Feral Cat Training & Management

True feral cats are unused to human companionship and can be aggressive or fearful when confronted with their first person. Most feral cats will never be able to live in a house as pets, but they can become used to humans. Training and managing a feral cat is not easy, but you can achieve it with persistence and routine.

  1. Misconceptions

    • Many people confuse feral cats and stray cats. Stray cats have lived with humans at some point in their lives, and can be taken into a home and made into a pet. Feral cats have never known human contact and shy away from people. True feral cats may act aggressively or fearfully when faced with a human, and usually stay out of sight during the day.

    Management

    • The best way to manage a feral cat colony is though a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program. Organizations or individuals trap feral cats in their neighborhoods, take them to a vet to be spayed or neutered, and return them to where they were trapped. Volunteers who are concerned about the welfare of feral cats usually run TNR programs.

    Feeding

    • Feeding feral cats can help them get used to you before you trap them. Feeding them next to the humane animal trap gets them used to the trap. If you start to feed feral cats, expect more to show up. Do not leave the food out all day, but put it out at the same time every night for 30 minutes.

    Benefits

    • The main benefit of managing a feral cat population through a TNR program is that the feral cats are now unable to produce litters of kittens. Cats can produce thousands of offspring in a lifetime. Spaying and neutering prevents this, and stops the feral cat population from growing. The Humane Society estimates there are approximately 50 million feral cats in the United States, with the population growing daily.

    Warning

    • Attempting to pick up a feral cat is not a good idea. Picking up a feral cat can cause it to become frightened or stressed, and the cat can become aggressive. Feral cats carry diseases such as rabies that can be transmitted to humans, so being bitten by a feral cat is dangerous. Do not use tranquilizer darts to trap a feral cat, as this can cause undue stress to the cat.