Feral Cat Statistics
* Feral cats have an average of 1.4 litters per year, with an average 3.5 live births in each litter. That equals 4.9 kittens per year, per female
feral cat. Indeed, a pair of breeding cats and their offspring can produce 420,000 kittens over a seven-year period.
* Of the approximately 146 million cats in the United States, about half are feral/unowned.
* Every day, 10,000 humans are born in the United States, while 70,000 kittens and puppies are born. As long as these birth rates exist,
there will never be enough homes for all of the animals, resulting in the euthanization of many of them.
* Each year, almost 9 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters in the U.S. because there are not enough homes.
* Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is more cost-effective than trapping and killing feral cats. Altering a cat costs about $50, while euthanizing a cat
costs more than $100.
* An established TNR program can effectively reduce the feral cat population in both the short and long term.
TNR programs benefit all cats, including domestic cats. Animal control resources that now must be directed toward feral cats could be used
to provide shelter and services for adoptable domestic cats.
© Copyright Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee 2010
wanting to help the unwanted...
