| Paw Colors | Points |
|---|---|
| Grey | 0-49 |
| Red | 50-149 |
| Orange | 150-299 |
| Green | 300-599 |
| Magenta | 600-1499 |
| Purple | 1500-4999 |
| Blue | 5000-9999 |
| Brown | 10000-24999 |
| Black | 25000+ |
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,[2] 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cat
Keywords: feral cats
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No offense, but I hate reports like this because it deems older ferals untamable and unadoptable. We have worked with feral cats for 9 years. All ages. Sadly many feral agencies in our state set the older cats free after neutering and vaccinating or put them down rather than try to tame them. We’ve found the most aggressive feral will be the one that’s adoptable regardless of age. It does take longer but once that cat builds trust with humans, the cat is more social and outgoing than the fearful feral that many times remains fearful of every movement, sound and strangers. The fearful cat will bond with one person and that makes it hard for adoption. The problem is time involved. Most people won’t invest the time needed to tame these cats. Shelters are inundated with strays and ferals and need the space so time is limited before a decision has to be made about the fate of the feral.
It’s not the AGE of the feral cat but the personality. The fearful feral will be hard to adopt out because changes in their lives make them revert back very quickly and they’ll just go into hiding. A fearful feral is best adopted out with a stronger personality kitten of the litter. That gives that kitten a better chance but does not guarantee the kitten will be social. We had one fearful feral from each litter that only I could handle for a long time as I was the one doing the taming. But as time passes, they have begun to trust the other members of my family. It can take months and in some cases, years.
We trapped 20 feral cats living at a busy trash transfer facility. At the time there was no place for them to go as all the shelters were full and there weren‘t programs to help these cats. They were neutered immediately, vaccinated and brought home to go through the taming process. They are inside only cats. We have the dad who was at least 2 years old and the mother that was 18 months old. She was from the first litter and began having litters after the original mother was killed. Both were very aggressive and had to be handled with towels and gloves. Both took about 8 weeks to completely tame and they are social not only to us but to company we have in our home as well.
Each spring and fall, the mom and dad would have a litter. Finding where they were living was difficult as they moved around quite often whenever they felt threatened. That made it hard when trapping and we couldn’t get them as young as we would have liked. We would get the males at 3 or 4 months old but not get the females until they were 6 months or a year old. Out of the 20 ferals we only have one that we can’t pick up. She was a fearful feral. She’ll take treats from our fingers but remains aloof. The other 19 can be handled, brushed, nails clipped and act like angels at the vet when they go for exams and vaccinations. Many sleep with us and some under the covers. With each litter we would always have one very fearful feral, one that would settle down almost immediately into domesticated life and the others would be very aggressive.
As for living with dogs, we have 3 German Shepherds and a Pit Bull. We actually found that many of the ferals would bond with the dogs before they did with us. We only had one feral cat that hated the dogs and it took months to get her to accept them. She now sleeps with them! I’m a firm believer that nothing is impossible if you have the time and patience.
We have worked with many feral kittens and cats doing the preliminary taming before they went to a new program at the Women’s Prison. The inmates work with the ferals and then they go to the shelter for adoption. I have worked with many older feral cats that were facing euthanasia in shelters because they were deemed not adoptable.
I must say again…it is not the age of the feral that determines whether it will be tamable or adoptable.
Comments to Answer
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Thank you for sharing your insight, Catsofmany!!
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Your welcome, ziggy. I am very passionate about ferals. And sad for them because they are so misunderstood and mishandled.
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I meant to say...my mom thanks you. My mom wrote this and I agree one hundred percent on what she's saying. She wouldn't allow me to handle them when they first came into our house until they had gone through a 3 day watch. She handled them, though. Shame on her! :) I watched her take a feral kitten into her arms two hours after trapping. She would place them against her heart and it was amazing to see them settle down. She's called the Cat Whisperer by many people. I have to share a funny story, though. One night my dad and I went to check the trap. We had caught a 14 week old kitten. We warned my mom that he was very aggressive. We got him into the dog crate and left the room. An hour later we heard my mom spout off some not so nice words. She had put her hand into the cage and the little monster had gone ballistic! We named him Kuda for Barracuda because it means sharp teeth. Dad and I laughed because we had warned her! But two hours later, she had him in her arms and he sighed and went to sleep.
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