Have you ever noticed all of the stray cats in our community?   Behind businesses, strip malls, or homes it is not uncommon to see packs of stray cats hanging around an empty pie pan waiting for somebody to remember to fill it up with food.  Many times they look thin and sickly; their eyes crusted with respiratory infections and their ears crumpled from mites.   

Many of these semi-feral cat packs all started with one well-intentioned human being.  They saw one stray cat and although they didn’t really want or need another cat, they decide to just help it out a little by feeding it.    Though their heart was in the right place, they may actually have done the cat more harm than good by feeding it. A bowl of cat food will not only feed the intended kitty, but it will also attract many other 4-legged creatures, since animals have a tremendous sense of smell. 

Creating a meeting place for all of the many feral cats around can lead to big problems, the most obvious one being uncontrolled breeding.  The humane society states that 1 female cat and her offspring can produce about 420,000 cats in a period of 7 years.  WOW!  Imagine trying to find 420,000 GOOD homes for all those kittens!  Keep in mind that many of them will be inbred, since cats don’t discriminate against breeding partners based on genetics

And what about diseases and infections?  The sad truth is that it only takes 1 cat with feline leukemia virus or feline aids to wipe out almost the whole bunch.  Also a possibility when groups of animals gather around the food bowl:  RABIES.  That food bowl will not only attract cats, but dogs, raccoons, opossums, foxes, etc.  Rabies is particularly scary because it not only affects cats, but YOU the human may become infected if bitten. 

Think twice about feeding stray cats unless you truly intend to adopt them and make them your pet.  Do you have the spare time and resources to spend on that adorable kitten? If not then take it to an animal rescue where it stands a chance of finding a loving home.  With a little love and care, including proper nutrition, deworming, vaccinations, and spaying/neutering, a stray cat can make a healthy, wonderful, lifelong companion.  All it takes is a human who is willing to commit beyond just putting out food.I