Saving Feral Cats

U.S. Groups Helping Ferals

Many groups have formed all across the country to provide veterinary care and assistance for ferals. From Miami Beach to San Jose, Las Vegas to Boston, "ordinary" people all over are trying to stop the population explosion of feral cats using trap-neuter-and-release methods. University campuses are often a source of ferals, as many students keep unneutered cats and then abandon them when the semester is over.

In California, Stanford Cat Network formed in 1989 after the University planned to exterminate the 500 feral cats on campus. Today the numbers are down to 300. The San Francisco SPCA, one of the first humane societies in the U.S. to accept trap-neuter-and-return (TNR) as a viable and humane alternative, has provided free surgeries for thousands of feral cats.

The Feral Cat Coalition of Portland was formed by veterinarians who have taken the lead in helping their city's feral cats. The group holds monthly one-day spay/neuter clinics for ferals and the vets run the program without compensation. There mobile spay clinic is booked months in advance, so if you live in the area be aware that there is a waiting list for these low-cost spay clinics.

Many institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, have colonies of feral cats. A hospital in Carville, Louisiana, had been trying for years to eradicate its large colony. Finally, some very obvious conclusions were reached: (a) the presence of the cats indicated that an ecological niche existed for approximately that number of cats; (b) removal created a vacuum that was being constantly filled through migration from outside; and (c) trap and kill schemes had alleviated the problem temporarily but had not been a permanent solution.

At the Carville Hospital, regulations by the authorities to stop feeding of cats were consistently ignored. Feeding feral cats in institutions can have long-term positive benefits on patients. This has been proven many times in English studies. The Carville Hospital study was conducted in a scientific manner and is well-documented. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Alley Cat Rescue runs a national feral cat network to promote non-lethal control of feral colonies. Through workshops, conferences, articles and educational fact sheets, a large network has formed to support those wanting humane methods of control.

As we have seen, the U.S. currently has millions of compassionate people willing to feed and take care of alley cats, but a national community effort is needed to solve the current crisis of feline overpopulation. Humane solutions cannot be initiated on a large scale without the cooperation of humane societies, shelters, and the veterinary community, and the support of the public. We may not be able to sterilize every feral cat in the U.S., but we can stabilize large colonies and stop their growth through sterilization, aggressive educational programs in neighborhoods where unaltered cats are allowed to roam, and offering low-cost spay/neuter programs. As adaptable as these cats are, the only common sense approach is TNR versus the other extreme about eradication that has already been proven will not work.

Founder/President of Alley Cat Rescue Inc., Louise spends her time entirely devoted to ferals and their cause. Using her skills as a writer she has authored many articles surrounding these cats. Specializing in feral cat management, diseases, feline behavior and predation issues, you can reach her at this email address: LAHolton@aol.com.