Celebrate National Feral Cat Day Every October 16
Every October 16 we help raise awareness about feral cats with National Feral Cat Day.
As of 2017, the day’s name has changed to Global Cat Day. This was done to recognize that community cats exist everywhere.
Feral cats probably roam your neighborhood.
But feral cats are also the subject of very passionate voices, both for and against protecting them. Many people who say they hate cats, especially ferals, generally don’t understand them.
National Feral Cat Day/Global Cat Day aims to change that. Alley Cat Allies started the day back in 2001, on the organization’s 10th anniversary. They have 2 goals:
- Promoting the use of TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) to control feral cat populations.
- Recognizing the passionate people across the country working to protect feral cat populations.
People and organizations hold hundreds of events around the country every year, with the number growing each year. Some events are even international.
About Feral Cats
Cats and humans have lived peacefully alongside each other for more than 10,000 years. Some cultures worshiped them as gods. Some households still do!
Feral cats and pet cats are the same species. The only difference is the ferals haven’t been socialized to humans. This means they don’t want to live with us, so they’re not adoptable.
Usually you can’t tame a feral cat, although it has been done (they probably weren’t fully feral). Most of the time the best you can do is get the cats to trust you enough to feed them and maybe pet them a little. Kittens are different. You can usually bring them inside to become socialized and adopted out.
That’s why people who help care for feral colonies, also called community cats, are so important to protecting these cats.
And TNR is a vital part of this care. Caretakers trap the animals, get them neutered or spayed and vaccinated, then return them to their outdoor homes. When the cats can’t reproduce, they’re not adding to the colony size. And with a small, stable colony it’s easier to care for and protect the cats.
You can recognize a TNR’d feral cat by the missing tip on one ear (usually the left one).
Feral cats are a part of nature, and they should be allowed to stay there. And more and more communities now agree. They officially support TNR as a way of managing feral cats.
Unfortunately, many people don’t agree. They say feral cats kill birds and other wildlife and must be stopped. They trap and bring them to shelters. Sadly most shelters usually euthanize feral cats because they’re unadoptable.
This happens even in communities that officially support TNR, because some people simply believe killing them is the answer. But it’s not. Recent studies have actually shown the cat population increased in some areas where cats were being trapped and killed. Why? Because new cats moved in to take their places.
And anyway, feral cats really don’t kill more wildlife than other wildlife does. Killing to eat is part of nature.
And they’re not spreading disease either. When feral cat colonies have responsible caretakers, they can be just as healthy as pet cats.
So let them be.
National Feral Cat Day Themes
Each year National Feral Cat Day has a theme. Recent themes include:
2018 – Kindness for All Catkind
2015 – The Evolution of the Cat Revolution
2014 – TNR: From the Alley…to Main Street
2013 – Architects of Change foro Cats: Building blueprints for humane communities
2012 – Changing Communities for Cats
2011 – Compassion for Cat Coast to Coast
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial feline holiday.
How to Celebrate Global Cat Day
Do you have feral cats roaming the neighborhood? If they don’t have a caretaker, consider doing it yourself. Or at least advocate for their humane treatment. Find lots of information online for getting started, including:
- Alley Cat Allies Advocacy Toolkit
- Suggested Guidelines for Feral Cat Colony Caretakers
- How to Trap-Neuter_Return (TNR) Feral Cats
- How to Prevent Freezing Water (that you set out for feral cats)
- Winter Care and Safety for Feral Cats
Find events happening near you. Or hold an event of your own.
Check out the Global Cat Day site for more information & stories.
If you’re a vet, consider offering low-cost services for the feral cats in your community in honor of the day.
If you’re a shelter or rescue group, consider joining Ally Cat Allies’ Feral Friends Network.
Hear what Jackson Galaxy has to say about TNR programs:
[…] Global Cat Day: For this day we celebrate and help community cats. They’re also called “feral”, often in a negative way. But they’re living creatures that deserve care and humane treatment. Which is what this day is all about: controlling the community cat population with TNR and recognizing those compassionate people who make sure they’re fed, TNR’d and taken care of as well as possible. […]