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Feral & Stray Cats terms
Cats living outdoors without owners: community cats, managed colonies, strays and abandoned cats, and the trap-neuter-return programmes that manage them.
Barn catA neutered, usually unsocialised cat placed in a barn, stable or yard with food and shelter, where it helps control rodents.Community catAn umbrella term for any cat living outdoors that is not confined, whether friendly or feral, owned or unowned.Feral catA cat that has not been socialised to people and lives outdoors, avoiding contact and usually not suited to life as a house pet.Colony caretakerA person who feeds and watches over an outdoor cat colony, and usually arranges neutering, vaccination and veterinary help for its cats.Ear-tippingThe removal of the tip of one ear under anaesthesia, done at neutering, to show at a glance that a free-roaming cat has been sterilised.NeuterThe surgery that removes a male cat's testicles so he cannot father kittens, with fewer urges to roam, fight and spray.Return to fieldA shelter practice of neutering, vaccinating and ear-tipping a healthy free-roaming cat, then returning it to where it was found.SpayThe surgery that removes a female cat's ovaries, and usually the uterus, so she can no longer become pregnant or go into heat.Trap-neuter-returnA programme in which free-roaming cats are humanely trapped, neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped and then returned to where they were found.Stray catA socialised cat that is lost or has been abandoned and is living outdoors, comfortable with people unlike a true feral cat.