What is a feral cat? A feral cat is simply the wild offspring of domestic cats and are primarily the result of people failing to spay or neuter their cat or abandonment of their cats. These cats survive as best they can - near restaurants, shopping centers, parks, dumps, or in rural areas. Feral cats often live in loose groups, or colonies, and usually go out of their way to avoid human contact.

A pair of breeding cats can have several litters per year, and their descendents can theoretically produce about 250,000 kittens over a five year period. No one knows the exact feral cat population of the United States, but it is estimated that there are millions of such animals, and thousands living in the greater Puget Sound region.

Without human intervention, many of these cats have short, painful lives and often die from disease, malnutrition, exposure, by car accidents, or predation. Feral cats are almost impossible to socialize unless captured as small kittens. Like other wild animals, they should not be handled without following instructions from feral cat rescue groups or shelters.

Many organizations have developed over the past several years to concentrate on saving feral cats. In addition, many individuals have made heroic efforts to help these animals.

The most widely accepted method of assisting feral cats and controlling the population increase of feral cat colonies involves humane capture, treatment, spay/neuter, and release.

PAWS has humane cat traps available for rent at our Lynnwood facility.

But since PAWS is equipped only to receive potentially adoptable cats, we do not accept feral cats at our shelter. PAWS does not have the ablility to place such animals, to test for diseases, or to house feral cats. Very little rescue is available, so feral cats brought into PAWs are typically euthanized as unadoptable animals.

We do however encourage persons to investigate various Puget Sound area feral cat resources offering services to feral cats and feral cat caretakers.