Confused about claims of starving feral cats

I think I have spent about as much time outdoors as the next person. Walking in the park trails, hiking the woods. Off roading in my Jeep in back country, and I have never one time seen a cat carcass, or a dead cat other than on the roadway as a traffic casualty. Not one time is 60 years.

In my area, if I see cats lurking by a dumpster or cans, I'll make a point to drive by and dump some healthy dry food, but do not make it a habit or necessarily follow up.

I also would tolerate any number of feral cats in my yard, garden etc. At least until they are weighing down the branches on the trees, they would not bother me a bit.

But, if there are too many cats and they are all starving and need to be neutered, etc, where the heck are the dead ones. No animal eats cat fur, so don't tell me the birds or scavengers get them. Where are they? I see snake carcasses, birds, rodents. No cats.

I don't think there are enough cats.

They aren't starving. True ferals aren't anyway---they're basically wild animals and take care of themselves like squirrels and raccoons. Dumped pets frequently starve though .

The main reason people want fewer feral cats around is because cats are not native to North America, and some people say that they're impacting the populations of native prey and predators. They are technically an invasive species like cane toads and rabbits in Australia. Now personally, I think that the North American ecosystem has adapted to cats by now, but whatever. So, if a smaller population is desired, there are 2 ways to do it---kill them or provide birth control. Obviously, the more humane option is preferable.

Another reason, for me, is that feral kittens DO die quite often (if someone lives on a farm, they know this very well), and I prefer to avoid that. And females are healthier if spayed, and males are less likely to spray and fight if neutered.

Interesting point.  But most cats will crawl under something - a shed, a house, a wood pile or shrub pile, to die.  Unless those things are moved or cleaned out, chances are you won't see carcasses.  They simply hide in death as well as they hide in life.

When a cat goes feral (or is born such), they become nocturnal and spend most of their waking hours in the shadows.  It helps protect them but it also hides them from most human eyes.

Those feral cats who have become dependent or semi-dependent on humans for food will show themselves to those humans at feeding time.  Not usually any other time.  But again, almost all will crawl someplace protected when they are sick or dying.  Any number of feral caregivers here can tell you about the cat they saw hurt but who disappeared, never to be seen again.  That's one of the heartbreaks of care giving.

I do not know the official number (but several pro-and anti-feral cat organizations have put it at around 60 million).  even if it is a third of that, there are way too many feral cats.  Sadly, they are pretty good at surviving in spite of their treatment by humans.  And that doesn't even count the strays or free-roaming pets with irresponsible owners.

Thanks for the responses.

A person who dumps a pet cat should be dumped themselves.

I have done remodeling, searched for animals in nature, cut down trees and cleared brush and I have never seen a cat carcass. I just don't think there are really that many feral cats. And, I support their right to live and be feral, although I would never allow a pet cat to be outdoors.

What I do know is that any attempt to pick winners and losers in the process of natural selection is shortsighted at best.

I'd be perfectly happy if feral cats dominated temperate climate zones across the Earth. Who will miss all the rodents? Birds will adapt.   In many areas of the country there are as many as 1,000 rodents per acre. That is a piece of ground 202 by 202 feet. Unlikely to find even one cat. Cat populations will normalize just like squirrels and raccoons.

catman513 said:

 
Thanks for the responses.

A person who dumps a pet cat should be dumped themselves.

I have done remodeling, searched for animals in nature, cut down trees and cleared brush and I have never seen a cat carcass. I just don't think there are really that many feral cats. And, I support their right to live and be feral, although I would never allow a pet cat to be outdoors.

What I do know is that any attempt to pick winners and losers in the process of natural selection is shortsighted at best.

I'd be perfectly happy if feral cats dominated temperate climate zones across the Earth. Who will miss all the rodents? Birds will adapt.   In many areas of the country there are as many as 1,000 rodents per acre. That is a piece of ground 202 by 202 feet. Unlikely to find even one cat. Cat populations will normalize just like squirrels and raccoons.

Click to expand...

Well, I can tell you that if that ever actually happened here in the plains regions, the entire ecosystem would collapse. It's already doing so, due to how good humans are at killing "pesky" rodents.

Ecosystems are interconnected. You can't just wipe out a chunk of them and expect that it's not going to hurt anything.

That isn't to say feral cats are by any means the biggest threat; humans are. But there are very good reasons to try to protect native species by neutering ferals. After all, the whole reason they're here is because we brought them here, and then a bunch of people just dumped their cats to fend for themselves.

I have personally removed at least two dead cats from the middle of the streets--victims of hit and run.
I rescued another cat who was hit by a car and was running away from us who were trying to catch her to take her to the vets. She eventually succumbed to her injuries but at least the last week of her life she was loved and well taken care of. Oh, and she was pregnant.
I have also smelled decomposed something; at that time one of my favorite stray cats had gone missing (he'd crawl into my lap and bat away the other cats who got too close; he wanted me all to himself). I was too afraid to investigate further. (Said cat still MIA.)
Ondine is correct: cats hide in life as in sickness. Cats are hard wired to hide when sick; other predators can sense their illness, their weakness. They die alone, un-comforted. So sad.

I have recovered several cats from the street also. The City wont even respond to cats and it is heartbreaking to see them as traffic fatalities.

I'll never have a cat  as an indoor/outdoor cat again. They are just not safe out there.

In response to the OP, I think it is true that ferals rarely if ever starve.  Get injured, yes, 100%, and I've seen many a dead feral over the years, but of all of them I'd say only 2-3 even might have died from starvation.

In all  honesty, I think a lot of people who are feeding feral cats overestimate their own importance in helping the cats to obtain food sufficient to live. In all reality, food-wise, those cats would be fine no matter what.  There are other dangers for them, and believe me, they are happy to be fed regularly by a human, and at a healthier, happier weight, but they would not starve without it.  I think some people almost try to make martyrs of themselves, thinking that if not for them all the ferals would die and they have so little money and it is awful. It's just not true.

That all said, this is NOT the case of dumped cats.  Those cats need help to survive and are not true ferals.  95+% of true ferals are (or can when they have to be) true and excellent hunters.  They can and do find food.

Humbly, I would like to make a suggestion to anyone who is truly curious about the needs of feral cats; whether human intervention in their care and feeding is necessary or even desirable.. go along with someone who tends to ferals, just for two weeks. In that short period of time, especially in the spring and summer months in a colony that has not yet been TNR'd, you will see the need.  

Susank521 said:

 
Humbly, I would like to make a suggestion to anyone who is truly curious about the needs of feral cats; whether human intervention in their care and feeding is necessary or even desirable.. go along with someone who tends to ferals, just for two weeks. In that short period of time, especially in the spring and summer months in a colony that has not yet been TNR'd, you will see the need.  

Click to expand...

I 100% do not dispute that it is desirable.  The feral cat problem is a terrible one.  I have been actively involved in TNR in the past (and not just for a little while, for a period of several years).  I do think though that they are better able to find food than many here give them credit for when they have to. On another thread someone said she's in the suburbs and there are no mice there so the ferals would not survive without her care. 1) they were actually surviving prior to her care 2) there are mice in the suburbs but even if not, there are birds (which ferals are excellent at catching) dumpsters, and trash cans.  I am not  claiming that ferals are at an ideal body weight or that they are eating food that really satisfies nutritional requirements beyond keeping them alive.  I am  claiming, without shame, that ferals are better at getting a food source than many give them credit for.  In fact, when one dries up, the cleverly move to a new food source/ place where more food is available 95% of the time.  They are not helpless as a housecat would be in the wild. They can and do get the food they need to stay alive, even in bleak circumstances. While feral survival rates are dismal, I've found countless dead feral cats hidden who went away to die.  As I say above, almost all of them had identifiable injuries.  Ferals are not, by and large dying  of starvation at least in my (humbly, rather extensive) experience.

I do admit that my attitude toward ferals may be different than many (most?) people's on this board in that I think the best thing you can do for ferals and feral colonies is TNR.  I think they have a home already, that is outside, and there is no point trying to domesticate them unless they are kittens.  I think they are strong and can and will survive without much if any human help beyond TNR. Their lives are not a bunch of rainbows but the same can be said of most wild animals, and make no mistake, ferals, unlike domesticated cats, are wild animals.  I do think if you can afford  the time, energy, effort, and money afforded to feed a feral colony, of course it helps them and more power to you.  However, I'd rather put my time, energy, money, and effort toward other things, such as TNR, fostering of litters (including feral litters) and helping adopt out cats that are domestic.  I do not   mean to disparage people who feed ferals and who think that is the most important thing, but I do maintain that those people sometimes have unrealistic ideas about what would happen to the cats if they were not there. 

This is only my humble opinion as well.  I hope very much that I am not coming across as argumentative or attacking.  I just want to explain where I am coming from and why I think what I do.

It quite probable the lack of mices in this suburb mentioned above was partly tx to these homeless cats!  In quite a few places they do purposefully keep colonies of ferales, just to keep the mice and rats populations down.

The notion that there are "suburbs" where there is an absence of mice, moles and other small rodents is absurd. Actually, the opposite is true. Cats or no cats, mice thrive in the suburbs. People just don't notice them. Have a look at the estimated rodent populations from your own state's DNR web site and you will be shocked to find the estimates of rodents per acre from what are purely suburban zipcodes.

I am pretty pragmatic about feral cats.  For whatever reasons, they're out there.  We need to accept that and tackle it when it becomes a problem. Having said that, I firmly being that they do serve a purpose - without them, people would have no food at all because the rats and mice would probably get it all.

At this point, between 5,000 and 10,000 animals - healthy friendly animals - are put to sleep in shelters around the country every day.  Add ferals to that and we wouldn't be able to handle it all.  So, TNR has to be implemented.

But like homeless people, feral cats make their way as best they can.  Some are more adept and survive quite nicely.  Others not so much.  Their fates can be pretty gruesome.

And just like with homeless people, those of us who can help do so.  Being compassionate means being passionate about your community, whether that includes animals or people or the environment.  I think we're all pretty much in agreement on this board that cats deserve the best we can afford.  If that includes one cat or a whole colony, I think we're all simply trying to make their lives better.  (And the bonus is, most of our lives are better because of it)

Populations of all animals normalize without intervention by humans based upon food supplies and predators. I for one would like to see what the normalized population of feral cats is. And, I seriously doubt that it is feral cats that pose the largest threat to birds and mice. There are many, many other predators that we do not notice even in the "suburbs" like snakes, owls, raccoons, etc. Any one of which could put a feral cat to shame in their appetite for mice and birds. I'd prefer to see TNR performed on squirrels instead.

I'd prefer to see TNR performed on squirrels instead.

I'm with you on that! 

Oh, I am in a great mood. I just found a whole bag of blue buffalo that Jack the Cat would not eat. (He likes BB, but I think it dried out too much from careless storage). So, I'm off to the Park to convene with a few ferals near the dumpster. I think I love cats more than humans excepting only SO..