Discrepancies in the amounts of cats in and out of shelters and the feral cat problem (May 5th 2025)

The basis for this research paper comes anecdotally, I simply noticed that 1). Within animal shelters there almost always seem to be more dogs than cats, 2). Despite there being less cats than dogs in shelters, there are far more free-roaming cats than there are dogs. This was a confusing notion to me as Ive heard not infrequently that cats have a negative impact on their local environments as an introduced apex predator. It seemed to me like shelters should be putting more effort into getting cats off the streets with the negative environmental harm and comparatively large numbers outside of shelters. Which lead me to this paper wherein I will discuss the reasons for the above observations and possible solutions that could be introduced on local and statewide levels.

We can start with data from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to draw some simple conclusions that will help answer the above questions. To start the ASPCA reports that 3.1 million dogs and 3.2 million cats enter shelters every year which would seem to suggest the opposite of my initial observation, until you take into account that of this number 390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats are euthanized every year as well, that being 140,000 more cats euthanized than dogs. Also taking into account that of the 4.1 million shelter animals adopted each year 2 million are dogs and 2.1 million are cats, so they are slightly more likely to be adopted (Pet statistics). Cats are also less likely than dogs to be returned to a shelter due to behavioral issues, one study shows that 9.2% of shelter intake dogs are returned for behavioral issues while only 5.2% of cats are returned for the same (Hawes, 2020). From this we can conclude that cats, while being put into shelters at higher rates (likely due to higher numbers) are more likely to be euthanized or adopted contributing in part to their comparatively lower presence in shelters comparatively to dogs which are less likely to be adopted and more likely to be returned.

With that established we can now discuss the issue of free roaming domesticated animals and how they affect the environment around themselves. I pointed out earlier that there is a lack of feral dogs when compared to feral dogs and put simply the reason for this is that dogs have more potential to be directly harmful to humans than cats, not only due to their physical abilities but also due to their ability to carry rabies. Feral dogs are more common in less developed countries such as India. Feral cats present less of a direct issue to humans but have a steeper environmental impact in the United States. Firstly, we should identify what constitutes a feral cat. Oftentimes in casual conversation the terms stray and feral will be used interchangeably, but there is a wide gap in socialization between what can be considered a feral cat and what can be considered a stray cat. Both fall under the larger umbrella term community cats, which refers to any cat that is unowned and lives outdoors (Feral and Stray Cats: An important difference 2025). Feral cats have never been or have very rarely been in positive contact with humans, stray cats on the other hand have at one point had significant positive interaction with humans. This affects their level of socialization with humans, and it is generally considered that feral cats lack enough socialization to ever become house cats, due to their lack of early socialization they are mostly incapable of becoming accustomed to humans. Stray cats can become house cats again with proper care and attention (Feral and Stray Cats: An important difference 2025). Feral and stray cats behavior can be similar when they are frightened, but in general the behavioral differences between a stray and a feral cat will become clear with observation, stay cats are more willing to interact with humans overall, they may meow and respond to human vocals, and may approach humans from a distance. Feral cats will not willingly interact with humans, they will run and hide from people, and they are less likely to be seen in the first place as they are more nocturnal than stray cats (Feral and Stray Cats: An important difference 2025). A feral cat will likely never allow themselves to be touched by a human and will react aggressively to attempts. This also contributes to the seaming mismatch of the number of cats in shelters vs. the amount outside of them, feral cats simply do not make good pets and it is widely considered that their quality of life will sharply decline indoors. They are also more likely to be aggressive, which results in a higher probability of euthanasia if they are caught by animal control or put in shelters. There exists models to predict the amount of cats in an areas, including feral and stray cats, but in general populations numbers of feral cats are shaky and even one of the modern models states, *Issues surrounding cat population density within a community are complex and are largely due to the actions (or inactions) of people.* (Flockhart & Coe, 2018).

Feral cats should be left alone, is the majority opinion but that neglects the fact that cats are apex predators and do have a marked effect on the ecology of the area they are in. Recio and Seddon in their study *Understanding determinants of home range behaviour of feral cats as introduced apex predators in insular ecosystems: a spatial approach* state that feral cats are particularly suited to being an invasive species, *the feral domestic cat shows remarkable adaptability and behavioural flexibility to a broad spectrum of environmental circumstances, making it one of the most widespread introduced mammals globally and responsible for severe reductions or extinctions of native insular vertebrate species.* (Recio & Seddon, 2013). With this in mind it becomes apparent that the population of feral cats must be controlled somehow, reduction and, if possible, complete eradication of feral cat populations should be worked towards in hopes of lessening their impact on the local ecology.

There are multiple demonstrated ways to affect the stray and feral cat populations which include TNR (trap-neuter-return), TVHR (trap-vasectomy-hysterectomy-release), and lethal control. TNR has been shown to reduce the population of feral cats and reduce the amount of euthanasia of healthy cats, *Adult cat euthanasia in 2006 was 3.6 per 1,000 humans while kitten euthanasia was 3.7 per 1,000 humans. [after TNR program was introduced in area] As of 2014, 713 adult cats and 1,917 kittens were euthanized, for a rate of .5 per 1,000 humans for adult cats, and 1.1 for kittens.* (Johnson & Cicirelli, 2014). Lethal control has been presented as a viable option, Michael C. Calver et. all present four reasons why they believe that lethal control combined with aggressive adoption efforts is a superior choice as opposed to TNR, *1. Around human habitation, free-ranging cats, regardless of ownership, have poorer welfare outcomes compared to contained cats. 2. Allowing cats to range freely increases predation upon wildlife. Impacts may vary locally, but precautionary risk management discourages outdoor husbandry of cats—the risk is established to the point where action should be taken. 3.The ability of free-ranging cats to control pest rodent populations is unsubstantiated, especially in cities. 4. Free-ranging cats transmit significant pathogens, including zoonoses.* (Calver et al., 2023). However, while these points are valid one study found that both lethal control and TNR are only effective if over 57% of a population of feral/stray cats is affected, otherwise there is little change, on the other hand TVHR is shown to be effective when at least 35% or more of the population is treated (McCarthy et al., 2013), however since the time of writing this study has widely been disputed, particularly in respect to concerns about the quality of life of the cats returned from TVHR programs (TVHR does not eliminate harmful mating behavior like TNR does), and there is skepticism that TVHR has not been widely tested outside of projections from computer models and that they will not function as well as they have been projected to (Trap-vasectomy-hysterectomy-return (TVHR) is no substitute for trap-neuter-return (TNR) 2016). In addition, it is worth noting that in most areas in the United States lethal control initiatives will face major pushbacks from people who feel that it is morally unethical.

With all of this in mind, one can conclude that TNR programs should continue to be pushed, with support from local government and environmental agencies, with topical application of lethal control in areas where ecology is inconsiderable danger and feral cat populations are at high numbers. In general, stray cats should be brought into animal shelters and feral cats should be the main target of TNR programs. In addition, more people should be made aware of the differences in stray cats and feral cats, so the issue of feral cats can be more accurately reported on. More effort should be put into accurately surveying the amount of stray and feral cats in the United States to make elimination efforts more efficient.