Behind the name... how we became "Starfish to the Sea."

What is a feral cat?

 Many people have heard of the term "feral" in relation to the cat, but may not know exactly what it means.  The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) describes feral cats as the following:

"Feral cats are unsocialized cats who may be one or more generations removed from a home environment and may live in a group, or colony, of similar cats. These cats and their offspring are victims of abandonment, accidental loss, and failure by owners to sterilize their pets." source- HSUS Position Statement, Trap-Neuter-Return

 Just because a cat is living outside does not mean it is feral.  Many cats are allowed to roam out-of-doors by their owners, some living exclusively outside.  Cats who have owners or at least readily accept human contact are more correctly called simply "outdoor cats" or "strays," respectively. Feral cats may have been born wild, or may be abandoned or lost pets who actually revert to a wild state of being once on their own.  Feral cats usually live in colonies, a group of just a few to dozens that gather around the same food source.  Often seen in alleys, abandoned buildings, barns and farms, these cats live in proximity to whatever source of nourishment and shelter is most convenient.

Feral cats are a problem.

We love cats, but freely admit that feral cats have no place in our society, and most especially not in the numbers in which they are generally seen.  They can be destructive, might spray homes and property with urine and musk to mark territory, are often heard fighting and yowling at night, can cause accidents by running across the road in front of automobiles, and they are vectors of diseases, including the zoonotic Rabies virus.

So what do you do with them?

Animal control, local government and other groups attempt to eradicate feral cats all over the country, with no success.  Where there is a viable food source, cats will move in.  Assuming a management team was able to round up and destroy every feral cat in a city, it is likely that by the same time next year, a whole new colony will have moved in to take their place.  This method of "dealing" with feral cats is very costly as time, equipment and supplies are needed not just once but every time more cats move in.

Adoption is not an option, feral cats are wild and just like other wild animals should not be brought into the home.  Putting aside the very real threat of injury to their human caretakers, the cat brought into a home often lives a life of fear and stress until it dies on its own or hurts someone and has to be quarantined or euthanized. It is not fair to the cats.  As much as they may look like our Tiger or Fluffy, feral cats should be respected as wild animals.

STAR advocates only TNR as an efficient way of dealing with feral cats.  TNR- Trap, Neuter, and Return- is defined by its name.  Feral cats are caught in humane, or "box" traps, and taken to the vet or special clinics to be spayed or neutered, and then they are released back into their own territory.