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Frequently Asked QuestionsFAQs About FCCOWhat is the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon (FCCO)?What cats qualify for your program? Are you part of the Humane Society? How is this program supported? Do you ever need volunteers? Do you round up feral cats and spay/neuter them? Does FCCO trap cats for people? FAQs About Our ServicesWhat services do the cats receive?What is an ear tip? I am feeding a stray or feral cat. How can I get him neutered? There is a cat(s) living on my property and I want them removed. Can you help? There is a stray/feral cat living in my neighborhood. Will you come get him/her? My aunt lives on a farm overrun with cats. What can you do to help us? FAQs About Feral CatsWhat is a feral cat?What is a stray cat? What is a free-roaming cat? What does spay and neuter mean? What is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Who is a caregiver? What is a humane trap? What is a feral cat colony? At what age can a cat begin having kittens? What is the earliest age I can spay or neuter a kitten? What is the gestation period for cats? Can a pregnant cat be spayed? How soon do cats go back in heat after they have a litter of kittens? If I trap a lactating cat, what should I do? Is it better to let kittens remain with their mother until they are weaned or should they be taken sooner and bottle-fed and socialized as soon as possible? At what age would you consider it to be too late to domesticate a wild kitten? How do I earn the trust of a feral cat or tame a wild cat/kitten? How do you tell if a cat is truly feral or just a scared abandoned cat? Why should I get involved with feeding and spaying feral cats when I cannot commit to feeding beyond a few months? If the caregiver stops feeding, won't the cats just go away? Why not just trap and kill feral cats? How often do I need to feed the cats? Are there sources of cheap food? What are good ways to find people to help with feeding without endangering the cats? What is a good way to feed feral cats so that other birds or animals do not get at the food? How can I approach a business to get permission to trap-neuter-return (TNR) the cats? How do I prevent people from dumping their cats near my colony? If only one cat remains from the colony, is it better to leave her or relocate the cat? What is the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon
(FCCO)? The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon is a mobile trap-neuter-return (TNR) program for feral and stray cats. The program's services are targeted for feral cats who have caregivers feeding them. The caregivers trap the cats, bring them to a clinic, and return the cats to where they are being fed with a commitment to feed the cat(s) on a permanent basis. We currently hold clinics in seven cities in Oregon and SW Washington. The goal of the program is to reduce suffering for existing feral cats and prevent the births and suffering of future generations. FCCO is the first statewide mobile spay/neuter program exclusively caring for feral cats in North America and one of the strongest feral cat programs in the country. Founded in 1995, FCCO will spay/neuter 6,000 cats this year and has altered over 40,000 cats since our inception. What cats qualify for your
program? FCCO services are available for feral cats, barn cats and stray cats who are being fed consistently by a caregiver. Our services are not for tame cats living as part of a family. Are you part of the Humane
Society? No. FCCO is a separate organization, not associated with any other organizations or programs. How is this program
supported? FCCO is a 501c3, not-for-profit organization supported solely through donations from individuals, foundations and corporations. We do not receive any public funding. Please consider making a donation today! Do you ever need
volunteers? Yes! FCCO is a volunteer-based organization. We rely on volunteers to help plan our clinics, work at the clinics, help with fundraising and other administrative tasks. For more information on how to volunteer click here. Do you round up feral cats and spay/neuter
them? No. The cats that receive our services have caregivers feeding them. The caregiver contacts FCCO, is screened to ensure the cat is truly feral or stray and not a domestic housecat, that the cat is welcome where s/he is currently being fed, and the caregiver will continue to feed the cat for the rest of the cat's life. Each caregiver also signs a release form certifying they meet our criteria. With this information confirmed, the cat is then given a reservation for a clinic. Does FCCO trap cats for
people? FCCO does not have the resources to trap cats for caregivers. We have live traps available in the cities we serve, we lend guidance over the phone and have trapping instructions on our web site. We are sometimes able to help trap cats for the elderly, disabled, or those with large colonies. FCCO traps are not used for trapping and removing unwanted stray or feral cats. What services do the cats
receive? FCCO's 24-foot mobile hospital, designed specifically for spaying/neutering feral cats, has three separate rooms: a surgery suite with room for three veterinarians to operate simultaneously; a prep area, and an anesthesia room. In addition to being spayed or neutered, each cat receives: FVRCP (distemper) and rabies vaccines, Flea treatment and is flea combed, Ear cleaning and ear mite treatment if necessary, Fluids if dehydrated, Treatment for minor medical conditions if present, His or her right ear tipped for future identification. Cats who appear to be suffering, as determined by a veterinarian, are tested for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV): all positives are euthanized. What is an ear tip? All cats who go through FCCO have the tip of their right ear removed (see photo). This is done while under anesthesia by a veterinarian or certified technician. It is the international symbol of a feral cat that has been spayed or neutered. This procedure prevents a second anesthesia and allows the caregivers to keep track of the cats in their care. I am feeding a stray or feral cat. How can I get him
neutered? Please call the clinic number for the city nearest you. The phone numbers are listed beside each clinic on our schedule found on this website. You may also call our main phone line at 503-797-2606 to get information about alternative free or low cost spay/neuter programs in the state. There is a cat(s) living on my property and I want
them removed. Can you help? The FCCO does not trap and remove cats and our traps are not used for this purpose. If you are not willing to feed and provide shelter for the cat(s), then you can hire a company to trap and remove the cat(s). There is a fee associated with this service. If the cat(s) is feral, s/he will be euthanized when taken to the local shelter. There is a stray/feral cat living in my neighborhood.
Will you come get him/her? The FCCO does not trap and remove cats. We recommend you contact your neighbors and post signs in your neighborhood to see if the cat has a home. If no home is located you may consider taking the cat to a local animal shelter, placing the cat on your own, or taking responsibility for the cat. My aunt lives on a farm overrun with cats. What can
you do to help us? We need to hear directly from the caregiver. If your aunt is willing to feed and provide shelter for the cats, then she can call the FCCO main number to get screened for our clinics. Her cats can go through our clinics, thus preventing future unwanted litters. What is a feral cat? A feral cat is an untamed cat. Some may refer to the cat as wild. The cat was either abandoned and has reverted to a more wild state, or the cat was born outdoors to a feral or stray mother and has had little or no human contact. Feral cats are frightened of people and avoid contact whenever possible. Feral kittens can be tamed, but usually adult feral cats are not able to be socialized. What is a stray cat? A stray cat is a cat who has strayed from home--often in search of a mate--and become lost, or was abandoned. Stray cats may be friendly or may have become wary of people. Their offspring may be feral. Because they have had human contact, they are less frightened of people than feral cats and can usually be socialized and adopted into a home. What is a free-roaming cat? A free-roaming cat is any cat that is not confined in a house or other type of enclosure. This includes, house cats, strays and ferals. What does spay and neuter
mean? They are the terms used for sterilizing cats. Female cats are spayed by removing their reproductive organs. Male cats are neutered or castrated. Both surgeries require general anesthetic and are performed by a veterinarian. What is Trap-Neuter-Return
(TNR) Trap-neuter-return is a humane approach to ending feral cat overpopulation. Caregivers who are feeding feral cats, trap them in humane live traps, take the cats to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and after they are recovered, they return the cats to where they are fed. Adoptable cats or kittens are removed and adopted into new homes whenever possible. Who is a caregiver? A caregiver is person who has taken responsibility for a feral cat or colony of cats. The caregiver is committed to feeding the cats on a permanent basis, ensures they are spayed/neutered, may provide additional shelter and provides ongoing healthcare as needed. What is a humane trap? Humane or live traps do not cause any pain to the animal being trapped. The traps are metal wire boxes with a trip plate inside. When a cat enters the trap and steps on the plate, the wire door close behind the cat trapping him/her inside. What is a feral cat colony? Cats congregating together are called a colony. They typically form around a food source, or begin as offspring of a feral female. At what age can a cat begin having
kittens? Kittens can have kittens. A cat can have kittens at as young as 4 months of age. What is the earliest age I can spay or neuter a
kitten? Kittens can be spayed or neutered as young as 8-10 weeks of age if they weigh more than 3 pounds and are healthy. What is the gestation period for
cats? The average length of pregnancy is just 60 days. Can a pregnant cat be
spayed? Yes. There are no greater risks than the risks of the pregnancy and delivery. How soon do cats go back in heat after they have a
litter of kittens? Pretty much anytime - cats can become pregnant while nursing kittens. If I trap a lactating cat, what should I
do? If a lactating cat is trapped, there are two choices: release the cat and try to retrap her in 4-6 weeks, or have her spayed and then returned the same day if possible. Although a nursing female cat can be spayed and will continue to feed her kittens after surgery, it is a good idea to have kitten replacement milk on hand and be ready to bottle-feed the kittens for a couple of days. This way you can also feed the kittens while the mom cat is away the day of surgery if needed. If possible, wait until the kittens are at least 4 weeks old before taking mom in to be spayed. At 4 weeks, the kittens can probably survive 12-15 hours without her. It is very important to get the mother cat back to her kittens as quickly as you can. Is it better to let kittens remain with their mother
until they are weaned or should they be taken sooner and bottle-fed and
socialized as soon as possible? Optimally, you want to catch the mother cat and her kittens. Kittens benefit from their mother's milk and attention. Keep them together in a confined area with a box or other shelter inside this area where the mom cat can hide (if she is feral). The kittens will come out to see you and the mom cat will hide in the box/carrier. Handle the kittens daily, work on socializing them, and then put them back with mom. If you have them confined and you can't touch the kittens because the mother cat is protecting them, then remove the kittens from her at 5-6 weeks of age and begin socializing them. At what age would you consider it to be too late to
domesticate a wild kitten? The sooner the kittens have human contact, the easier it will be to tame them. If the kittens are living outdoors and haven't had any human contact, trap the kittens no later than 8-10 weeks of age to socialize them. Kittens up to 8 weeks of age can take 2-4 weeks to tame. Kittens older than this will take longer. After 12 weeks, some kittens will not fully socialize to people. How do I earn the trust of a feral cat or tame a wild
cat/kitten?
There are several approaches to taming a cat or kitten, and they depend on the individual cat. Also, there are degrees to which a cat may be feral. Factors involved in determining this include the following: Age - Kittens up to 6-7 weeks of age are most easily tamed/socialized. With each passing week, socialization becomes more difficult. Number of generations feral - The degree to which a cat is feral grows with each succeeding generation. An abandoned housecat will be less feral than her offspring. Amount of human contact - The more contact a cat has with humans, the less feral she will be. Cats living in secluded or remote areas are more feral than those living near areas with a high level of human activity. Personality - Some cats are friendlier than others, even when they are feral. It is not unusual for cats to become friendlier toward their caregiver after being spayed or neutered. Patience and understanding are the key traits the person taming a cat will need. It can take weeks to years to socialize a cat, and some cats may never become tame. For feral cats, often the most compassionate choice is to allow the cat to live in her own territory where food and shelter are provided. Of course, the cat must be spayed or neutered. To gain the trust of a feral cat you are feeding, slow movement, a soft voice and a regular feeding schedule will start the process of gaining the cat's trust. Move at the cat's pace. Don't rush to try to touch the cat. If he wants to be petted, he will let you know when he is ready for this step or more. Never try to grab the cat, or you will risk injury and any earned trust. To tame a feral cat or kitten, you need to trap the cat, bring him indoors and keep him in a confined area like a bathroom or kennel. Don't let the cat run loose or he will find a place to hide, and it is difficult to get him to come back out. Food is a strong motivator. Always have dry food and water available. When you want to work with the cats, bring wet food or chicken/turkey baby food. Offer it on a spoon or, if you aren't at risk of being bitten, you might consider hand-feeding the cat. These are just starting tips. Visit the resource listing on the Alley Cat Allies web site at www.alleycat.org, or visit www.oasisdelosgatos.org/book.htm for more information on taming feral cats.
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