What is a Feral Cat?

A feral cat is an outdoor,  free-roaming cat who is fearful of humans because it lacks interaction with us.  The cat may have been previously owned and is either lost or abandoned, or was born outside to a stray cat.

Feral cats often live in groups, called colonies, and take refuge wherever they can find food—rodents and other small animals and garbage. They live in abandoned buildings, deserted cars, and under porches looking for warmth in the winter months and to keep cool during the summer heat.

Left unaltered, free-roaming cats continue to reproduce creating more homeless kittens.  Through TNR, free-roaming cats live out their lives without adding to the homeless cat population.  According to scientific studies, free-roaming cats gain weight and live healthier lives after being altered. TNR programs are proven to stabilize and significantly reduce the size of free-roaming cat colonies.  By limiting free-roaming cat populations, fewer unwanted and homeless cats are taken to shelters and euthanized.

Never take a feral cat to a shelter. Feral cats are not adoptable and will be euthanized.