They say that this new term is euphemistic, that it distracts from feral cats being an environmental problem, and that it has connotations that falsely imply that feral cats exist with the consent of the communities where they live, and that the public has a moral obligation to support them in the outdoors. Īccording to conservation biologists Christopher Lepcyzk and Michael Calver, activists who seek to normalize feral cats in the environment are attempting to rebrand feral cats as community cats. The general idea is that owned cats that wander away from their homes may become stray cats, and stray cats that have lived in the wild for some time may become feral.
The lines between stray and feral cat are diffuse. Some of these terms are also used to refer to stray cats, although stray and feral cats are generally considered to be different by rescuers, veterinarians, and researchers. The meaning of the term feral cat varies between professions and countries, and is sometimes used interchangeably with other terms such as free-roaming, street, alley, or community cat. įeral cats in Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome. Some animal rights groups advocate trap-neuter-return programs to prevent the feral cats from continuing to breed, but there is scientific evidence that TNR is not effective at controlling feral cat populations.
Attempts to control feral cat populations are widespread but generally of greatest impact within purpose-fenced reserves. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk.įeral cats are devastating to wildlife, and conservation biologists consider them to be one of the worst invasive species on Earth. Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments.
A feral cat with a tipped ear indicating it was neutered in a trap-neuter-return programĪ feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat ( Felis catus) that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans.
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