By Burt Glover
Written in March 2023

Editor’s note: Earlier this month, the New York Times ran an article titled, “How to Clear 500,000 Feral Cats From New York Streets” — a boldly worded challenge whose solution was not forthcoming. This brought to mind two pieces on the subject that were written for the Aiken Chronicles in March 2023. Both were shelved, due in part to the divisive nature of the topic, but primarily because the information received on local policy with feral cats and strays in Aiken County was so inconsistent as to be impossible to state with any certainty.. This is not to criticize or lay any fault whatsoever on the many caring, dedicated and hardworking people who give generously and tirelessly of their time, energies and financing to help stray and feral cats in Aiken; it’s just to state a matter of fact. In the interest of opening the conversation and bringing facts to the surface, both pieces will be published this week. Any and all corrections of fact are encouraged and welcomed.

Recently, I visited my brother in the upstate. Over coffee on the porch one morning, I noticed he had feral cats living under his back building. “Yeah,” I told him. “I have some cats living under the outbuilding in my own back yard.” After a moment’s thought, I added, “Come to think of it, so does Mom.” 

This led me to give further thought to feral populations of domestic cats. Researching this subject has been saddening. I’ve owned multiple cats most of my life. When I see a feral cat, I see a cat that, under different circumstances, could have been one of my beloved pets. From a distance, I can wax idealistic on the feral cat under my brother’s shed. Taking a closer look at the situation, other realities settle in. 

First, What is a Feral Cat?

When unneutered/unspayed house cats and/or their kittens are abandoned by their owners or wander off, they become strays. When these strays get together, they produce kittens. If kittens are not socialized to humans before the age of 4 months they become wild — known as feral cats. Once that four month deadline is passed, the ability to socialize them to become pets all but disappears. Former house cats can also revert to feral behaviors after a time in the wild. Although they are not native to the US, large populations of feral cats exist in all 50 states. 

The Numbers

Estimates on feral cat populations in the US vary, ranging from 30-100 million and up, with general agreement centering around 70 million feral cats. With unneutered cats capable of breeding 2 to 3 times per year, one pair of cats (such as those living in my backyard) can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring in as little as seven years. Even if that number is cut in half, one must wonder why we aren’t being overrun with these felines. I did some research and learned that, sadly, it’s because they die. 

Short Lives

To become an adult, a feral cat needs to survive kittenhood– and only 1 in 5 survives to five months of age. An unhealthy mother is less able to feed her kittens, causing malnourishment. The intestinal worms and parasites passed to the kittens cause further weakening; fleas and lice continue this process. Diarrhea caused by worms creates severe intestinal problems. Viruses passed on by the mother include feline AIDS, leukemia and chlamydophila. The latter is a bacterial infection that causes respiratory infections, crusts their noses shut, and causes conjunctivitis that can rupture the eyeballs and cause blindness. In addition to all of the above, dogs, foxes, coyotes and snakes take their toll on feral cats, as well as cars, angry humans, other cats and starvation. Life for a kitten is difficult.

Feral cats that survive the perils of kittenhood grow into adults who will continue to suffer the same threats and ills — most of which would be easily avoided or treated in a house cat. Crawling around in dumpsters and battling with predators, prey, and other cats inflicts injuries that can abscess and kill. Respiratory and intestinal blockage occur from swallowing bones or foreign objects. Ear mites cause intense relentless itching, scratching and pain. Add to this: urinary tract infections, dental infections, tetanus, distemper, rabies…. Life for feral adults is also difficult.

For further reading, see “Feral Cats:”

Even with all these life-shortening hazards, the numbers of feral cats continue to increase.

What’s To Be Done?

The ASPCA and many other organizations advocate the TNR (trap, neuter, return) program as the humane approach to curbing the overpopulation of feral cats. Supporting these efforts are many individuals and smaller, local organizations across the country that thoughtfully put food out for colonies of stray and feral cats. Some go to great lengths and expense to set up feeding stations at centralized locations. These efforts help keep cats alive, however they also draw other cats, including unneutered feral cats, to the colony. In addition to being more aggressive and likely to fight, these unneutered ferals breed and create even more cats.

I did a very unscientific calculation of the number of feral cats in Aiken County and came up with the number of around 30,500, which is likely an underestimate. Who will trap this number of cats for TNR? Who will neuter all these cats? Who will pay for it? Even if they could somehow be caught, neutering 70 of these cats per week in Aiken County alone would take eight years to accomplish. More on this topic in a moment.

The Wildlife Society, Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy, and numerous other wildlife organizations oppose TNR programs as being both ineffective at reducing feral cats populations and for doing nothing to reduce the predation on wildlife. The Wildlife Society’s position paper on this states its opposition to “introduction or maintenance of invasive species and feral species that threaten the survival of indigenous species.” These organizations promote, among other measures, educating the public on the effects of free-ranging and feral cats on wildlife, as well as a call to keep cats indoors or, if outdoors, only in an enclosure or on a leash.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) asserts that it is cruel to neuter a cat, then release it back to dismal conditions where it will certainly live a short life of suffering. They state that cats are the number one threat to birds in the US, killing 2.4 billion of them annually, not to mention billions of snakes, lizards, bunnies, bats, chipmunks, squirrels, etc. PETA’s position is that it’s wrong to favor the lives of cats over the lives the multiple billions of other natural wildlife that they kill annually. PETA advocates expanding the capacity of shelters to accept all cats. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the difficulty of this approach.

Other Realities

Feral cats spread viruses, bacterial infections, internal parasites, fleas, ticks and fungal infections wherever they live — playgrounds, beaches, parks, gardens, barns, agricultural fields, city streets. This occurs mostly from contamination of soil with their poop. Transmission of their pathogens (especially hookworms, roundworms, ringworm, toxoplasmosis, salmonella and tetanus) to humans occurs through contact with the soil or eating improperly washed fruits and vegetables.

For further reading, see “Zoonic Diseases and Free Roaming Cats.”

In the agricultural industry, parasites spread by feral cats form cysts in the muscles of cattle, hogs and sheep which can infect humans through eating undercooked meat. Rain also splashes the parasites and bacteria, including salmonella, onto agricultural crops, causing sickness and recalls. Water supplies are contaminated. Domestic animals (cats, dogs, horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, etc.) are all impacted by the pathogens spread by feral cats.

For further reading, see “Vector-borne and other pathogens of potential relevance disseminated by relocated cats.”

But the greatest death toll is to our native wildlife. Rabies, parasitic worms, distemper, and other pathogens take an additional toll that is not reflected in the numbers of wildlife that these cats kill outright annually. 

Disappearing Vets

Regardless of our individual positions on TNR, the ability to provide this service is evaporating across the country. The numbers of veterinarians and vet techs in the US has dropped drastically in recent years, a trend that was only exacerbated during the Covid pandemic. Retirement, burn-out, suicide and low pay are but a few of the reasons. Meanwhile, cat ownership has increased 30% in the past two decades. Nowadays, an appointment for basic vet care may be weeks or even months away. Even emergency pet care can be difficult to access. In some areas, it is effectively unavailable.

For further reading, see “Richmond Animal Shelters Fill Up After Covid Adoption Boon” and “Please Don’t Feed Stray Cats!”

An appointment for spay/neuter of an animal may take months. Spaying a female cat with a private vet can cost upward of $300-$500; neutering a male costs $150-$300. Bottom line — there are not enough vets to take care of the 58 million pet cats (not to mention the 78 million pet dogs). Who can we call on to provide needed medical service and spay/neuter for 70 million feral cats? 

For further reading, see “Why It’s So Hard to Find a Veterinarian These Days.” Paywall-free link here.

Disappearing Space 

According to the ASPCA, 3.4 million cats are taken in by shelters each year, with 1.4 million of these cats euthanized. Shelter resources are taxed, between the higher demands and costs for services and the scarcity of vets. Increasingly, shelters are setting limits on accepting cats, with some no longer accepting feral cats at all. TNR slots are limited and quickly fill up. Some shelters no longer have the resources to provide TNR — nor even euthanasia for suffering feral cats. Some shelters have resorted, instead, to urging the public let these cats live out their “natural” lives in the wild.

It seems that we may be in “system overload.” 

_________________

Coming Tomorrow: The Cats Among Us