Some feral cats do eventually warm up to humans and become decent outdoor pets. The cat may never be comfortable as an indoor pet, but you may reach a point where the cat is willing to be pet. Especially if you get the cat while it is still young.
Before bringing a feral cat to a spay and neuter clinic, call to make a reservation. Some clinics require you to pay, but many can work with you to set a reasonable fee or eliminate the fee altogether.
Facts about Feral Cat Breeding Habits
An unfixed female cat has an average of six kittens per year, some litters might be larger increasing this number. In the wild, only a handful of these kittens will last into their adult years. It is believed that one female cat will have 100 healthy kittens in the span of seven years.
If one community has a dozen unfixed females, the number of kittens and cats rapidly increases. By getting even a few of these animals fixed, the feral cat colony will not increase as quickly. This helps decrease the number of wild birds and animals killed every year.
Trapping a Feral Cat
Ask area cat spay and neuter programs and your area animal shelter if they have cages you can borrow. Once you explain that you have a problem with stray cats, most organizations are happy to help you trap those cats.
Place the trap in an area where you see the cats frequent. Strong scented canned cat food placed in the trap will lure cats. You'll have great success with fish and seafood flavors. Place the trap or traps and then leave the area. Experts agree it's best to leave the traps overnight and return the next day.
During the spay and neuter clinic, many organizations place tiny tags on the tip of the cat's ear signifying that cat has been spayed or neutered. Make sure the cat you have trapped does not have an ear tag. If it does, go ahead and release it.
Once you've trapped a cat, walk around your neighborhood and verify that no one owns it. Many pets brought into spay and neuter clinics turn out to have a family and are already fixed. This wastes the clinics time and takes an appointment from someone who needed it.
The Spay or Neuter Procedure
Male cats are neutered. Their testicles are removed through a small incision eliminating the possibility that he can impregnate a female cat. The incision is so tiny that stitches are unnecessary. Most spay and neuter clinics vaccinate cats for common diseases, including rabies, before they are released.
Female cats are spayed. Through an incision in the abdomen, their ovaries and uterus are surgically removed. Dissolving stitches are used to close the incision. Female cats require a little time to recover from their procedure.