Pets ALIVE and Feral Cats

Pets ALIVE is proud to offer spay and neuter services to feral cats.

What is a feral cat?

The following has been taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

A feral cat is a cat that has been separated from domestication through abandonment, loss, or escape, and has become wild. The term also refers to descendants of such cats. It is a common myth that feral cats usually cannot be re-socialized, even though it is difficult and sometimes unsuccessful. Feral kittens, however, may be socialized to live with humans if they are taken from a feral colony before they are about twelve weeks old.

Feral cats may live alone, but are usually found in large groups called feral colonies with communal nurseries, depending on resource availability. Many abandoned pet cats join these colonies out of desperation.

The average life span of a feral cat that survives beyond kittenhood is usually less than two years, while a domestic housecat lives an average of sixteen years or more. Most feral kittens have little chance of surviving more than a few months and are vulnerable to starvation, predators, disease, and even flea-induced anemia.

— Excerpted from entry, "Feral cat." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Mar 2006, 16:42 UTC. 26 Mar 2006, 02:19, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feral_cat&oldid=44828294.

What can we do about feral cats?

Because they may be seen as a nuisance and are considered unadoptable, in past years feral cats were routinely trapped and then killed. However, this practice has been shown to be unsuccessful in reducing feral cat populations. As cats are permanently removed from colonies, new cats flock to the vacated areas to take advantage of the resources. Once there, they breed prolifically, quickly populating a new colony with descendants that are more cautious and more disease-resistant. This “vacuum effect” is well-documented. As such, the trap/kill effort becomes increasingly unproductive in the effort to reduce numbers. The stressful pattern of population flux continues to cause a percentage of colony members to move on to other locations, and carry on the cycle elsewhere.The pattern is never-ending, with the cats being doomed to endure unhealthy lives, procreating and dying or relocating until they eventually die traumatic deaths.

In more recent times, the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method has been shown to be enormously successful in reducing cat populations, while also offering the animals acceptably healthy lives. TNR is a plan in which feral cats are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and neutered by veterinarians. The altered cats are then returned to their familiar habitat to live out their lives under the watchful care of people. TNR works. Disease and malnutrition are greatly reduced. The cats live healthy, safe, and peaceful lives in their territories. Over time, the number of feral cats diminishes through simple attrition. Eventually, everyone benefits: cats, wildlife, and people. Numerous organizations across the nation are actively working to reduce the feral cat population through TNR. Their care and hard work is making a difference, but there is still much to do. National organizations that recognize the benefits and support TNR are:

How do feral cats affect wildlife?

Many people feel that cats are to blame for the depletion of songbirds and other animals. However, more than 60 studies from throughout the world show that feral cats are mainly scavengers, relying on garbage and handouts from people; even those who must rely solely on hunting for food kill many more rodents than birds. Furthermore, many international biologists agree that —with the exception of small islands—cats are able to prey on a wildlife population without destroying it.

>>Read the position of the Humane Society of the US in regard to feral cats and wildlife in general.
>>More on cat predation and wildlife from Alley Cat Allies

What is the Pets ALIVE protocol for spaying/neutering feral cats?

Due to the unpredictable nature of capturing feral cats, we do not require an appointment for feral cats to be admitted for spaying and neutering. Feral cats will only be accepted for treatment, however, if transported in a live / humane trap. This is for the safety of the animal and of our vet staff.
Pets ALIVE has live / humane traps available for loan. There is no fee for borrowing a trap; however, a $50 refundable deposit is required.
In order to accommodate our weekday-only surgery schedule, traps should be set Sunday through Thursday. Trapped feral cats can be brought to the Clinic Monday through Friday morning.
Once at the Clinic, the guardian / caretaker will be asked to complete and sign an admission form and patient information sheet. We realize that very little may be known about this animal, but any information could help to ensure the cat’s safe care at our facility. Especially pertinent would be reports of recent litters, injuries, or illness.
We understand that feral cats experience a great deal of trauma from being trapped, and our staff takes special care to minimize their stress levels.
The nature of feral cats requires special handling procedures to ensure both their safety and that of our caring staff. Having the cat in a live / humane trap allows us to handle the animal very minimally until it is indeed anesthetized and safe to touch. The trap and cat together are weighed after their arrival. We then subtract the weight of the trap to determine a reasonable estimation of the cat’s weight in order to calculate the proper anesthetic dose.
Each cat will be assessed for health issues and, if necessary, will be treated for ticks, fleas, ear mites, abscesses, wounds, eye injuries, etc.
We support and practice “ear-tipping” as an acceptable means of preventing the stress that occurs when an already-altered animal is re-trapped. (See a photo of an ear-tipped cat.) For that reason, we will ear-tip each sterilized feral cat. We may make an exception in the case of a juvenile cat that is young enough to be tolerant of domestication. The ear-tipping is completed while the animal is under surgical anesthesia; recovery from the procedure involves minimal discomfort.
A rabies vaccination will be administered to all feral cats over the age of twelve weeks. We will judge the age by the eruption of permanent incisors at that age.

What happens in surgery?

Feral cats receive an intramuscular injection of Telazol. This medication is quickly, and hopefully with minimal trauma, administered by gently guiding the cat to one end of the trap for access to the thigh. Once injected, sedation is complete enough to allow the cat to be removed from the trap and examined more closely. We determine the gender and the precise weight, and then proceed to intubate to continue the anesthesia. At no time after the injection is the cat left unsupervised! He/she is placed on gas anesthesia, is pulse-ox monitored, and the surgery site is prepared. In prep (or in the O.R.), the left ear pinna is scrubbed, and a small notch is removed from the tip of the pinna. We keep a hemostatic instrument in place until the cat has recovered to the point of returning to their trap.
A rabies vaccination must be administered (by law) to all feral cats over twelve-weeks old. Age is determined by dentally examining for the eruption of permanent incisors, as age-appropriate.
Once the surgical sterilization procedure is complete, the cat is moved to the recovery area where he/she will rest on a warmed rice bag while the ears are cleaned and any other health issues are addressed.
Each cat receives a subcutaneous injection of butorphanol. This is an analgesic that will stay with him/her for three to four hours. The cats will also receive the comfort and reassurance of kind and caring hands while they are in our midst.

How are the cats returned to their environment?

Feral cats are typically released to the caregiver / guardian the same day as surgery, with instructions to leave it in the live-trap overnight. This helps to ensure the animal’s safety in that it will be unable to defend itself due to the effects of anesthesia. Keeping the cat in the trap also allows the caregiver / guardian to monitor the recovery progress. Food and water should be offered that night (in the trap of course!). If the cat has recovered to the fully awake state, i.e., able to walk, breathing well, all systems functioning normally, then he/she may be released from the trap the next day.
We do not recommend releasing feral cats into an enclosed area, such as a garage or shed. While this would seem like a nice thing to do, in many instances it may actually cause additional fear-related stress to the cat. Also, a feral cat attempting to get away from an environment that it does not recognize may cause self-injury and/or injure well-intended humans.

Do you want to learn more about feral cats?

Several organizations offer a wealth of information and support of feral cats:

IndyFeral - a feral cat association based in Indianapolis
Alley Cat Allies - an organization working on feral cat programs and issues nationwide
Feral Cat Coalition - a San Diego organization offering information and help
Spay USA offers recommendations for grass roots action YOU can take

Do you need assistance with feral cats? We have financial assistance available!
In the Bloomington area you may also contact Feral Cat Friends by email or phone, (812) 323-8209. http://www.feralcatfriendsinc.org, 816 Auto Mall Road Suite 221, Bloomington, Indiana 47401

We may be able to provide more information about feral cat resources in your area. Please contact Pets ALIVE at info@petsaliveindiana.org.