sandiegopets

I just got back from Santa Catalina Island about an hour off the coast of L.A. where I visited the nature conservancy. One of their programs is how to control the feral cat population. Feral cats are the wild offspring of domestic cats that have gone wild. Often, it’s because their owner has moved away and left the cat behind.

There are feral cats here in San Diego as well. A big gray one used to frequent our back yard. I’ve also seen them hanging out in a nearby park. Cats seem to be more prone to abandonment than dogs. A lot of people assume that a cat can fend for itself so if they move away, they will simply leave the cat behind. Cats who have been domesticated, however, can have a very hard time in the wild and you may be abandoning your cat to starvation or death from a predator that it hasn’t developed the skills from which to escape. Furthermore, when these cats are captured, they often have to be put to sleep because they can’t adjust to human company.

The only way feral cats will ever be contained is for people to take responsibility. Always spay or neuter your pet and if you move and can’t take them with you, it’s better to take them to a shelter than leave them on their own.

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