Meredith Weiss, Neighborhood Cats

Feral cats are wild cats that live outdoors.

One wintry morning HSUS staffer Charlotte Mead was walking her dog when she was approached by a woman near tears. In her jacket—emblazoned with “The HSUS”—Charlotte appeared as an angel to the stranger desperate to find someone to permanently care for her cats. Charlotte agreed before she realized the commitment she was making. These weren’t just any cats. They were feral cats living in the woods near her apartment.

Meanwhile . . .

A few apartments over, Colin Berry was settling into her new routine after recently moving from Colorado to work for The HSUS, when she spotted three kittens playing outside her window. Soon more cats appeared, and Colin discovered that they were living between the woods and a fence that separated her apartment complex from another. She started putting food down in the evenings when she returned from work. When she noticed other empty food bowls in the area, she realized someone else was also trying to help the cats.

Two Worlds Collide

While feeding her cats one day, Charlotte spied a note on the fence. “To the Person Who Takes Care of the Cats," it said. Her heart skipped a beat. She was afraid that she and her cats were in trouble, but the large smiley face on the paper encouraged her to read the note. It was from Colin, and it explained that she worked in the animal welfare field and could help Charlotte with the cats.

A few days later, Charlotte got in touch with Colin, and they discovered that they both work for The HSUS and live in the same apartment complex. Within a month or two, they successfully trapped six cats. They took them to the veterinarian where the cats were spayed or neutered, rabies vaccinated, and ear-tipped. With the financial help and moral support of their friends, family and colleagues at The HSUS, the future looks bright for these cat caretakers and their new joint colony.

Behind-the-Scenes Care

The strategy of trap-neuter-return (TNR) that Charlotte and Colin employed has proven highly effective in humanely reducing the numbers of feral cats and improving their quality of life. Thousands of dedicated caretakers throughout the United States help feral cats in this way on a daily basis. In addition to this service, caretakers provide long-term food, water and shelter for cats in a feral colony. They also monitor their cat colonies for newcomers. When tame stray cats and young feral kittens are trapped, the caretakers try to find loving homes for them.

All cats need responsible care—whether they are tame and have recently lost their homes through roaming, escape or abandonment; or are feral and too wild to be handled. To learn more about feral cats check out our feral cat center where you can read frequently asked questions about feral cats and learn how you can help stray and feral cats in your community.

Posted August 17, 2007.