Low or No Cost Spay/Neuter in San Jose Area! List of Resources for Feral Trap Rental/Purchase By Feral, Do You Mean Wild? Meet Some Feral Cats! Relocating Feral Cats - Apache's Story URGENT! Barn/Ranch/Outdoor Homes Needed for 30 Feral Cats Feral Cat Success Story/Advice

What is a Feral Cat Colony, and how on earth do they ever get started? This has been and very probably will continue to be a problem for caretakers of cats. Let's take a scenario: Joe, down the street, comes home from work one night to find his child has brought home a kitten. Now, what's not to love about a baby kitten? Joe says okay, you can keep it as long as you take care of it. His child names this little ball of fur and fun Fluffy. Fluffy grows and flourishes under Joe's wife's care. Unfortunately, she doesn't care enough to get Fluffy neutered or have regular health checks, Joe doesn't notice Fluffy at all, and Joe's child has outgrown the "fun" kitten. Fluffy reaches seven months of age and his hormones come in with a vengeance. He begins spraying objects around the house to mark his territory and has taken to roaming the neighborhood at night looking for a little "action". Mrs. Joe becomes quite agitated at the constant urine smell and forces Fluffy to live outside, but Fluffy isn't giving up that easy. His next quest? Joe's car! One morning Joe is leaving for work and picks up a couple of car pool buddies. They make remarks about the ripe smell of his car and Joe arrives home that night in a rage. Fluffy is picked up, put in a carrier and driven to an empty lot just outside of town. He is dumped like excess garbage and the "Joe" family drives away without a backward glance.

M eanwhile, at the other end of the street, the exact same scene has played out except this time the kitten is female. She has taken to yelling and crying all night, looking for Mr. Right. After two nights of missed sleep her family drives her to a spot very near Fluffy's where she too is dumped. These cats have become "homeless". They are someone's beloved pets who were dumped for any number of reasons. They now must forage for food and shelter from the elements. Somehow they find each other, and since neither one was altered, they make a family. Their kittens are Feral Cats. They do not know, nor will they probably ever know, humans. They do not get needed vaccinations, nor are they spayed or neutered. They are left to make their own way in the world and through inbreeding, after about three generations, will begin to show signs of sickly or unformed/malformed kittens.

T his is a cruel scar to be worn by a nation as rich and diverse as ours. This is just one example of why spaying and neutering are needed!

W hat can we do about these colonies? We can, as the species with the opposable thumbs, do a lot. We can humanely trap, then spay/neuter and health check the adults. If they can be socialized and adopted into loving, worthy homes, all the better. Many of these adults are too wild to be socialized, so they are returned to their colonies to live out their lives under the watchful eye of a caretaker who will see that they have adequate food, shelter and fresh water. We can control the Feral Cat Population with very little effort on our part. Humane traps can be bought or borrowed from your local shelter. Please get involved today and save a life. We thank you for this.

Written by Jeri Dopp - Safe Haven for Cats