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What Is A Feral Cat
How To Help A Feral Cat- A feral cat is a non-domesticated cat. They live outdoors and have little or no human contact. They were born outside and only know how to live wild. A stray cat is a lost or a cat that was once domesticated. These cats have had some sort of human contact, unlike the feral cat. Often victims of irresponsible, thoughtless, and often cruel human behavior. Most ferals live fewer than two or three years in unsupported environments.
TNR Programs
Most communities have set up a local TNR (Trap Neuter and Release) program. This prevents the cat colonies from growing. A feral cat can reproduce up to 180 kittens in its one lifetime. So it’s important for us to help them out. We have a couple of resources in our area that helps and even lend out traps so that you can trap them. Most places rely on fundraising and awareness to help cover the vet costs for this service. Some vets donate their interns and time to help as well.
How To Help A Feral Cat
Some municipalities tend to have bylaws that do not allow feeding wild animals. You can, however, find a local rescue to help. Our local Humane Society does have a TNR program. You can take a course on how to care for a cat colony. The first thing first is to trap them and find a place where they TNR Feral Cats. You will be expected to release them back.
As a lot of cats brought in are too Feral for rehabilitation. You will be expected to do some aftercare. Once released back to their environment, they will not be able to reproduce. They will also have a microchip and rabies shots. This is the first step in helping out a feral cat.
I am going to redirect you to a page full of resources and everything you need to care for a Feral Cat and other resources. The Ontario SPCA has a ton of information you will find helpful. So do please visit the site. You can always find a Rescue place as well. We have a few in our GTA area.
When we first started helping the local Feral Cats in our community. There were no resources like this. That was almost 10 years ago. So rather than turning the cheek, there is a lot of ways to help. Directly or Indirectly. Click on the link under the video to go to their Feral Cat Section on their site.
Kitchener Waterloo Area
In the KW area, we have a place called the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue. They are always in need of donations and volunteers. I have watched them from the beginning of their journey on Facebook. I was trying to find help myself with the feral cat colony in our area.
We were able to TNR all the cats this year. There are a few people caring for the colony in our area. I am happy we could be part of making a difference. I got a lot of information and tips from the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue. So don’t be afraid to reach out to other places and help the cats that need help.
You can also purchase a live trap on Amazon. Most TNR clinics will not accept Feral Cats unless they are in a live trap. Not a cat carrier. Also for bait food, I would suggest making a trail of treats to the tuna inside the cage. It worked for us every time. Now it is just where we can take them.
How To Help A Feral Cat On Your Own {Update}
I did this post a while back and have updated this section. I have reached out to the KSC rescue for a few people and got pretty much the same response. It can be very unfortunate for the cats that didn’t make it and freeze to death because people are not educated on how to successfully trap them.
Please watch the video below for more information about the Kitchener Stray Cat Rescue. However, from her recent post, I wouldn’t recommend reaching out to her right away. (Unless the cat is injured or in need of immediate help) You may get a message similar to this one below in her post.
Not everyone can take in a stray cat however setting up some feral cat houses can be the solution until a rescue place can make more room for them. Funding places like these we hope the money actually goes more into the rescue efforts as well as the caring end of it. However, that is not always the case. Some are just overwhelmed, underfunded, understaffed, or even lost patience with people as you can see from the above post.
Because Feral cats fall through the loopholes it may be better sometimes to try to help them yourself, It is my best recommendation at this point. Rescue Organizations are not magicians and can only do so much at a time. That I do agree with within the post! They really do rely on us to help them grow and succeed to take in more cats.
So before you rescue the cat, make sure you have a good support system and resources from the OSPCA. Reach out to a rescue organization that can help and don’t give up on the first one that turns you down. Remember sometimes they just don’t have enough space for new rescues. The Toronto Street Cat Rescue is amazing. They do not refuse anyone and they help when they can. You can go to their page and purchase a Feral Cat House for only $10-$15.
These are people in the Kitchener and Waterloo area doing all they can to help these cats survive and possibly have a second chance at life. They have an amazing story to tell. Since publishing this post. Tammy and her partners have been able to purchase a facility to do more work in the Feral Cat Community.
They have their own Instagram and website now and are still fighting every day for these feral cats. With all the strays in our area, it has been hard for them I am sure. I just hope we can have more organizations started to help the ones falling through the cracks.
Ontario OSPCA has resources to help feed and care for a colony. TNR information and more. Please check out the link. You can also adopt these cats as working cats. The KW Humane Society offers a program for that as well. Please also check out our other article on making a feral cat shelter.
