Feral / Wild Cats and Kittens

A feral cat is a wild cat that has not been tamed to interact with humans nicely. A feral cat sees a human being as a threat - as a large, dangerous predator that could eat him or her. This is a natural reaction for a small animal who is seen as "tasty" by many other larger animals. It's an instinct that has helped to keep this cat alive in its dangerous environment. Estimates are that in the US alone, there are currently 70 million feral cats.

It's important to have a realistic idea of how hard it is for a cat to live in the wild.

Let's start with a basic statistic:
* Feral / wild cats live to be an average of 3 years old
* Indoor cats live to be an avearage of 14 years old

That's a HUGE difference in age. Proportionally, that would be like saying "most women live to be about age 60 - but in this particular city, they tend to die at age 13". These cats aren't dying of any natural causes at that age. They are being eaten or killed for other reasons.

Any other discussions of cat health or personality based on "what cats are like in the wild" need to take this statistic into account. For example, some webpages claim that feral / wild cats never have any tooth decay, while indoor cats that are fed wet food have mouths full of rotting teeth. Usually these webpages are put out by dry cat food makers who are trying to sell their dry cat food :) The reality is that feral cats don't live long enough for pretty much ANY normal problems of ageing to show up. They're dying when they are barely teenagers.

Taming a Feral Cat
It's important to remember with a feral cat that this creature has *needed* to be aggressive to stay alive. It is an important personality trait to them. It won't just go away in a week or two. It will take a lot of time and patience to win over the animal's trust. You are building a lifelong bond, and need to earn that trust every day.

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