Feral Cats and Public Health
Tell them if you can’t trap her, you will call and reschedule as soon as possible. This way you, and especially your other pets, have no contact with the kitty before she’s been checked out, had her shots, etc. If there’s any way you can manage to trap the cat in the morning, that’s even better. If she’s not sick or compromised health-wise, ask that she be spayed that same day.
Cats who are part of TNR programs are humanely trapped, scanned for microchips, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, eartipped and microchipped (if they don’t already have one). Stray cats who are thriving and don’t have microchips indicating they are lost can be returned to their outdoor home or fostered and adopted. Based on the science that we reviewed above, we offer commentary about the strategy of TNR to decrease feral cat populations, and we provide future directions to address the problem of homeless cats. Overall, we feel that TNR does not appear to decrease population size unless significant resources and efforts are made to remove animals via adoption. The animals that remain appear to live shorter lives and are subject to disease and injury. In our opinion, it is much more humane to capture a healthy cat, and, if cannot be adopted, have it euthanized instead of returning it to the outdoors, where it will suffer during its life.
Also need our help, but they don’t need us to find them homes. However, it’s important to make sure the feral kitties can’t keep making more of themselves! It’s estimated that there are as many feral and free-roaming cats in the US as there are owned pet cats.
How do I tell feral and stray cats apart once I have trapped them?
In other words, even if a feral cat leaves feces in your garden, you would need to touch it and then somehow ingest the feces to get toxoplasmosis. More and more, public health officials are embracing Trap-Neuter-Return for feral cats and replacing outdated policies based on unfounded fears. LCAS cannot take in feral/wild cats because they are not adoptable and they are dangerous to our staff.
Even kittens will put up a fierce fight if they feel threatened. You need to come prepared for her if she decides to launch an attack at your face, and some really do this. Cat scratches and bites are serious business and can land you in the hospital.
Many feral cats can be aggressive and will bite and scratch people, and some become a public nuisance. For example, in Israel, 3,354 complaints were registered across five city councils about aggressive cats (Gunther et al. 2015). In 2018, more than 2000 cats were tested for rabies because of possible human exposure due to bites and scratches (Zito et al. 2019). In addition, stray cats enter yards and defecate and urinate in these yards, increasing the possibility of disease transmission to residents (Crawford et al. 2018). Thus, TNR colonies could have high rates of disease prevalence with an increased potential for human exposure. Treatment for the above diseases and parasites can be costly, and in many situations the cats in TNR colonies need to be recaptured for follow-up treatment.
Finding a lost cat on your doorstep can be a jarring experience. You no doubt want to help, but it’s not always clear what kind of help a strange cat needs. Either they have a home that they wandered away from, they have been abandoned and are now a stray, or they are a feral cat that has never been socialized to humans. It’s important to determine which category you’re dealing with before taking any action to help. If you’re in the position of helping a stray cat, keep reading to learn which actions you should take.
Also, it is best to vaccinate cats after surgery, because any reaction to the vaccine will be easier to recognize in a cat coming out of anesthesia, compared to one under deep anesthesia. Fortunately, serious vaccine reactions are rare and if they do occur, it is usually within a few minutes of administration. Perform spay/neuter surgery according to veterinary medical standards of care. Get practical pet health tips, articles, and insights from our veterinary community delivered weekly to your inbox. 3-Keep moved kitties in an enclosed area for a few days after your move .
Rabies is endemic throughout the mainland United States, and vaccination is the most effective method of control. All cats should be vaccinated at the time of surgery using an approved three-year vaccine. In addition, the administration of a modified live FVRCP vaccine is also recommended. Immunity against panleukopenia is especially important for cats because of the widespread nature and severity of the disease. Panleukopenia is caused by feline parvovirus and is devastating to susceptible cat populations. Another field study in Rome, Italy, found that TNR programs did reduce population size (16% to 32%) (Natoli et al. 2006).
Take a big cardboard box, flip it upside down and cut a couple holes in different sides big enough for her to pass through. Weight down the top so it doesn’t move with her, and put some nice soft blankets inside for her. Also put a smelly sock or shirt or some other object with your scent on it so the cat will get used to your particular human smell.
At minimum, he needed wound care, an X-ray, pain meds and antibiotics. Clearly not feral, Mr. No Home probably had a home at one point, by the looks of it. But while we were trying to find his family, it became obvious that he could be nicknamed Mr. No Veterinary Care because of the many problems we found while treating this poor cat. It is usually a good idea to lay tarp, a blanket, or plastic down on the seats of your car before you transport the cat to or from the clinic to help keep your car clean.
Fish-flavored canned cat food, tuna fish, Kentucky Fried Chicken, sardines, etc. make excellent bait. Through all of this, there may be sudden and seemingly inexplicable setbacks. It is frustrating at times, actually more than frustrating. You cannot react on your emotions in front of her; you must just maintain the routine she is used to seeing. Keep it consistently the same whether she comes out or not.
These cats should never be re-trapped or brought to a shelter, unless sick. Instead they should be left in their neighborhood to provide cat population control. Studies have shown by just being there, they prevent other cats from moving into the area. And, because they have been fixed, they will never have litters of kittens. Eartipping is the removal of the tip of the left ear while the cat is already anesthetized for spay/neuter surgery.
Make sure the only food source available is in the trap so that when the cat gets hungry, the cat will get into the trap. Make sure to block off any small spaces where the cat could get stuck and to remove any objects which could be harmful to the cat. All sides except for the door opening should be covered while the trap is set up to catch the cat as well as after the cat is in the trap. Keep the cover on the trap while transporting the cat to the clinic and while the cat’s recovering. These little fuzzle faces are part of Teddy’s feral colony.
Because it costs only pennies per dose, routine administration of injectable ivermectin to all cats is recommended at the time of TNR. A single subcutaneous injection of 1-percent ivermectin solution at a dosage of 0.3 mg/kg is highly effective against ear mites, and also temporarily reduces roundworm and hookworm burdens. Because of the cost, it may not be feasible to treat all cats for fleas. If you do opt for flea treatment, consider using topical fipronil; it is among the most cost-effective flea treatments available and is safe for cats of all ages.
If the cat is friendly and you can pick it up and handle it, it is not feral and you can bring it into the shelter. Feral cats are wild, like a raccoon or opossum and you should never try to pick them up or handle them. Livingston County Animal Control and Shelter can’t take in or adopt out feral/wild cats because they are not adoptable and they are dangerous to our staff. I’ve had to trap and release several cats in my neighborhood, and its not always that easy.
These cats have also been referred to as alley cats, street cats, or outside cats. In theory, sterilizing enough cats so that the birth rate is less than the death rate would reduce the cat population in a given area. However, this assumes a closed population, a phenomenon that has not been observed in any of the studies. Instead, the studies observed cats immigrating into colonies, dispersing from other areas or being released into colonies by people.
However, I’d be willing to bet that more than a handful of Dolittler’s regular readers are far more attuned to this topic than I’ll ever be. If the cats in question involve your neighbors, we recommend that you discuss TNR and its long term benefits before you begin. Stay up to date with the new cat furniture and get the latest sales and blog posts with our monthly newsletters.
It all depends on the cat, what experiences she’s had with humans, how old she is, how ingrained those survival instincts are in her. Finding a lost cat can be quite a commitment if you decide to be a good Samaritan, but it’s often worth it for the peace of mind and overall good feeling that comes with helping an animal in need. That stray cat on your doorstep just might end up becoming a cherished companion. After finding a lost cat and determining that they are not feral and is safe to approach, the next step is to figure out whether they are indeed simply lost or if they are a stray in need of a new home. If the cat is wearing a collar with ID, it’s very likely that they are lost. In this case, simply call the number listed on theID to let her owner know their cat has been found safe and sound.
If she’s been through abuse and feels she is trapped in a fight-or-die situation, she will fight. She doesn’t know that you aren’t the same thing that hurt her before. You may feel silly that first time you see her and all she does is turn tail or meekly meow, but it is better to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Worms are a problem with feral cats, and can be very difficult to get rid of. Even if there is no evidence of worms to begin with, if the vet agrees she is old enough to handle the toxin, get her de-wormed. With a bad infestation , the eggs in the system can gestate even after the medicine was given, and some worms may not be killed.
In these cases, and especially with multiple cats, it can take months to fully rid them of the worms. It also may take different types of medication, as the eggs in the system can become tolerant of certain poisons. If you are dealing with worms, be sure to scoop the litterbox often and clean the litterbox with bleach to get rid of worms and eggs in the stools. Be sure you get the de-worming meds from your vet, as the over-the-counter meds only expel the worms from a cat’s system, not actually killing the worms, which makes re-infestation extremely likely.
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Hi, my name is Lowell and I have always been interested in animals. I was born with a deep fascination for them that has only grown stronger as I’ve gotten older. This interest has led me to become a zookeeper. It’s the best job in the world because it allows me to work with animals every day and learn more about them.