Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Petfinder Post: Thursday Is Feral Cat Day

Thursday is Feral Cat Day...But, ironically, it's unusual to find a really feral cat on Petfinder. Cats who've grown up independent of humans can become pets, especially if they bond with humans at an early age, but adopting them as pets is usually considered too challenging...well, let's just say that the traditional shelter experience does not nudge feral cats in the direction of loving humans.

Cats who grow up feral can be friendly with humans, but they don't feel that they need humans and may refuse to come indoors, go to the vet, etc. That feral cats never become pets is a misunderstanding. Some feral cats recruit humans to share food with them, offer shelter in inclement weather, or help in an emergency; they may bond with the humans of their choice but they retain a degree of independence fully domesticated cats don't have. 

In the cat memory that's been printed in The Dog Who Wooed at the World, I described a cat who chose to lie on my lap while nursing kittens, encouraging the kittens to become my pets, as feral. The editor of the anthology "corrected" this to "stray." I thought that made a simpler story so I let it stand, but I knew for a fact that Polly was feral; her parents had been alley cats in a nice city neighborhood for years. Polly was born in an alley. 

Polly became a pet. She was tiny and pretty and very determined. She liked me; she liked to ride on my shoulder. She recognized her name and came when it was called. She allowed me to take her to the vet, and even spent one cold night indoors, though she obviously was not comfortable being behind closed doors in a house or car---much less the veterinary clinic. And she started what's become a multigenerational family tradition of nursing her kittens on my lap; Polly's social cat family were just too dang interesting to be subjected to the general rule of sterilizing adult cats and adopting shelter kittens--though that's still a good rule in many places, at least for normal cats. 

Friendly though Polly was, she was different from a cat who'd grown up as a pet. She was very polite about accepting food; she always thanked me for food with a touch of her cheek, and trained her kittens to do the same. She was also very proper about the daily purr-and-cuddle routine, as the kittens grew up, in which the cats lined up for me to pet her brother Mackerel first, then Polly, then the kittens in order. Polly was usually very gentle after that first bite-and-scratch session, but she intentionally scratched me, lightly and harmlessly, twice; once it seemed to be a test before she decided to become a pet, and once it seemed to be asserting herself, to her brothers, as being Queen Cat after her mother died. And, though she acted as if she loved Mac and the kittens and me (her relationship with the kittens' father seemed to be respectful but not loving), after two years she walked away and moved in with a tomcat she seemed to have recognized as her beshert. She loved her family at the Cat Sanctuary but she didn't need us.

Polly's life was short; she probably had FIV. She never became an indoor pet and nobody saw her after her third summer. However, my "Aunt Dotty" rescued a pair of feral kittens she'd watched grow up in an alley. They became real house pets. One lived seventeen years, and one lived eighteen years. They were quite friendly and used to purr-and-cuddle whenever I visited. They even went on a road trip with Aunt Dotty and "Uncle Pete," one summer, though they didn't seem to like it much and were reportedly glad to get home.

And now, at the time of writing...a neighbor reported that three dumped-out kittens seemed to her to be completely feral. She was not able to trap them to bring them to the Cat Sanctuary (they may have learned about box traps from having been dumped out of one) but, over the summer, they found their way up here all by themselves. Drudge and Serena are working on teaching them some manners. Cats' lessons involve slapping, yelling, and sometimes biting, but from the fact that the kittens are still around when neither food nor sex is happening, we know the resident cats like them and are teaching them. I've started calling the black one (male) Wild Thyme and the calico Wild Rose.

You, too, can try making a pet of a feral cat who finds you. Outcomes depend on the cats as well as the humans. A few observations:

1. A straying pet who doesn't know the way home can be just as wary as a feral cat. Whether they are lost pets, feral cats, or dumped-out unwanted kittens whose mother was a pet, some cats will boldly claim a new human friend and start training that person to share food with them, let them come into the house, etc. Most cats are wary about new people and won't make themselves easy to see, even if they live in your shed for weeks. Before assuming that a cat is feral or abandoned it's worth the effort to find out whether it's a lost pet. One way to tell: If it looks well fed and well groomed, in my part of the world it's likely to be looking for a new home because its human died or went to hospital, but it's almost certain to be a lost pet. True feral cats tend to look hungry and flea-bitten.

2. This is because they tend to be hungry and flea-bitten. You may want to take them to the vet right away. If you do, feral cats will probably move to a different neighborhood after what they probably experience as a horrifying abduction by aliens who did painful and perverted things to them. I try to base the decision on triage. If a cat is obviously too sick to survive without veterinary care, having it treated or euthanized is probably the right thing to do, even if it means the cat will never be a friend. If it's only hungry and flea-bitten, feeding it for the months it takes to build a relationship is probably the best thing to do for the cat (it may not find another friendly human if it moves away)--even if it means the cat may have kittens.

3. Only cat haters seriously believe that sterilizing cats is a high priority. If, however, you're quite sure you will not be able to keep kittens, it's possible to stage an abduction by someone else, who takes a cat to a horrible place where it's sterilized, and you then come in and rescue the cat. The difficulty is that ethical vets like to give rabies vaccine at least two weeks before surgery. You may have to choose one. Of the two I'd choose the vaccine. I'd try to maintain an open mind about the probability that a feral cat's kittens would be pets and would forgive me for letting them be neutered and spayed. There is a chance that a feral cat who's forgiven you for letting it be vaccinated will stay around and let itself be sterilized in due time.

4. Bonding with any unfamiliar animal takes place at the animal's pace. The more patient you are, the more reliable the bond will be. Letting a feral cat sniff and touch you before you reach toward it is good for the skin.

People who bond with feral cats don't have much choice about when this bonding happens, but it's good to be prepared by bonding with a more ordinary rescued cat first. So here are some cats (and dogs) who have had some experience of feral life and life with humans. They can teach you how to live with that like-you-but-don't-need-you attitude really feral cats (and dogs) will always have.

This post is late because Petfinder doesn't have a way to sort by history. I had to read the story that went with each qualifying photograph, then close the pages for dozens of adorable, adoptable animals who were moved directly from homes to shelters.

Zipcode 10101: Athena and/or Sokolata from Greece by way of NYC 


Born feral on a Greek island, these sisters were rescued young enough to have grown up almost like pets. Not the snuggliest, but friendly. Athena is the one in the chair. They can be adopted separately, but would probably do better together.

Zipcode 20202: Ricky Lane from South Carolina by way of DC 


Ricky Lane Cat's biography is unknown. Did he lose trust in people because he was dumped and abused? Is he just naturally cautious? In any case he's shy until he gets to know people, then gradually becomes friendlier. If adopted he'd probably spend a few weeks hiding in the darkest corner of the basement, then start venturing closer to his new humans and working up to quick touches before he finally purrs and cuddles. His foster humans enjoyed this slow process and, if you're the right human for him, so will you.

Zipcode 30303: Momo from Atlanta 


Momo was a stray who just found a house she liked, walked in, took over, and gradually became friendly with the humans. She's not always in a cuddly mood...just often.

Zipcode 10101: Trixie from NYC 


This Chihuahua-mix puppy was found, with her sister, on a city street in the rain. They hadn't lived long enough to deserve that. Nobody knows how long they'd been on the street. Probably not very long because both of them survived. They may have been dumped out just because they were female, or also because their other parent was probably a pit bull, or mix. Both Chihuahuas and pit bulls can be aggressive. (In the case of Chihuahuas it's usually considered cute until the Chihuahua chews up someone's leg.) Fortunately both breedscan also learn to be gentle and protective. 

Zipcode 20202: Koa from Maryland 



Anatolia is a peninsula on the border that's been claimed by both Greece and Turkey, and also by Rome, at different times. It's been mostly a rural area (with some historic cities) where people kept sheep, goats, and cattle, and big strong guard dogs to herd them. The Anatolian Shepherd is a serious dog--probably a young man's dog. They are large, move fast, jump high, and really do best on ranches with cattle. They are protective, bred for an instinct to scare off bears, though a bear would probably beat one Anatolian Shepherd if it came to a real fight. They are not recommended for small homes, families with babies, or homes that receive a lot of visitors. They like to have a job with a regular routine and responsibilities. Koa's weight is not given but purebred Anatolian Shepherds can weigh up to 150 healthy pounds. Koa's permanent home needs to have a big yard with a solid 4' fence. 

So you can see how easy it would be for a person to neglect this kind of animal, and even to slip from neglect into abuse. That happened to Koa and other animals kept by the same irresponsible human.

Despite his history, Koa is friendly and affectionate, said to melt when petted. If you're an athletic type and want a trail buddy who will keep a brisk pace, make people leave you alone, and snuggle beside you at the end of the day, Koa might be the dog for you.

Zipcode 30303: Auggie from Atlanta  


Auggie is five years old, likely to live another five or ten years, and he grew  up in what might be called a home with benign neglect. He lived on a farm. He behaved well with humans, including children, and farm animals, but his humans just realized that none of them had the time to train him properly. He's neither a real working dog nor a real pet. His intentions are good, though. He is part Australian Shepherd, part retriever, and part poodle and shows some of the most lovable traits of all three breeds. 

There probably is a dog in a shelter in Georgia who's actually been feral, but after reading about half a dozen dogs with behavior problems in a row I decided a neglected dog would have to do. Lovable dogs who bit somebody, but only one person and the dog had reasons, or attacked another pet, but it was especially tempting and how many people keep Muscovy ducks as pets anyway, are not my favorite subject to read about. For no obvious reason, this week Georgia shelters seem to be full of them.
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