By: Michelle Lock
When you’re out for a walk around your neighborhood, you may see a cat roaming around, skirting underneath cars and behind bushes. You may often wonder if it’s heading home… if it even has a home?
Here are some things to think about and know:
* It’s important to identify the difference between a stray cat, a feral cat and an outdoor cat just roaming near its home. If you’ve noticed the cat around before, it may just be an outdoor cat. If you haven’t and you notice it has a collar, check with your local animal shelter to see if there are any missing cats matching its description or see if you missed any missing cat flyers posted nearby.
* If it’s a feral cat, the best thing to do is to leave some water and a small amount of food outside. Cats cannot always survive outside despite the common belief that they can fend for themselves; a small bit of nourishment can go a long way!
* If you notice it’s a kitten or the feral cat has kittens, try to organize a group in your community or coordinate with a local shelter for a trap-neuter-return program. This program will help prevent the number of free-roaming cats in the neighborhood without resorting to euthanizing them, and will allow the cats to return to their original territory.
We at NEKO cat café want all cats to be safe and happy. Let's work together to keep kitties off the streets of Seattle and help them find a forever home.
You can find more tips on how to deal with and help feral cats here and here.
