Feral Cats Are Special

I was NOT a "cat person" when I first met my husband and thought his hobby of caring for a feral cat colony extremely odd. Well, that was then - this is now! I am presently owned by several felines (couldn't imagine life without them!) and have also had the opportunity to observe and learn quite a bit about the cats who reside in my husband's colony. He has been caring for the same group of cats for over 10 years now, which is deemed quite a success in the world of ferals. You see, feral cats are the victims of our society and the carelessness of humans who, over time, have not spayed/neutered their pets. Their life span is not ususally very long, due to the harsh obstacles they must overcome on a daily basis to survive in this overpopulated world.

If caught young enough, these homeless creatures can easily be domesticated. Even if not caught quite so young, and someone is willing to put in the time, they can be domesticated, just not quite so easily. Moreover, some ferals will retain some of their unique traits when living with a human, like their non-trust of people in general, unusual eating habits born from days of not knowing from where or when their next meal will come, and their tendency to bond with just one person in the family. Despite these behavioral quirks, they are worthy of our attention as a responsible, conscientious society.

BTW, the cat at the top of this blog is "Moses", a former feral who was lucky enough to be snagged from my husband's colony when he was young. This beautiful feline now happily resides with our next-door neighbors! If you would like more information about ferals and hear more success stories, visit the following websites: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/marvelous-molly.html; www.alleycat.org; www.feralfriends.org.

If you live in Raleigh, check out our website: www.noplacelikehomepetsitting.org