Welcome to the Jacksonville Feral Cat Support Website!
This site was created by people who have experience in feral cat caretaking.
What is a Feral Cat?
The word "feral" comes from the feminine form of the Latin ferus, which means wild animal and refers to animals that have, according to Webster’s, "escaped from domestication and become wild." A feral cat is not the same as a stray. Stray cats have previously lived in human homes.When forced to live on their own, strays develop their wild instincts. Their social skills, however, are still close to the surface, and once trapped, they can be re-socialized.
Often, a feral will hook up with a tame domestic cat and mimic the cat’s social behavior. Such copycats are more easily approached and may be easier to tame. If a prospective owner wants to work with a feral cat, he or she must have patience and move at the cat’s pace.
There are estimated to be over 140,000 stray and feral cats in Duval County, all the result of abandonment of the offspring of unaltered free-roaming domestic cats. These cats can be found congregating around food sources near resturants and around shopping malls. Anywhere there is trash from a cafeteria and rodents, there are cats.
Often, a feral will hook up with a tame domestic cat and mimic the cat’s social behavior. Such copycats are more easily approached and may be easier to tame. If a prospective owner wants to work with a feral cat, he or she must have patience and move at the cat’s pace.
There are estimated to be over 140,000 stray and feral cats in Duval County, all the result of abandonment of the offspring of unaltered free-roaming domestic cats. These cats can be found congregating around food sources near resturants and around shopping malls. Anywhere there is trash from a cafeteria and rodents, there are cats.
Rescued Cat With Embedded Collars!
After 2 weeks I was able to finally trap a kitty who had been reported as having a collar wrapped around its neck and leg. An elderly lady had contacted FCNMHPS about feeding a feral or wild cat once a day when she showed up at her door and having seen that her front leg was pushed up next to her face and she was crying out in pain.
I tried daily to get her to come out in the open and set up to four traps at a time baited with everything from tuna to fresh Ky Fried Chicken, but she never would show. After a week of back and forth driving and seeing no results I was becoming really stressed about it. I found myself unable to think of anything but this poor kitty. Then at 4:30 am, the night of my birthday, I decided to give it another try and by 5:00 am I had two traps set at her location. I sat there in the dark and just waited. After 20 minutes I saw her stroll out of some bushes, hopping and limping, a frail skinny kitty and could see the pink collar even in the moonlight. I watched her walk into the trap and then watched the door close. It was an exciting moment let me tell you!
Once I got her in the light though I realized there was not one collar on, not even two...there were three collars on this cat! Two pink flea collars and one regular pet collar. She was crying and howling and I rushed her to a vet a friend had contacted before hand, left her there and waited for what seemed like eternity for the results. She was in surgery for a few hours and the collar was so embedded around her neck and right front leg that it was cut out of the muscle to the bone all the way around from front of neck, around the leg to up under the leg.
The vet estimated that the embedded collar had been on her at least 4 years and that the kitty was close to 5 years old. She was also declawed on the front paws.
I was told that the rotten tissue was so deep and the smell so strong that the vet and staff were sick for days. I really did not think she would make it and if she did I figured she would have no use of the leg. I also figured she was so wild that it was going to be rough giving her medication or cleaning her wounds. Boy was I wrong! This kitty has been the sweetest and most precious kitty I have ever had. She had to lay in a very low crate and not stand on her leg for over 6 weeks and she had alot of bowel issues that ended up irritating her wounds and had be took back to the vet quite a few times to have her wounds cleaned out. The vet had left an opening under her leg to drain and she smelled like rotten flesh for weeks. She also had to wear the plastic collar around her neck for 8 weeks straight, only taking it off to eat after 7 weeks of wear. She stayed on heavy antibiotics the entire time along with other medications and I worked with her every few hours making sure she was clean, comfortable and loved. She never protested against anything that had to be done for her. I imagine her life had been so horrible that even confinement and cleaning of wounds was bliss for her.
I am happy to say that after almost 4 months of having trapped her she is doing fantastic! She sleeps on my bed and she plays and runs and jumps just like any other cat I have had. She has healed so well that you can't even tell she had so many stitches and the only outward sign of anything is she limps sometimes or holds her leg up when she is sitting. When she hears my voice she starts talking and purring and can't wait to rub against me.
Her new name is Tara and she was the greatest birthday present I have ever had. I also have to say that if not for a wonderful person who paid for her surgery, medication, rechecks and other testing, I would have had no choice but to have put her down. It is because of caring people like her that angels like this can be saved!
Please take a look at her photos below.....and take note of the dangers of collars!
Click on a picture to enlarge it....
I tried daily to get her to come out in the open and set up to four traps at a time baited with everything from tuna to fresh Ky Fried Chicken, but she never would show. After a week of back and forth driving and seeing no results I was becoming really stressed about it. I found myself unable to think of anything but this poor kitty. Then at 4:30 am, the night of my birthday, I decided to give it another try and by 5:00 am I had two traps set at her location. I sat there in the dark and just waited. After 20 minutes I saw her stroll out of some bushes, hopping and limping, a frail skinny kitty and could see the pink collar even in the moonlight. I watched her walk into the trap and then watched the door close. It was an exciting moment let me tell you!
Once I got her in the light though I realized there was not one collar on, not even two...there were three collars on this cat! Two pink flea collars and one regular pet collar. She was crying and howling and I rushed her to a vet a friend had contacted before hand, left her there and waited for what seemed like eternity for the results. She was in surgery for a few hours and the collar was so embedded around her neck and right front leg that it was cut out of the muscle to the bone all the way around from front of neck, around the leg to up under the leg.
The vet estimated that the embedded collar had been on her at least 4 years and that the kitty was close to 5 years old. She was also declawed on the front paws.
I was told that the rotten tissue was so deep and the smell so strong that the vet and staff were sick for days. I really did not think she would make it and if she did I figured she would have no use of the leg. I also figured she was so wild that it was going to be rough giving her medication or cleaning her wounds. Boy was I wrong! This kitty has been the sweetest and most precious kitty I have ever had. She had to lay in a very low crate and not stand on her leg for over 6 weeks and she had alot of bowel issues that ended up irritating her wounds and had be took back to the vet quite a few times to have her wounds cleaned out. The vet had left an opening under her leg to drain and she smelled like rotten flesh for weeks. She also had to wear the plastic collar around her neck for 8 weeks straight, only taking it off to eat after 7 weeks of wear. She stayed on heavy antibiotics the entire time along with other medications and I worked with her every few hours making sure she was clean, comfortable and loved. She never protested against anything that had to be done for her. I imagine her life had been so horrible that even confinement and cleaning of wounds was bliss for her.
I am happy to say that after almost 4 months of having trapped her she is doing fantastic! She sleeps on my bed and she plays and runs and jumps just like any other cat I have had. She has healed so well that you can't even tell she had so many stitches and the only outward sign of anything is she limps sometimes or holds her leg up when she is sitting. When she hears my voice she starts talking and purring and can't wait to rub against me.
Her new name is Tara and she was the greatest birthday present I have ever had. I also have to say that if not for a wonderful person who paid for her surgery, medication, rechecks and other testing, I would have had no choice but to have put her down. It is because of caring people like her that angels like this can be saved!
Please take a look at her photos below.....and take note of the dangers of collars!
Click on a picture to enlarge it....