Helping Feral Cats

It might be helpful to start by explaining the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat. A stray is a cat that was once someone's pet and became lost or abandoned. Stray cats might be either frightened or friendly, but they are tame. If you find a stray, you should take it in and try to find its owner, or if this is not possible call your local animal control or shelter. A feral cat is usually a cat that was born outdoors, has never been owned, and is very much like a wild animal, fearful of humans. If a tame female cat is abandoned, gives birth to a litter outdoors and the kittens grow up without human contact, this will be a first generation of feral cats and this is how a cat colony gets started.

If left unchecked, feral cats will breed incessantly, the colony will grow rapidly, creating a public nuisance, and cats and kittens will suffer. What can you do? If you are feeding feral cats it is essential to get them spayed and neutered so they cannot reproduce. This is called TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return). Rather than putting a lot of information on this web site about trapping and neutering cats, instead we are providing the links below. These are some great web sites if you want to learn about TNR from the experts. One of the kindest things you can do as a cat lover, right up there with adopting a cat, is to get a feral cat spayed or neutered. You must be prepared to educate yourself and do some of the work yourself. You may be able to find some assistance, but it is very difficult to find anyone willing to come out and do it all for you. Remember that with just a little time and effort, you can improve a cat's life immeasurably, and prevent the birth of future generations of kittens.

Local organizations that help with feral cats:

CATS ASSISTANCE NETWORK, Nancy Barr-Brandon, (908) 902-5343

SPAY, NEUTER AND PROTECT STRAYS (SNAPS) P.O. Box 92, Oakhurst, NJ 07755 Phone number currently not available

MONMOUTH COUNTY SPCA 260 Wall St. Eatontown, NJ (732) 542-0040

What does Pet Adoption Network do to help feral cats? PAN is an adoption agency for domestic pets, and not extensively involved in TNR. However, over the years we have trapped, spayed and neutered many feral cats that our volunteers have come across. When there are kittens involved that are young enough to be tamed, we place them for adoption. A fairly high percentage of the kittens we have placed for adoption over the years started their lives in outdoor cat colonies. Many "cat trapppers" have brought us young kittens for adoption. We also have a limited number of traps we can loan to people who are trying to catch a feral cat or cats. We can give advice and steer people towards resources. If you would like to talk to us about feral cats, please email us at PANinc@att.net. Below are pictures of some feral cats spayed and neutered by Pet Adoption Network.

This cat has been spayed and returned to her colony outside a factory, where all the employees enjoy feeding the cats.

This cat is recovering from spay surgery in a cage. You can see from her expression she can't wait to get back outdoors.