You’ve seen them darting under porches, or into brush at the park. They may have been a house cat at one time or they may have been born outside to unaltered cats and never socialized by humans. They are feral cats, and they represent a growing problem in Seattle.

Typically feral cats cannot be brought into a home environment. However, once spayed or neutered, caretakers find colonies of feral cats easy and satisfying to maintain. Behaviors such as fighting, spraying and howling are reduced or eliminated and because the existing colony discourages new cats from joining the colony, the population remains stable.

The Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project (FCSNP) is a volunteer organization working hard to impact the feral cat population in the Puget Sound area. FCSNP offers free monthly clinics for feral cats to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies. For a nominal donation, FIV/leukemia tests may also be performed. Ear “tipping”, done while the cats are fully anesthetized, helps identify the altered cats once they are released. Reservations are required but there is no limit to the number of cats or kittens four months or older that may be brought in at a time.

PAWS urges people who are feeding unowned or feral cats to take the extra step and humanely trap the cat, and take advantage of the FCSNP clinic so that the cycle can be broken. Box traps can be rented from PAWS or at stores such as AA Rentals. The PAWS website offers more information, including links and phone numbers to a variety of feral cat organizations: www.paws.org/shelter/feral.