Feral Cats Research Paper

With approximately sixty to one hundred million feral cats loose in the United States measures have started to be taken to lessen the number of cats we have in the wild. However, with the threat of offending animal rights activists there are only so many steps that can be considered humane enough to enforce. A feral cat can be defined as a cat that has been abandoned or a cat that was originally born in the wild. With the large amount of wild cats we have in the United States it has become a growing concern nationwide to those individuals who live near the populations of feral cats, and to researchers who are studying or protecting native birds and small mammals that the cats prey on. Researches have come to the conclusion that the trap, neuter and release, or TNR, of feral cats is the best way to reduce the amount of cats we have in the United States, while also being
Miller wrote an article titled Factors related to Preferences for Trap-Neuter-Release Management of Feral Cats among Illinois Homeowners. It discusses the implications of TNR, or the trap-neuter-release of feral cats. They argue that TNR is a highly effective way to reduce the feral cats’ population. Loyd and Miller address some limitations they had about how to control the populations as there were numerous organizations such as Alley Cat Allies, Best Friends Animal Society, and the Humane Society of the United States that defended the rights of the cats in the wild to be able to create and maintain the colonies that the cats had already made. Since there were so many organizations to protect the feral cats euthanasia and other forceful means were completely out of the question to get the populations down. The groups argued that if the cats were healthy and didn’t pose an immediate threat to human lives that there wasn’t a reasonable reason to end the cats’ life early. Thus, they found that TNR was the safest and best method to attempt to reduce the