If a stray cat turns up at your door for a meal, then goes about its business again, it qualifies as a ‘semi-owned’ cat.īecause of disease and the injuries caused by fighting and vehicle accidents, these free-living cats tend to have short, harsh lives – often just three years compared to 12-15 years for a pet cat that is desexed and cared for. Then, you can attempt to use a live trap or call Garrett County Animal Control at more than half a million unowned cats in South Australia, and thousands of good-hearted cat-lovers out there, many people are feeding strays. To remove feral cats from your property, be sure to remove any sources of food or shelter. The large number of hungry cats can create conflicts with other cats and humans in the area. If you stop feeding the cats, they will likely stay in the same area but be forced to expand their search for food. Priorities may change, costs may get too high, or there simply are too many cats to be able to feed them all. damaging property (scratching, climbing, using your yard as a litter box, etc)Įventually, personal limits will be reached. An increase in the number of cats in one location causes more harm than good through: When cats become dependent on people leaving food out for them and the cats will tend to congregate.

Many people think they are helping when they choose to feed feral cats but that is absolutely not the case. After a few days of feeding, a feral cat isn’t any more comfortable with you than when you first started feeding it. If you feed a feral cat, the cat will usually wait until you leave to approach the food.

A stray cat will meow or purr to “answer” you, will walk like a housecat with his tail up, and will make eye contact. Feral cats usually won’t be vocal, will maintain a crouched and guarded position, and will not make eye contact.

When you find a cat, you can tell the behavior of feral and stray cats will be very different. The distinction between feral cats and stray cats is important because feral cats are wild animals and cannot be adopted. They were born in the wild, are likely part of a colony of cats, not socialized to people, and will probably not ever become a pet. Feral cats are non-domesticated cats that have limited or no contact with people and survive on their own.

Free download feeding stray cats