Stray Cat Info: Stray cats are defined as cats that are lost or have become separated from a home or owner. When people refer to stray cats, they usually mean feral cats. Feral cats are simply non-domesticated cats living in the wild. They were born in the wild, and have never had a home. Their behavior is completely different from domesticated cats. They are truly wild animals! There are 60 million cats living in American households, and an estimated 100 million feral cats! Cats are very self-sufficient (as most people are aware) and excellent hunters, and thus able to live in the wild just fine. Of all of the wild animals I have dealt with, trapped feral cats can be the most ferocious! They claw, bite, hiss, emit a nasty musk scent, and do anything to escape. I've seen ferals scale a ten foot wall. They're not to be trifled with. When I capture cats I bring them to the humane society in the county I catch them in. They are available for adoption of course, but most are put down after a certain time period. Many people consider this a sad situation, but it is the reality of this country's cat problem. Bob Barker is right: "Have your pet spayed or neutered!"

Nuisance concerns: Most people who call me about feral cats complain that the cats are living under a deck or porch, making noise, fighting, or stealing pet food left outside. Many of these people have a genuine concern and care for these animals, and don't like seeing the population getting out of hand. Some people even begin to feed feral cats, and soon find that they are swarmed by hungry felines looking for a free handout. I've even removed feral cats that have gotten inside the home.

Feral cats are extremely effective hunters that are known to seriously deplete natural wildlife population, especially birds. They feed on song birds, game birds, mice, rodents, rabbits and other small animals. They are also known to kill poultry and harm domestic pets. This disruption of the natural food chain will reduce the number of native predators in the area.

Stray cats will leaving droppings and urine in the areas they live, and will of course scratch and dig. Stray cats are a source of fatal and non-fatal diseases transmittable to humans and domestic cats, including rabies, plague, ringworm, toxoplasmosis, cat scratch fever, allergies, feline leukemia, feline distemper and secondary bacterial infections.

AAAnimal Control will combat that cat!

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Your county animal services might help take care of your feral cat problem for free:

Orange County Animal Control

Seminole County Animal Control