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 Almost every community has feral cats:
unsocialized cats who may be one or
more generations removed from a
home environment and who may subsist
in a colony of similar cats living on the
fringes of human existence. Feral cats
live wherever they can scavenge for
food—near dumpsters, behind businesses,
in city parks and perhaps even in your
own backyard.
Despite outward appearances, generations of domestication have left these felines without many of the natural adaptations necessary for life outside. They do not "regain their instincts" and they do not thrive. Feral cats often band together in colonies and continue breeding. Over time they become more wary of people and teach their kittens to avoid humans. Starvation, disease, trauma and stresses of continual reproduction plague their lives. An estimated 55,000 feral cats live in Sarasota County Cats average two litters per year and kittens as young as five months of age can reproduce. The reproduction rate is staggering: An unaltered female cat and her offspring can potentially produce 420,000 kittens in seven years. If a feral cat in Sarasota County produced only one tenth of its potential by the year 2010, there would be an additional 42,000 cats living in our county. |
ANIMAL RESCUE COALITION'S
FREE FERAL CAT PROGRAM The ARC Mobile Clinic is a state-of-theart surgical facility, staffed by a Florida licensed veterinarian and two veterinary technicians. It operates throughout Sarasota and Manatee Counties on a regular schedule. One Sunday each month the ARC Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic performs spays and neuters on feral cats for FREE! Local veterinarians and veterinary technicians, ARC staff and volunteers all donate their time and talent to this very effective trap-neuter-return program. 
Feral cats need to be trapped 24 to 48 hours before the scheduled Feral Cat Clinic Day. Traps are available through ARC, coalition members or several locations throughout the county. Feral cats brought to the clinic are: • altered, • given vaccines, • one ear tipped, • their ears are cleaned, • they are picked up later that day. The cats must be kept in the traps for an additional 24 hours before being released. |
  Help spread the word about the Animal Rescue Coalition and its Participating Organizations. Encourage everyone feeding feral cats to contact ARC. Keep your cats indoors. Spay or neuter your companion pets and encourage friends and family to do the same. Become a volunteer. Make a contribution to ARC and help us reach more of society’s forgotten cats. |
Animal Rescue Coalition
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