Community Benefits of Feral Cats

1) Feral cats can minimize rodent problems. While cats cannot hunt rats and mice into extinction, they can keep their populations in check and discourage new rodents from moving into the area. Often feral cats fill in a gap in the current ecosystem. For example bob cats or lynx used to live up and down the East Coast but were hunted ruthlessly and driven away by development. Feral cats are similar in size and behavior to these native feline predators and help to control the same species of small prey animals.

2) Many people enjoy watching feral cats and observing animals has been shown to lower blood pressure in medical studies.

3) People who help to care for feral cats by feeding them and taking them to the vet enjoy many benefits. Often cat caretakers are elderly and live alone, a population at risk for depression, loneliness, and isolation. Cats relieve these conditions and often bring a sense of happiness and purpose to people who help them. Just as companion animals have been shown extend life expectancies, lower blood pressure, and relieve stress, caring for feral cats improves the health of their caretakers.

4) Individuals who cannot take on the full time commitment of adopting a companion animal can participate in programs to help feral cats. This provides a viable alternative to irresponsibly purchasing an animal one is not prepared to care for.

5) An established, stable, vaccinated, and sterilized colony of feral cats will deter other stray and feral cats from moving into the area. This actually decreases the risk that residents will encounter an unvaccinated cat, and will virtually eliminate problem behaviors like fighting and spraying.

Preventing Colonies from Forming

Although CCR protects and defends feral cats and promotes their humane control, we also work on programs that prevent new colonies from forming. Preventing colonies from forming means working with the caretakers of domestic housecats, and with local animal shelters, and implementing the following:

low-cost spay/neuter programs and neuter-before-adoption
helping people solve cat behavior problems to stop cats from being abandoned
encourage innovative and aggressive marketing programs for shelters animals
increase supply of rental housing where animals are allowed
restrict backyard breeding
humane education.

Ordinances are difficult to enforce and offering low-cost or free sterilization programs are usually more effective.

Blaming the feeders for the problem

Many blame caregivers for perpetuating the problem by feeding stray and feral cats. While it is true supplemental feeding creates healthier animals and increases the chance of more kittens surviving, feral colonies survive even if only meager food sources such as garbage and rodents are available. This has been proven in deserts and on deserted islands throughout the world where ferals survive without any nearby human habitation.

Instead of blaming the feeders and criminalizing their actions (which is often suggested), we should encourage their acts of compassion by assisting them with the resources and information available to sterilize the animals. In a recent poll, it was estimated that 17.5 million people feed 35.2 million stray and feral cats in the U.S. It seems a natural act for humans to feed an animal to keep it from starving. Those cats turned away from a possible food source will cross busy highways in search of other sustenance. They will suffer from malnutrition and starvation, and most will still survive and manage to add to the overpopulation of feral kittens. A good life in a managed, sterilized colony with a caretaker providing nutritious food is much more preferable.
Scapegoating cats

This current trend towards scapegoating cats is very dangerous, as it fosters cruelty to animals. At ACR we believe that all animals, whether exotic, alien, nuisance or so-called pests are all sentient beings and should be given humane care and treatment. Nonlethal methods for controlling their populations exist and should be advocated by all humane and environmental groups who are trying to instill a more compassionate ethic towards the earth and all her inhabitants.