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What is a feral cat? And how do I know it’s feral?
A feral or “wild” cat is one that has not been socialized and tolerates little or no human contact. Descended from abandoned domestic cats, they live outdoors in places like backyards and alleys. Typical signs that a cat is feral include hissing at and running away from humans. For more a more detailed description, see the Neighborhood Cats website, “What is a feral cat?”
Rescued kittens 12 weeks old and under are typically adoptable, with increasing difficulty between the 8-12 week period, depending on the situation (their previous level of positive exposure to people, general environment, personality, etc.). To get a better idea of how old your kittens are, see the kitten development pictures.
With adult cats, it is more difficult to tell whether they are feral. Some abandoned domestic cats revert to a feral state as they try to survive on the streets. Some ferals learn to associate people with food and will appear somewhat friendly. The main indicator is touch—if you can approach and pet the animal, they are most likely friendly.
Another frequent tell-tale sign is whether the cat vocalizes for help or food. Usually, this means they are conditioned to receive caretaking from people and might have previously have been owned.
There is a wide spectrum from timid to friendly, even if the cat once lived inside and is an abandoned housecat. See if you can establish trust by regular feeding, and gauge how skittish she is around you.
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There are feral cats in my yard! How can I help them?
The most important thing you can do to improve their lives and reduce their suffering is to practice trap-neuter-return (TNR). The first step is to take the Neighborhood Cats workshop, a one-time session that covers the who/what/where/when/why of TNR. Workshop certification is required for anyone to borrow from local trap banks and to use the free feral spay/neuter services. For workshop dates, please see Neighborhood Cats Events.
Slope Street Cats also offers the TNR workshop in Brooklyn twice a year. Check this website or contact SSC for upcoming dates.
Once you've taken the workshop, arrange your spay/neuter date. You can schedule a free appointment with the ASPCA mobile clinic or the Humane Society. Note that the free clinics are “first come, first serve” and sometimes overextended, so you will need to schedule 1-2 months in advance.
If you don’t mind paying, you can go to a feral-friendly private veterinarian, some of whom accept the MAMA certificate (low-cost feral spay/neuter/rabies/eartip coupon). If using a private vet practice, we recommend bringing with you the ASPCA Feral Cat Sterilization Protocol sheet (pdf) to ensure veterinary staff handle the cat properly and safely.
Recovery Space. Once you have a spay/neuter date scheduled, make sure you have a place to hold and care for the cat(s) pre- and post-operation, in their traps. It will need to be a secure, enclosed area, away from other animals and safe from people, as well as at least 70 degrees in fall/winter and temperature-controlled in summer. The cats will be in traps so it will be harder for them to regulate their body temperatures—keeping them safe at this point depends on you! Many people use their bathrooms for 1-2 cats. Spare rooms, temp-regulated basements or garages, et cetera, can also be used.
Humane Traps. You will need 36" double-door humane traps. You can borrow traps from any of the TNR local area trap banks. Both Slope Street Cats and Neighborhood Cats lend out traps for free as part of our community support.
For more information, see our Feral Cat Caretaker Resources page.
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How can I get help with my trap-neuter-return project?
First, sign up for the TNR workshop from Neighborhood Cats, which will give you a good background in how TNR works. We need to know that you understand what’s involved in TNR and that you agree to the process before we start helping you make it happen! We would love to train people during projects, but we are an all-volunteer group with limited time to help and want to help as many people as we can! It's only three hours long and we've all taken it as well.
If you’re nervous or curious as to how your own project will go, feel free to volunteer for a day or two on a Slope Street Cats TNR project to gain experience. Please email us for more information.
After you’ve taken the workshop, contact us to let us know that you'd like to receive assistance. State how many cats are involved (including how many ferals, pregnant females, kittens under 10 weeks, friendly cats you can physically handle), whether you have or need recovery space, and where in Brooklyn the cats are located (your residence, someone else's property, industrial area, etc.).
For more sources of assistance, see the NYC Feral Cat Initiative website.
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How can I get rid of the cats?
In the past, many city/state animal control offices believed that removing and euthanizing feral cats would reduce their numbers and solve the problem—but that didn’t happen. Cats are prolific breeders, and because irresponsible people continue to abandon unfixed cats, the areas become repopulated soon after the previous residents have been removed—a phenomenon known as the "vacuum effect." Not only is removing and killing cats unsuccessful and expensive, it also fails to gain public support because of its cruelty.
Trap-neuter-return is more effective—and humane—than removal and/or killing because:
neutered cats prevent other cats from entering “their” territory—and thus the numbers decrease over time
neutering greatly reduces noise (no fighting over mates means no mating yowls)
it reduces offending cat smells (neutered males will not “spray” urine to mark territory)
those who hate cats will see fewer of them
those who love cats will see less suffering, fewer mouths to feed, and fewer kittens to rescue.
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How can i keep cats out of my yard?
Both Neighborhood Cats and Alley Cat Allies provide excellent tips for keeping cats out of unwanted areas.
See the following:
Neighborhood Cats, “Keeping Cats Out of Gardens & Yards”
Alley Cat Allies, “How to Live With Cats in Your Neighborhood”
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Can I trap the cats myself without taking the TNR workshop?
We understand that there can be time constraints with regard to taking the TNR course. The Humane Society online TNR course is an alternative option which you can take any time, any day.
Attempting to trap without proper training is not safe for the cat or you. Moreover, workshop certification is required to get access to free trap loans and free spay/neuter services. Most feral-friendly vets familiar with NYC protocol will not treat ferals unless they're in traps because they can't handle them safely unless they're sedated first (the trap makes this easier).
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Can I pay someone to take care of this situation for me?
Because of severely limited resources, there is no city agency that will come trap feral cats. Moreover, most TNR assistance groups (such as Slope Street Cats) exist to support the cat caretakers in spay/neutering their colonies. Because of the vast number of requests for help they receive, they lack the manpower to come and do TNR projects solely on behalf of others. It’s incumbent upon community members to step up and pitch in (and when you do, we will be there to help you)!
TNR without active involvement by local residents is not as successful. Communication among neighbors is key to solving problems, and the colony will need to be monitored and cared for over time.
Your best bet is to spay/neuter all the cats, to first stabilize and then lower the population. Fixed cats will be less noisy (less mating means less fighting over mating) and cause fewer odors too (no more spraying to mark territory).
Who is feeding the cats? If it’s not you (or not just you), it’s essential to work with the feeder to get the cats fixed. S/he might already be working on or interested in doing a TNR project. One way to find out is to leave notes near the food with your contact information. If you don’t want to give out your personal number, use an email address—you can even create one specifically for communicating about the cats using a free mail service like Yahoo.
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Can I domesticate a feral cat?
Rescued kittens 12 weeks old and under are typically adoptable, with increasing difficulty between the 8-12 week period, depending on the situation (their previous level of positive exposure to people, general environment, personality, etc.). To get a better idea of how old your kittens are, see the kitten development pictures.
Socializing an adult feral cat is difficult, even impossible. It requires an enormous commitment of time and patience. It may be that the cat is better off outdoors, as many ferals are too stressed out by indoor living.
Please exercise caution in trying to socialize any borderline-friendly outdoor cats—it can be successful, but you risk being stuck with a semi-friendly, unadoptable cat who can no longer be released outside. We recommend having a vet lightly ear-tip all borderline cats when you get them fixed, and trying to socialize them for two weeks if you think they have a chance to be adoptable.
We caution against holding borderline cats for more than two weeks in a foster home, in case you need to return them to their colony—in the winter they will start to lose their winter coats indoors, making them ill-adapted for cold weather upon release. In the milder seasons, physical safety is less a concern but colony placement still is—if you try to re-introduce a cat into a colony that has since readjusted its hierarchy, the cat may need to fight to re-establish itself if new cats have moved into their place.
For more information on socialization, see the following fact sheets:
“Congratulations! You’re the Proud Owner of a (Formerly) Feral Cat” (pdf), Alley Cat Allies
“Socializing Feral Kittens” (pdf), Tompkins County SPCA
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What if a cat is sick or injured?
What to do if you find a sick or injured cat very much depends on if the cat is handleable.
Sick or injured cats often need a full exam and a week or two (if not more) of medication, depending on the illness. If the cat is friendly, bring him/her to the vet immediately for an exam, and try to arrange some emergency foster space, separate from your own pets.
See the low-cost vet services section on our website, but be aware that vetting sick animals can be expensive. If you have a maximum amount you can spend, let the vet know beforehand. If using a private veterinarian, always check to see if they give a stray/rescue discount.
If the cat is feral and looks like it has a cold (runny nose and eyes) but is still eating, follow Neighborhood Cats’ instructions for boosting immune systems—upgrade the food and add supplements like vitamin C (in the correct dosage for all cats eating from the food) for two weeks to see if the cat’s health improves. Upgrade the cat’s shelter, making sure it is dry, warm, and well-protected from the elements.
If your vet recommends antibiotics, s/he might dispense them to be put in the feral cat’s food (you would need to separate that cat from others when eating) to see if that works before stressing the cat out and risking its immune system by retrapping. If the cat is NOT eating, you will likely have to trap, quarantine, and medicate as the vet recommends.
If the feral can be medicated via its food and only needs a week or two of medicine, chances for recovery are good. If the feral needs extensive or ongoing treatment and needs to be kept indoors for significant periods, you will have to make a very hard decision as to whether you would like to keep this feral as a pet (and whether the cat would even tolerate being kept indoors, in a foreign environment) or if it would be better to euthanize the cat so s/he doesn't suffer outside without treatment. Every situation is different and depends on the resources you have available for this particular cat.
In cases where you must trap a sick or injured cat, use extreme caution in selecting a vet to do the exam. You have a limited timeframe to treat the cat and need an excellent vet with a great track record. Please feel free to contact Slope Street Cats for recommendations.
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