Is that lonely cat over there a stray, or feral? These terms are not interchangeable, but they are used that way most of the time because it can be quite difficult to determine which one applies to a particular cat.
So what is the difference? Stray means loose, un-owned cats, roaming at large in a neighborhood or town, or possibly in a field in a rural area.
Whether they have been dumped or have wandered there on their own and become lost, they are "strays.
" They have no home, and usually, no one to care for them, or about them.
Feral cats, on the other hand, are born away from people, often to ferals themselves, or to strays.
They may be living in the same locations where strays are, and often intermingle.
What makes them feral is that they have never had any contact with people.
All they know is life with other cats, and humans are to be feared, completely and at all costs.
Stray cats can be feral, or tame, but mostly they are simply terrified, betrayed cats that no longer trust anyone because they are lost, or because of the way they've been treated.
Feral cats are simply wild, and since they have never been close to people, don't trust us, either.
It's akin to the statement that all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.
(All ferals are strays, but not all strays are feral.
) Despite any definitions we might propose to differentiate them, the problems remain somewhat the same: 1.
They are usually able to reproduce faster than we can keep up with them.
A good spay/neuter program can help.
2.
They are often the target of misinformed officials trying to "clean up" the neighborhood.
3.
Strays, more than ferals, can be the victims of cruelty, as some are easy to capture.
Ferals...
and strays...
sometimes are poisoned or shot.
Contrary to common opinion, however, they are not necessarily unhealthy.
Ferals, in particular, have usually adapted to the environment in which they were born.
Strays, if they were previously household pets, may be more vulnerable to poor health if they were fed poor diets, were taken from their mothers too early, or were treated badly in other ways.
One thing they all share, though, is the problem of ineffective management if untrained people try to control them.
These cats are potentially dangerous if mishandled or mismanaged, and the methods used to control them must be done intelligently or they are not solutions at all.
It's essential to manage them, however, in order to mitigate the overpopulation problem.
For one's own protection in this effort, a stray cat should never be picked up and carried.
You might surprise one and actually manage to pick it up, but they are completely unpredictable and could explode in terror at any moment, especially if they've just realized you are holding them.
Just when you may be thinking you've got him, he may suddenly decide something's not right and spring out of your arms, raking your arms or legs with sharp claws as he launches off.
That is if you're lucky.
For a cat that is in total terror, you could suffer a severe bite in the process.
The potential for infection from a cat that has broken your skin is enormous.
Their claws and teeth act as "hypodermic needles," injecting a variety of possibly virulent germs.
In fact, this is how many cats become infected themselves.
If a cat has bitten or scratched another one, the victim could become sick.
If you've ever seen a cat with an abscess, this is probably the mechanism that caused it.
So what is the difference? Stray means loose, un-owned cats, roaming at large in a neighborhood or town, or possibly in a field in a rural area.
Whether they have been dumped or have wandered there on their own and become lost, they are "strays.
" They have no home, and usually, no one to care for them, or about them.
Feral cats, on the other hand, are born away from people, often to ferals themselves, or to strays.
They may be living in the same locations where strays are, and often intermingle.
What makes them feral is that they have never had any contact with people.
All they know is life with other cats, and humans are to be feared, completely and at all costs.
Stray cats can be feral, or tame, but mostly they are simply terrified, betrayed cats that no longer trust anyone because they are lost, or because of the way they've been treated.
Feral cats are simply wild, and since they have never been close to people, don't trust us, either.
It's akin to the statement that all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares.
(All ferals are strays, but not all strays are feral.
) Despite any definitions we might propose to differentiate them, the problems remain somewhat the same: 1.
They are usually able to reproduce faster than we can keep up with them.
A good spay/neuter program can help.
2.
They are often the target of misinformed officials trying to "clean up" the neighborhood.
3.
Strays, more than ferals, can be the victims of cruelty, as some are easy to capture.
Ferals...
and strays...
sometimes are poisoned or shot.
Contrary to common opinion, however, they are not necessarily unhealthy.
Ferals, in particular, have usually adapted to the environment in which they were born.
Strays, if they were previously household pets, may be more vulnerable to poor health if they were fed poor diets, were taken from their mothers too early, or were treated badly in other ways.
One thing they all share, though, is the problem of ineffective management if untrained people try to control them.
These cats are potentially dangerous if mishandled or mismanaged, and the methods used to control them must be done intelligently or they are not solutions at all.
It's essential to manage them, however, in order to mitigate the overpopulation problem.
For one's own protection in this effort, a stray cat should never be picked up and carried.
You might surprise one and actually manage to pick it up, but they are completely unpredictable and could explode in terror at any moment, especially if they've just realized you are holding them.
Just when you may be thinking you've got him, he may suddenly decide something's not right and spring out of your arms, raking your arms or legs with sharp claws as he launches off.
That is if you're lucky.
For a cat that is in total terror, you could suffer a severe bite in the process.
The potential for infection from a cat that has broken your skin is enormous.
Their claws and teeth act as "hypodermic needles," injecting a variety of possibly virulent germs.
In fact, this is how many cats become infected themselves.
If a cat has bitten or scratched another one, the victim could become sick.
If you've ever seen a cat with an abscess, this is probably the mechanism that caused it.
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