How do feral cats survive—find food, stay warm, etc.?
Many don’t survive. If they do survive, their lives aren’t easy without human caretakers. Females may become pregnant as young as 4 to 5 months of age and may have 2 to 3 litters a year. Being pregnant so young and so often, and having and nursing kittens, is even more stressful on female cats who are struggling to survive. More than half of the kittens are likely to die. Males who roam and fight to find mates and defend their territories may be injured and transmit diseases to one another through bite wounds. Feral cats may find food in a restaurant dumpster or someone may feed them. They may find shelter from the elements beneath a porch or in an abandoned building. But often they are without food and shelter. Trap-Neuter-Return is a strategy to help improve the health and quality of life for feral cats and to prevent more cats from being born into this dangerous and difficult existence.
