• Set up a feeding station or shelter at a feral cat colony. They’re relatively easy to set up and inexpensive, but both have a great impact on helping those furry felines.
• Help get these cats spayed and neutered. If left unaltered, these free roaming kitties will reproduce and add to the homeless cat population, but if we spay and neuter them, fewer unwanted and homeless cats will be taken to shelters and euthanized.
• Donate. anything helps, make a donation to the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project

 Here in San Antonio, we have the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition which recommends the trap-neuter-return approach. They suggest trapping a feral kitty, taking it to one of their spay/neuter clinics and then returning them to their colony. Usually at these clinics they will snip the corner of the cat’s ear so that in the future, you’ll know what cats have been spayed/neutered. The San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition offers 4 classes a month on how to trap cats safely, in depth instructions on the TNR method- how and why it works, and laws covering the care and feeding of outside cats. You’ll receive a handbook with written instructions along with community resources, spay/neuter clinic info, recovery protocols and more. If you attend one of their training classes, you’re eligible for free trap loans and low cost spay/ neuter services for life! Registration is not required.

For more information, you can visit their website at sanantonioferalcats.org. 

- Katie's Kibble for Thought