"Stray cat" redirects here. For the telenovela, see The Stray Cat. For other uses, see Stray Cats (disambiguation).
"Bush cat" redirects here. For the aircraft, see SkyReach BushCat.
A feral cat with a tipped ear, indicating it was neutered in a trap-neuter-return program
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (Felis catus) that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans.[1][2] Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk. Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral.[3][4][5]
Feral cats are devastating to wildlife, and conservation biologists consider them to be one of the worst invasive species on Earth.[6][7] Attempts to control feral cat populations are widespread but generally of greatest impact within purpose-fenced reserves.
Some animal rights groups advocate trap-neuter-return programs to prevent the feral cats from continuing to breed. Scientific evidence has demonstrated that TNR is not effective at controlling feral cat populations.[8][9]
^Liberg, O.; Sandell, M.; Pontier, D.; Natoli, E. (2014). "Density, spatial organisation and reproductive tactics in the domestic cat and other felids". In Turner, D. C.; Bateson, P. (eds.). The domestic cat: the biology of its behaviour (Third ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 119–147. ISBN 9781107025028.
^Hildreth, Aaron M.; Vantassel, Stephen M.; Hygnstrom, Scott E. "Feral Cats and Their Management" (PDF). University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension. University of Nebraska. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
^Ali Taghipour, Sahar Ghodsian, Mina Shajarizadeh, Mitra Sharbatkhori, Sasan Khazaei, Hamed Mirjalali. “Global prevalence of microsporidia infection in cats: a systematic review and meta-analysis of an emerging zoonotic pathogen.” Preventive Veterinary Medicine 188, 105278, 2021.
^Ali Rostami, Mahdi Sepidarkish, Guangxu Ma, Tao Wang, Maryam Ebrahimi, Yadolah Fakhri, Hamed Mirjalali, Andreas Hofmann, Calum NL Macpherson, Peter J Hotez, Robin B Gasser. “Global prevalence of Toxocara infection in cats”. Advances in Parasitology 109, 615-639, 2020.
^Xuying Zhang, Kokila Jamwal, Ottmar Distl. “ Tracking footprints of artificial and natural selection signatures in breeding and non-breeding cats.” Scientific reports 12 (1), 18061, 2022.
^Cite error: The named reference Longcore was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"IUCN/SSG Invasive Species Specialist Group". 100 Worst Invasive Species. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference Coe 2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Hostetler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
A feralcat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (Felis catus) that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled...
sizeable feralcat (Turkish: sokak kedisi, "street cat") population, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. Many Turkish...
with them. As of 2016,[update] some 3.8 million domestic cats and up to 6.3 million feralcats continue to live in Australia.[needs update] The Invasive...
Cat predation on wildlife is the result of the natural instincts and behavior of both feral and owned house cats to hunt small prey, including wildlife...
domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a house pet and farm cat, but also ranges freely as a feralcat avoiding...
of animals with feral populations are horses, dogs, goats, cats, rabbits, camels, and pigs. Zoologists generally exclude from the feral category animals...
predation of endangered species, such as birds and lizards, by feralcats. The domestic cat (Felis catus) first arrived at New Zealand on Captain James Cook's...
The farm cat, also known as a barn cat, is a domestic cat, usually of mixed breed, that lives primarily outdoors, in a feral or semi-feral condition on...
to those for feralcats, suggesting that both domestic and feral prefer a diet close to that of their wild ancestors, though feralcats rely on prey available...
otherwise unadoptable cats in the program as an alternative to euthanasia. The cats may not be suitable for adoption because they are feralcats or did not acclimate...
to the United States. Alley Cat Allies focuses on stray and feralcat advocacy and TNR, the method of managing feralcat populations that the organization...
infestations. A bodega cat may be a domesticated cat that is kept by the bodega owner, or a semi-feralcat that the bodega owner attracts to the store through...
A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (Felis catus) with a distinctive M-shaped marking on their forehead, stripes by their eyes and across...
as cats (felids) in the United States. These include domestic cat (both house cats and feral), of the species Felis catus; medium-sized wild cats from...
shown that domestic cats tend to meow much more than feralcats. They rarely meow to communicate with fellow cats or other animals. Cats can socialize with...
traditions of feral and sometimes malevolent black cats. In Scottish mythology, a fairy known as the Cat sìth takes the form of a black cat, while in Welsh...
providing a home within them for around 150 cats. After the excavation of the temple ruins in 1929, feralcats were drawn to the area, sheltered by Roman...
importation of the cats has warned the hybrid breed may introduce enhanced hunting skills and increased body size into feralcat populations, putting...
although the cat has no name in this account. Cats portal Islam portal Cultural depictions of catsFeralcats in Istanbul Human interaction with cats Moral status...
Nickelodeon UK. The Ferals are an eclectic group of animals that live together in a backyard shed. There is a rat called Rattus, a feralcat called Modigliana...
Darwin and Western Australia, and involves trapping. Red Foxes, feralcats, feral dogs and feral pigs are often baited, although the use of 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate)...
[unreliable source] In the 1980s cats with dark blue eyes were discovered among feralcat populations in New Mexico. The first cat with the characteristic, discovered...
rat traps". After a construction worker killed a feralcat in 2000, the park enlisted the FeralCat Coalition of Oregon to assist the animals during construction...
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