I have trapped many cats
since 1999 and in that time all of the feral cats were healthy, none of them
tested positive for any feline disease. In
addition to being healthy they were all well groomed.
When first started
trapping feral cats for sterilization I expect them to be sickly, to have a
poor coat with infestation of parasites. The veterinarian reports that
the cat has ear mites, needs to be wormed and needs a dosage of revolution to
get rid of the ear mites. Not a flea or tick is found on them and
none of the feral cats tested positive for feline disease.
In comparison the stray
cat did not do so well. Out of the 128 cats that I trapped this year 10% of the
stray (abandoned house cats) tested positive for cat disease including
diabetes. All of the stray cats had
poor coats and many were matted. Long
haired cats needed to be shaved.
Cats that once lived
with people are stray cats. These stray cats have a difficult time adapting to
living outdoors. They do not know how to forage or where to go for
shelter and they do not live in colonies with other cats because the feral cats
do not welcome them. Stray cats are on their own and it must be very frightening.
I pick up strays all the time that are starving, have hair missing, they may have bite wounds from fights or their hair is matted.
So when it comes to
living outdoors the feral cat will live a longer and healthier life than the
stray cat.
Photograph of Calico Cat: This is Gracie she was a stray that my husband found on a bitter cold night. She was skin and bones, had missing fur, was missing one tooth and her tongue was cut off at the tip. It is doubtful she would have survived the night as she did not know where to go for shelter.
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