A feral cat is an unowned and untamed cat separated from domestication.Feral cats are born in the wild and may take a long time to socialise,or may be abandoned or lost pets that have become wild.They should not be confused with the wildcat which are not descended from domestic cats.A stray cat (or alley cat) while unowned,still exhibits temperament similar to that of a pet.[1] In popular usage,these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.
In Australia,the term "feral cat" refers to cats living and breeding entirely in the wild.Significant populations of Australian wildlife that are poorly adapted to this effective predator,including marsupials,reptiles,and birds,have allowed the establishment of stable feral cat populations across most of the country.
Adult feral cats that were never socialized with humans can rarely be socialized.Feral kittens can sometimes be socialized to live with dogs.The ideal time for capture is between six and eight weeks of age.Taming at this age may take only a couple of days.Older kittens can be tamed,but it takes longer.Also,an older kitten may bond only with the person working with him or her,which can make adoption difficult but not impossible.
Feral cats may live alone but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies.The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is usually cited at less than two years,while an indoor domestic housecat lives an average of 14 to 20 years.However,feral cats aged 19 (Cat Action Trust) and 26 (Cats Protection) have been reported where food and shelter are available.
Urban areas,Australia,and North America are not native environments for cats.The domestic cat comes from temperate or hot,dry climates and was distributed throughout the world by humans.Cats are extremely adaptable,and feral felines have been found in conditions of extreme cold and heat.They are more susceptible to cold,damp conditions than to cold alone.In addition,they are vulnerable to predators such as dogs,feral pigs,wolves,bears,cougars,bobcats,foxes,crocodilians,birds of prey,and coyotes.
Population control
In the United States,there is debate about how to deal with feral cat populations.Many municipalities make it legal to kill them and classify them as vermin or pests.Some advocate culling feral cat populations by hunting,arguing that it is the most cost-effective method of population control.However,a proposal in the U.S.state of Wisconsin to legalize the hunting of feral cats in an attempt to reduce their population (April 2005) was blocked by the state's lawmakers.South Dakota and Minnesota allow wild cats to be shot.The U.S.spends over $50 million a year to shelter some of these cats.Baits have been used that include a plant that is deadly to introduced species,but harmless to native species.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs are facilitated by many volunteers and organizations in the U.S.These programs trap feral cats,sterilize them through neutering,then release them.Variations of the program include inoculation against rabies and other viruses and sometimes long-lasting flea treatments.Frequently,attending veterinarians cut the tip off one ear during spay/neuter surgery to mark the individual as being previously caught.Volunteers often continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives.Many animal care experts believe that it is prohibitively difficult if not often impossible to domesticate and adopt a feral cat unless it is trapped and socialized before six weeks of age.However there is some evidence that many people have adopted and domesticated adult feral cats successfully.Some feral cat organizations offer techniques to do this.
In Australia,control programs are difficult to devise due to the nocturnal and solitary nature of the feral cats,broad distribution in the landscape and continuous additions to the population from abandoned domestic cats.Due to the danger posed to humans handling the animal,captured feral cats are almost always killed.Trap-neuter-return programs are only now being introduced in some urban and suburban areas such as Adelaide.More recently,such programs have been introduced in Sydney by the "World League for Protection of Animals".
Feral cats can also be controlled by larger native predators like coyotes or dingos because cats are too small to defend themselves against the teeth and claws of the larger predators.
Zoonotic risk
There is increasing concern about the role of feral cat colonies as a vector of disease,particularly toxoplasmosis,giardiasis,the rabies virus,campylobacter,and other diseases and parasites that can infect both domestic cats and humans.Cats are the primary reservoir of toxoplasmosis.Indeed,there has recently been a major crash in sea otter populations on the California coast -- these otters are often found to have toxoplasmosis infections,and although researchers say that "there is no direct evidence that cats or their feces have a part in spreading the single-celled parasite that causes the disease in shellfish- eating otters",they speculate that infected fecal waste from feral cats could enter local watersheds due to surface runoff or domestic cat feces through the sewage system.
The high incident of the rabies virus in populations of un-vaccinated feral cats is of the highest concern and the most costly to public health.Feral cats are susceptible to contracting the virus and thus infecting other animals.Rabies is transmitted through direct contact with the infected saliva and the blood stream or tissues of the new host.Transmission between cats,both male and female,often happens during fights over territory and breeding.Feral cats also are exposed to other wild animals that may be reservoirs for the rabies virus as a direct result of predation.
Rome
Rome,Italy is perhaps the city with the largest feral cat population in the world; its population has been estimated to be between 250,000 and 350,000,organized in about 2,000 colonies,some of them living in famous ancient places such as the Colosseum.Some historians believe the Romans' affection for cats dates from the Roman Empire's conquest of Egypt,where royalty kept cats.Others believe that Rome was spared from devastating outbreaks of the bubonic plague by the city's feral cat population,which kept Rome's rat population low,thus reducing a key plague carrying vector.Whatever the case,Rome's affection for stray felines remains strong.
Canada's Parliament
Main article:Canadian Parliamentary Cats
For many years,a feral cat colony has existed on Canada's Parliament Hill in Ottawa.Tradition associates the cats with a British garrison of the 1850s.In recent years,living structures have been built for them,and they are fed by a volunteer who is given a stipend by the House of Commons.Services are donated by veterinarians in the city,and most of the cats are sterilized.At any time,about 15 cats live in the colony.The present Canadian Prime Minister,Stephen Harper,is a cat fan and takes feral kittens into his home to socialize them before they are put up for adoption in Ottawa's shelters.[citation needed] Visitors to his official residence can expect to be asked if they have room in their homes for a cat.
Crete
On the island of Crete,in Greece,there are also many feral cats which can often be seen begging in tavernas or scavenging from bins.There is a charity to help them:Cretan Cat Care (CCC).The CCC employs a neutering programme to keep the population under control as many feral cats in Crete are the result of unwanted litters of kittens that have been thrown out onto the streets to fend for themselves.
Israel
Many feral cats live throughout Israel in multiple colonies.Feral cats can often be seen walking the streets.They tend to congregate around garbage dumpsters and other waste sites.
Philippines
Feral Cat at a nativity Scene or Belen in Angeles City,Philippines
They are also known as "Pusang Kalye" (or Street Cat),but don't share the same treatment as the Askal or Stray Dog.