What to do about feral cats (kittens, rescue, vets, humane)

[Walla450]

I was prompted to post this due to a post in another thread.

Please, do not call animal control about feral cats in your neighborhood. They will be picked up and euthanized. They cannot be adopted, and most animal control departments cannot/will not care for feral cats.

The key is spay/neuter. If you can find a rescue or organization to help you with spaying/neutering them (or if you can afford it yourself), you should start doing it. Find a clinic near you that does feral cats (many normal vets don't do it, because they often need special equipment for ferals). You can get humane traps to trap them in to take them to the clinic. Many low-cost spay/neuter clinics specialize in altering ferals.

Euthanasia does not help cut down on the population of feral cats. It create a vacuum effect in which another colony of feral cats will come move into a former colony's territory. Trap-Neuter-Release is what works. By spaying/neutering feral cats, they are not reproducing any more feral kittens. The numbers in the colony begin to even out, and eventually drop off.

This site/organization has the best information about dealing with feral cats, including step-by-step guides to caring for feral colonies and for getting involved with trap-neuter-release: Alley Cat Allies (http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=191 - broken link)

Here are a few videos about Alley Cat Allies & feral cats:

YouTube - Save This Cat

YouTube - Frequently Asked Questions About Helping Feral Cats.