You probably guessed it, almost 90% of feral cat colony caretakers are educated women. They do it out of love for cats and animals and for their welfare. They are wonderful people. Never criticise them. You might not like feral cats but that is beside the point. These are good people trying to do right by feral cats. Feral cats were put there by us, by people and we owe a duty towards them to look after their welfare and treat them decently and to respect them. These good women do it. And let’s not forget the small percentage of men who do the same thing. They’re great guys.
Feral cats in managed colonies appear to be in good health and can obtain “whatever level of interaction they need with their caretaker”. Feral cat caretakers often have strong bonds with their feral cats.
If you’re a community cat caretaker/guardian please tell me your story in a comment. I’d love to hear from you.
Studies
An Hawaiian study of 75 colony caretakers found that most of them were female, middle-aged, married and well educated. They also owned their own pets and were in full-time employment. Therefore their dedication and interest motivated them to care for their feral cats outside of work hours. They spent considerable time and their own money caring for their feral cat colonies. They were motivated by their love of cats and the opportunity to look after them. They received feelings of enhanced self-esteem.
A study in Florida, USA of 101 caretakers looking after 920 cats in 132 colonies found that 84% were female. The average age was 45 years. The age range was from 19 years of age to 74 years of age. Almost 90% of the caretakers owned their own pets. Two thirds of them owned cats. More than half the caretakers were married. The most common reason given for caring for feral cats was “sympathy or ethical concern followed by loving animals or cats”.
Feral cat colony caretakers are good people. No one can deny it. A better word for ‘feral cat’ is ‘community cat’ because like it or loathe it they are part of the community.
Studies:
- Haspel & Calhoon 1993
- Natoli et al 1999
- Zsloff & Hart 1998
- Centoze & Levy 2002
Photos: Jacksonville.com (bottom photo). Top photo: Daily Mail via Corbis, ZUMA Press and Bart Ah You.
There are quite a few things. Firstly, if he harms the cats it will be crime almost certainly. One thing you can do is use social media to your advantage. You can put pressure on bad people and expose them online for their bad deeds.
Linda, if you tell me some more – give me some hard details in another comment – I will write an article on this and spread the word on social media where someone who is lives not far from you may well pick it up and that puts pressure on the person.
Please tell me more and I do a sympathetic article. I have a contact on Facebook who is good at networking. She’ll spread the word and we can see if we can protect you and the cats.
If you live in a detached home and have the money you might be able to build a cat enclosure which lets them go outside safely but this is probably not workable for you and even the cats. Just a thought.
There are a lot of people like you Linda. There really are. You are not alone.
I have been feeding two feral cats for 10 years but have complaints from a neighbor who threatens to get rid of them. They have both been neuter and spayed and even though I have tried to take them in with me to live, they prefer to live outside. I’m wondering what I can do about the legal threats from this neighbor. The cats are a brother and sister who are very attached to each other.