feral and stray cats, an important difference
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Feral cats, wild cats, stray cats -- we have many names for the mysterious felines we sometimes see peeking out from under our porch or darting into abandoned buildings. Yet most of them share a single destiny: short, difficult lives. Fortunately, helping feral or abandoned cats isn’t difficult. WebMD went to the experts in cat health and behaviour for tips on how to make a difference in the lives of our feline friends who are living on the edge.
Domestic cats are a species of cats that includes a pet, stray, and feral cats. Within this classification, there is also a unique difference between the feral and stray cats. This difference is noticeable in the way they interact and relate to human beings. As an individual, learning how to relate to different animals is important. It doesn’t matter if you are just a person in a neighbourhood overrun with feral cats or a shelter worker. Deciding on the best form of interaction becomes easy when you learn the behaviour unique to each type of cat.
There are no biological differences between domestic and stray cats, however, feral cats often have a more unkempt appearance. The word feral means the cat has either escaped his owner or was born without contact with humans. Feral cats fur often have a scruffy look and their bodies of often very lean and lanky. Both domesticated and feral cats are around 9-10 pounds on average when fully mature, although certain breeds can grow significantly larger.
In Australia, predation of native fauna by invasive carnivores, including the feral domestic cat (Felis catus), is recognised as a ‘key threatening process’ under the Australian commonwealth environment protection and biodiversity act 1999 (epic act). Since its introduction to Australia ≈200 years ago, the domestic cat has become established across the entire continent. Recent estimates indicate that there are 1. 4–5. 6 million feral cats in natural environments, and another 0. 7 million strays (‘semi-feral’) cats in highly modified environments such as urban areas, refuse dumps and intensive farms.
