Feral cats might seem independent and carefree, but sometimes it becomes hard for them to find a decent meal or good-enough living conditions. Also, there is a constant fear that someday some animal more feral can attack them. Thus, it’s crucial to have feral cat management in place so that not only do these creatures live peacefully, but they also don’t venture into human habitats.
There are a lot of strategies for feral cat management. The primary reason for wild cat management is to keep them away while caring for them. So, from creating colony management groups to taking health initiatives for feral cats, there are many feasible ways to manage feral cats. Also, it involves a few strategies like running a trap, neuter, return (TNR) program that can stop the number of feral cats from rising.
So, here we’ll look into a few effective strategies that can be used for proper feral cat management.
Is it Possible to Manage a Large Number of Feral Cats?
If a proper plan is set into motion, managing many feral cats at once is possible. One has to remember that it cannot be done overnight, and not every attempt will be successful. However, consistency in the approach can significantly help in feral cat management.
For proper feral cat management, it is also a good practice to change the strategy when it is not working, as a wild cat is very uncertain and might not react positively to a specific approach.
4 Effective Strategies for Feral Cat Management
Some of the best feral cat management strategies are listed below.
1. Creating Colony Management Groups and Dividing Responsibilities
To keep feral cats in their habitat and prevent them from intruding into the human community, they must get adequate food and water so they do not go out looking for it. However, since a feral cat lives in a colony, caring for its entire colony is important. To do so, colony management groups can be created where volunteers can take up different locations to serve the feral cats of the respective areas. Some volunteers can be given the task of arranging food, while some can be entrusted with getting them neutered or spayed.
2. Organizing Vaccination Drives
Feral cats are prone to many diseases. Hence getting them vaccinated is a good way to keep them away from different illnesses. Regular vaccination drives can be conducted where feral cats of a specific location can be taken to the vet for vaccinations as per their age.
3. Opting for Routine Checkups
There can be scenarios where a cat might have some illness or an injury. It can become worse if not attended to. In fact, it can even be fatal for these wild creatures. So, for effective feral cat management, taking such ill cats for timely checkups and vet consultations is vital.
4. Availing of Trap Neuter Return Programs
Management does not always mean taking care of the existing feral cats. It also means stopping more cats from ending up being feral. When these cats become pregnant, the kittens are also likely to be wild, and when they grow up, even they will become feral cats. TNR or Trap Neuter Return is one of the best approaches to stop this from happening.
In this strategy, a feral cat is trapped, taken to a clinic, and neutered/spayed so that it cannot reproduce further. After the process, the cat is returned to its natural habitat.
Since it can be risky to trap a feral cat, using the right gear is crucial. The Havahart Catch and Release Animal Trap can significantly help in this regard. It comes in the perfect size to trap a fully-grown feral cat and is also lightweight, so you can easily carry it around to different locations.
Is Adoption a Better Way to Manage Feral Cats?
Adoption is one way to manage feral cats, but it might not be the perfect solution. Since only some wild cats are adoptable, getting them straight into your home
is not ideal. Instead, you must observe a feral cat over days and see if its behavior changes. If it is not hostile anymore, you can consider adopting it eventually.
Conclusion
Feral cats can create a problem for the human community if they lurk in the backyard at night, looking for food. Besides, it can make them vulnerable, too. Thus, caring for feral cats and providing them with the necessities of life is essential. The strategies listed above work on a case-to-case basis. But you must remember that feral cat management will take time and effort for the results to reflect.
