What Are Feral Cats?

A feral cat is a domestic cat that was lost or abandoned and has reverted to a wild state, or a cat that was born to a stray or feral mother and had little or no human contact. Adult feral cats are usually impossible to tame and are not suited to living with people. They live in family groups called colonies that form near a source of food and shelter. Feral cat colonies can be found behind shopping area, in alleys, on golf courses, and in rural areas. In Green Valley alone, estimates indicate there are at least 450 feral cats, not including those in Sahuarita and surrounding areas!

A stray cat is a domestic cat that strayed from home and became lost or was abandoned. Because a stray cat was once a companion animal, he or she can usually be resocialized and placed in an adoptive home.

It is estimated there are millions of feral cats in the United States. The average number of litters a fertile cat can produce is three per year. The average number of kittens in a litter is four to six. One fertile cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in seven years!

 

What Is TNR?

Trap, Neuter, Return—is the most humane method of managing feral cat overpopulation and improving the quality of life for feral felines. It has been practiced in Europe and the US for several decades, and research as well as anecdotal evidence indicates that it offers many advantages over the more traditional method of feral cat "control"—eradication.

Removing and killing (or eradicating) feral cats, or moving feral colonies, does not reduce feral cat populations. Instead, it provides space for more cats to move in and begin the breeding process again. Unspayed feral female cats spend most of their lives pregnant and hungry, and so will the female kittens that survive. Unneutered tomcats roam to find?and fight to win?mates and often suffer debilitating wounds in the process. And within their first year, half of all kittens born in feral colonies die.

Paws Patrol believes TNR is the solution which leads to colony stability in the short-term and gradual colony reduction.

 

TNR WORKS!

• TNR is more humane than other methods of feral cat colony management.
• Entire colonies of stray and feral cats are humanely trapped, evaluated, vaccinated and sterilized by veterinarians.
• Disease and malnutrition are greatly reduced.
• The left ear is tipped, an internationally recognized sign that a cat is a member of a managed colony.
• There is a decrease in the cats' hormone-driven nuisance behaviors such as yowling, fighting, spraying, and roaming.
• The odor of cat urine improves about 50% after spaying and neutering.
• The number of cats euthanized at animal shelters reduces. The Humane Society estimates 8-12 million animals enter shelters each year, and of those, up to 50% of cats euthanized are feral or offspring of ferals.

Adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their colonies to be cared for and monitored by neighborhood caregivers. And as often as possible, we utilize local animal groups and individuals to seek homes for adoptable strays and kittens.