Urban Backyard Ferals

[NaturalRodentControl]

Help King County become the first No Kill County in the state of Washington while reducing rodents ‘n’ moles in your yard. Please consider adopting 2 – 4 altered Feral cats for your backyard. To start this conversation and hopefully initiate a full up Urban Backyard Feral program in West Seattle, following are some facts, data, information and contacts. For those that do not agree with Urban Backyard Ferals, let’s encourage a respectful exchange of ideas. Also, it is okay to agree, to disagree.

1. A Feral is a cat that is not used to human contact. Ferals are domestic or cats that were dumped by their humans or lost and have reverted to a wild state; and kittens born to (dumped/lost) unaltered, domestic cats and have never had contact with humans.

2. When brought into an animal shelter the Kill Rate of Feral cats is almost 100%–even though Ferals, in general, are very, very healthy—as healthy as ‘owned’ cats. Why are they killed? Because they are considered unadoptable—in a ‘domestic’ sense.

3. But wait—Ferals are adoptable! Backyard Ferals are fabulous, low-supervision employees. They love coming to work everyday to catch mice, rats and moles. They only ask for a decent meal from their human caretaker 1-2 times a day, plus fresh water and a bit of shelter.

4. Feral cats that are trapped-neuter-returned or relocated (TNR), then supported by a person with food and minimal shelter, live good, healthy lives as semi-wild animals. The national protocol is to return the Ferals to the site they were trapped at–as that ‘is their home’. However, circumstances sometimes required relocation….hence, the need for Urban Backyard Homes.

5. Once neutered, cats generally stop fighting and spraying and…always stop reproducing.

6. For those that are concerned about birds (as am I), there are easy steps we can all take in all of our yards to protect birds and their nests. Just ask and I will provide resources, links and proven techniques.

7. By adopting backyard Ferals, you can be part of the No Kill Revolution:

• You can help make TNR and relocation of Shelter Ferals more mainstream and accepted.

• You can demonstrate that Feral cats and birds can co-exist.

• You can stop the needless killing of Ferals by giving our Shelters an option for placement of Ferals

8. Consider reading Nathan Winograd’s book: The No Kill Revolution. Nathan is the No Kill Consultant that our King County Council has hired. Also see the Puget Sound’s own ‘Feral Care’, http://www.feralcare.org ; Neighborhood Cats http://www.neighborhoodcats.org , ‘Alley Cat Allies’ http://www.alleycat.org , Feral Cat Coalition – http://www.feralcat.com , and the Homeless Cat Network, http://www.homelesscatnetwork.com –who successfully partnered with the Sequoia Audubon Society to find a resolution for co-habitation of nesting birds and altered Ferals.

And please remember: 65% – 80% of kittens born are to feral and stray cats. If not rescued, within six months 2 out of 3 of the kittens have died from (mostly) preventable or treatable illnesses. If you are feeding a Feral or stray cat—thank you for your kindness. Please take the next important step of altering the cat you are feeding—stop the reproduction cycle. If you need to borrow traps and ascertain neuter/spay resources, please let me know.

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