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Written by GG
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Thursday, 26 July 2007 |
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See some wild cats in your area and are not sure what to make of them? As a general rule, if they seem friendly and let you pet them, they are strays. If they feel threatened easily and act aggressive, they are feral, in which case they may have become too wild to be enjoyable house cats. | Stray | Feral | - usually the first generation of abandoned/free domestically breed cate; once lived in a home
| - second or third generation of unalterd cats that freely wander | | - may have human contact | - have little or no human contact
| | - can be resocialized into accepting humans | - may have lost ability to have campanion-like contanct with humans; to humanize such cats could take years unless found at under six weeks of age | - has an average lifespan of 12 to 16 years
| - if survived after kittenhood, a feral cat is not suspected to live over two years, though older cats have been discovered in places of plentiful food and shelter | | | - generally found in colonies, though usually only seen as one or few |
The production of feral cats is a major reason for the need for people to sterylize their cats. Cats can be lost and breed away from home, allowing a population of wild cats to produce. The intoduction of feral cats may disrupt the natural balance of wildlife in the area because, being predators, feral cats may eat the wild reptiles, rodents, and birds.
Some of our information came from the following sites: Think there are more differences between stray cats and feral cats? Contact us here. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 August 2007 )
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