Free-roaming cats are community cats. They include lost, abandoned, loosely-owned, stray, barn cats and feral cats. Feral cats are either lost or abandoned domestic cats that have reverted to a wild state, or a cat that was born to feral mother and had little or no human contact. People feed and care about all the cats and every community has these cats - perhaps you are even feeding some!
Why do we care about cats that aren’t pets?
No one questions that people frequently enjoy relationships with wildlife. We care about other creatures in our world even when they can’t be snuggled and many people bond with free-roaming cats and find great satisfaction in helping them lead healthy lives.
How does altering a community cat save the lives of shelter kittens?
A scientific study revealed that about 85% of pet cats are altered while only 2% of free-roaming cats are altered. Population projections estimate 33 million kittens/ year come from pet cats while 147 million come from free-roaming cats. Or, the main source of the huge number of cats and kittens at shelters is from community cats. Every time a litter is born, it lowers the odds that shelter cats will be adopted. Competition for homes increases. What happens to the kittens that aren’t adopted? You know. But with spay/neuter, fewer kittens are born, competition for homes is reduced and lives are saved through prevention. Preventing litters is the only way to save lives and focusing on the free-roaming cat population will make the greatest, most immediate impact on shelter intakes and euthanasia.
Thanks to the Feral Cat Project for their support!
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