HOW TO HELP FERAL CATS

1. Trap - MFCA can help you with this and lend equipment 2. Neuter - MFCA can cover all or some of the cost 3. Return - Return the cats to the only home they know 4. Provide Shelter - Google "feral cat shelters" for ideas 5. Food & Water - Food and clean water keeps them healthy and happy 6. Inform Neighbors - Let them know the cats are being cared for 7. Educate - Share what you know about feral cats and how to help Note: MFCA does not relocate adult cats, nor find homes for adult cats. Helpful Links: Coalition for Community Cats-Colony Management Tips Sacramento Feral Resources

Cat BehaviorActivity:The time at which cats are active depends on their environment. For example, many cats in the wild (feral) are most active at nighttime, while some pet cats may be more active during times when their owners are home and active.Reproduction: Cats that have not been neutered or spayed will mate during any season, producing up to 20 kittens each year.Social Interaction: Cats are generally solitary, territorial animals. Feral cats will often form loose colonies consisting of mostly females and kittens, but cats typically fend for themselves during adulthood. Cats communicate and navigate mostly through scent, rubbing and spraying to mark their territories. Domesticated cats are the only cats that are socially comfortable with humans.Scent Marketing: Cats have scent glands all over their bodies - from their face to their paws and tails - which they use to communicate. For example, unfixed cats may spray, or "urine mark", on vertical surfaces to communicate their presence with other cats and mark the territory as their own.Predation: Cats feed on small vertebrates and invertebrates. They're known to stalk animals when perched at a higher altitude and quickly pounce on them to attack. Feral cats in particular are very successful predators, keeping the population of pests like mice at a minimum.