Cat Colonies

What is a cat colony? 

A cat colony is a group of cats living together outside in the same area. A cat colony can be anywhere from a small handful of cats, to a large group of more than 100 cats. These free living cats are often persecuted by residents or councils, when in fact they are in desperate need of our help.

Are cats from cat colonies  able to be rehomed as pets?

The short answer is no. Cats who have been born on the street quickly develop the skills they need to survive. The main skill they need is a fear of humans. To rehome a kitten who was born on the street they need to be no more than 6 weeks of age, any older they will be on their way to developing an ingrained fear of humans which they may never overcome. Stray adult cats are almost always timid and are unable to be rehomed.

Where did they come from?

Originally, someone  abandoned either an undesexed cat, or a litter of kittens. They most likely started out as kittens, as domesticated cats who have lived as someone’s pet will not survive for long on the street. They just don’t have the skills and knowledge to survive on their own without human care. However, if a litter of kittens of around the 8-12 week age group are dumped on the street, while it’s probable that if they are not found and cared for by humans that they will die, a small percentage will survive to reach breeding age.

Female kittens can reach sexually maturity as young as 4 months of age and siblings will readily breed with each other. Without intervention an un-desexed female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in only seven years. So what may start with a small handful of cats, can quickly become a colony of 100+ if left undesexed.

What is the solution?

There is no perfect solution when it comes to colony or ‘free living’ cats. We don’t believe in killing them for a number of reasons, apart from the fact we are dedicated to ‘No Kill’ in all its forms. But primarily because when it comes to colony cats, it simply doesn’t solve the problem. There have been occasions when groups have attempted to round up, trap and then kill entire cat colonies, only to find later on that the colony has grown back to its original numbers in a year or 2. There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, because they probably missed a couple of cats. And secondly because there are so many free living cats all over Sydney, that if there is a viable area where cats can eke out an existence, if the area becomes suddenly free, other cats from surrounding area’s will move in…and breed…and breed. Like in the wild, area’s can sustain a certain animal population. The population will always breed to capacity of their environment. Once it reaches capacity, it tends to reach status quo.

So, what do we suggest? As controversial as it may be, we believe the only long term solution for reducing cat colony populations is Trap, Desex, Return (TDR). Although we believe that there should be an additional word there, and that is colony care, primarily feeding. TDR is not very common in Australia, and most colonies of cats are unmanaged. TDR initiatives have been widely practised in the US with much success (although they call it TNR, for Trap, Neuter, Return). Although no formal or Government statistics have ever been taken anywhere in the world on TDR, but groups involved have found that this has by far been the most successful long-term solution to colony cats…with the eventual plan of having no colony or free living cats at all. Of course to truly realise this dream, people will have to start desexing their pets to avoid unwanted litters ending up on the streets, and of course to stop dumping cats.

Why does Trap, Desex, Return work?

It works, because even once desexed, cats will maintain their territory so that other cats can’t move in. If you trap, remove and kill a whole colony, even if you manage to get them all, other undesexed free living cats from the area will move in…and breed…and breed. And you have the same problem all over again within a year or 2. Whereas once you trap, desex and return them all, they will maintain their territory and not allow other cats to move in, and will no longer be a growing colony.

Undesexed, unmanaged colonies are a huge problem to the community. Whether you love cats or hate them, there’s one thing we can all agree on, and that is that cat colonies are a problem. Undesexed cats display a host of behaviours undesirable to humans. These behaviours are magnified when it’s in a colony. These undesirable behaviours can include spraying, fighting, mating, yowling, and the hunting and killing of birds and wildlife. As well as of course having more kittens. Desexing a cat removes all these undesirable behaviours instantly. And when you have desexed an entire colony the effect is enormous.

Colony Management: What does it involve?

As well as conducting a trap, desex & return initiative, colony management involves a number of other aspects. Primarily feeding the cats. Many people mistakenly believe that by feeding them you are just encouraging them. This is simply not true. The cats are already there. That is a fact. No one, least of all the colony manager or volunteers wants them to be there, but they are and this has to be dealt with in the best way possible. What feeding the cats does do is stops them from scavenging and killing birds and wildlife. It also ensures that the cats have a proper diet (which they don’t get from scavenged rubbish scraps), which ensures they are less likely to have serious health issues which can be upsetting even for local residents who claim to hate the cat colony.

Properly managed cat colonies are the best solution for cat lovers and cat haters alike as desexed and fed cat colonies will rarely been seen by anyone other than the feeders as free living cats are essentially frightened of humans, and will only come near humans when they are either sick, or starving and so desperate that they are prepared to go against all their instincts to stay away from humans and out of sight.

As well as regular feeding, colony management may also require the colony manager or volunteers to liaise with local residents and/or businesses to explain what you are doing, and explain the benefits to the community and to them as individuals of what you are doing. And if the colony is either wholly or partly on private property (such as an industrial estate), you will need to obtain the permission of the property owner or manager to be allowed to conduct a TDR initiative as well as to feed. If you explain to them the benefits to them of what you are doing, they will likely grant you permission. And if they refuse, you can always explain to them what will happen if they don’t accept your offer. This is that even if they are able to trap, remove and kill the cats, they will never get them all (only a colony carer will know when they have all the cats as the colony carers get to know them all) and the ones left behind will quickly breed to colony capacity again. And even if they do manage to remove them all, other free living cats will move in and breed to colony capacity. You can also let them know that the council do not come out and trap cats for them. They will either need to do this themselves, or pay someone to do this, You should also explain to them that there are strict laws surrounding the trapping of cats, as well as the care of the cats whilst in their care and whilst transporting them. If a cat injures itself due to their inexperienced knowledge of cat trapping, they could find themselves liable for prosecution. As long as you prepare yourself with knowledge and information before contacting the property owner or manager for permission, you should have no problem obtaining permission by clearly letting them see that what you are offering is a gift and the best solution for all.

What is and who is a Colony Manager or Carer?

A colony manager or carer is a hero. But they are also you and me. There are no groups in Australia that have a dedicated assist for cat colonies of their carers. Some rescue groups help here and there as they can, but the facts are there are too many colonies and too few resources and too few people willing to pitch in and help. Most cat colonies in Australia are unmanaged. But there are some generous, compassionate individuals who have become aware of a colony (usually near their home or work) and are doing what they can to help the cats living in these colonies. Some of the colonies are completely desexed, and the only job left is feeding. Other colony carers have not desexed the cats in their colony, but are feeding them, and would like to desex them but are on their own and don’t have the resources and need help.

How can you help?

Anyone caring for a colony on their own desperately needs help. Even if it’s just help with feeding one day a week, or when the primary carer is sick or away. For other colonies, they may require a small group to help with trapping the cats for desex and return. There a number of ways you can help an individual who is attempting to conduct a TDR initiative. If you are unable to assist with trapping, perhaps you could offer to drive the cat to and from the vet. Or perhaps you could call around different rescue groups and ask for each group if they can pay for a few of the cats to be desexed. And of course, people to feed the cats are always needed in every colony. Ideally each colony would have a small group of feeders who could each feed one day a week.

If you would like to help, but are unable to physically help, you could donate a cat trap (you can buy them quite cheaply on eBay), or donate cat food. Cat colonies require large amounts of cat food. You could even spend $50 or $100 on cat food and have it delivered via online shopping to an address provided by one of the colony carers.
We have developed a Colony Carers and Volunteers Needed web page dedicated to putting likeminded people together to assist in any way they can with cat colonies in their local area. Be it help with feeding, trapping, or transporting; or if you would like to donate a cat trap or cat food to a colony in your area.
Even 20 minutes a fortnight is more than enough to make a difference.

I am caring for a Cat Colony and need help

We believe that the best way to properly manage a cat colony is with a small team of likeminded and caring individuals. Managing a cat colony is simply too large a job for one person. If you are trying to care for a cat colony on your own, you need help. Whilst you have probably already found out there is official help out there. But chances are, there are other people who feel just like you do who either live or work in the area of the colony.
If you are one of these heroes caring for a cat colony and need help, you will find a Contact Us form on the Colony Carers and Volunteers Needed web page that you can complete. We will then list your colony details on our website (we will not list the specific location, only the suburb; nor will we list your name of contact details). Then, when anyone contacts us offering to help with your colony we will forward you their contact details.

Some people may only be able to offer only a small amount of help; they might offer to feed the cat when you are sick or away and nothing more, but for anyone doing caring for a cat colony already on their own, this would be a godsend. You may find that another person may offer a larger amount of help. Just remember, the quickest way to lose volunteers is to ask them to do more than they are prepared to do. It’s best to accept every offer of help graciously, and you may soon find that you have team of many people, each doing a small part, but together doing an enormous job.

Already caring for a colony and need help?