The meaning of feral

Feral cat in trap heading to clinic

https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/feral-cat

Summary: When TNR was introduced to the United States in the 1990's, cats living outdoors were commonly referred to as ferals. As the field has evolved, it's become clear many of the cats are sociable, not feral. These friendly cats may be lost or abandoned former pets, or may never have been in a traditional home with an owner. The need for a more accurate description of unowned, free-roaming cats led to "community cats." They may be feral, friendly or anything in between. The term "community" also implies there is a collective responsibility for their management and care.

Understanding there is a scale of "feral-ness", what does it mean to be feral? A feral cat/kitten is unsocialized and tends to be fearful of people. They will keep their distance from people and the vast majority rely on human-bassed food sources for at least some of their sustenance. Often feral cats will form a colony, a group of cats who are friendly and may have been lost abandoned.

Feral is a behavioral description. It's possible for the same cat to be feral at one stage of life and become socialized and non-feral at another. Cats can also be feral to different degrees, ranging from mildly to extremely fearful.

There are four factors to determine the degree to which a cat/kitten is feral:

• Age - Feral kittens eight weeks old or less can typically, though not always, be quickly socialized. Beyond that age, with each passing week socialization becomes longer and more uncertain process. The older the kitten when socialization begins, the more likely they'll retain at least some feral characteristics like fear of strangers or change. Adult feral catas may or may not ever be tame.

• Ancestry - With each successive feral generation, the degree to wich kittens are fearful of people tends to increase.

• Human Contact - Cats who regularly interact with people are likely to show more signs of socialization than those who have little to no contact.

• Personality - Like all being, cats are individuals with their own personalities. It is not unknown for the occasional feral, despite age and background, to exhibit natural friendliness.

These factors go in to the assessment that JVC performs on each cat or kitten that we trap. It is also why JVC learns of colonies before kittens are spotted. This allows an action plan to be formed before the kittens become more difficult to socialize.