What is the Difference between a Stray Cat and a Feral Cat?
A stray cat is a cat that lived indoors and was socialized to people at some point in its life, but has lost its home or was abandoned. Stray cats can be re-socialized and placed in an adoptive home. Over time, a stray cat can become feral as it loses human contact.
- Active during the day and often approachable
- May be hungry or slightly malnourished
- Appears dirty or less groomed
A feral cat is an unsocialized outdoor cat that has never had any physical contact with humans. Most feral cats are fearful and are very difficult to tame and socialize. Kittens born to feral cats can be socialized at an early age and adopted into indoor homes.
- Nocturnal; Afraid of humans and mostly hides from sight
- Well-groomed with rough foot pads
- May live in a colony
Professional Cat Removal in Milwaukee, WI
Advanced Wildlife and Pest Control provides humane animal control services in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our certified wildlife specialists humanely trap, remove, and exclude nuisance stray cats and feral cats from your home. Live trapping is the most effective and humane way to remove a stray or feral cat. Once captured, we will take the cats to local rehabilitators or humane societies.
Cat Prevention & Control Measures
The most effective way to deter stray and feral cats is to create exclusions and modifications around your home. Cats have three basic needs for survival: food, water, and shelter. Your home provides many opportunities for each. Removing or limiting access to food, water, and shelter can help deter nuisance cats your home and property.
- Secure trash cans and compost piles.
- Block access underneath decks, porches, and sheds
- Don’t feed outside cats or other wild animals.
- Clean up any leftover food, drinks, or pet food.
Cat Damage & Diseases
Stray and feral cats will enter properties in search of food, water, and shelter. Cats can cause a number of problems. They urinate on your lawn, leave pungent odors, scratch wood posts or siding, nest underneath porches or other structures, make noise, kill birds, transmit rabies, and make a mess with garbage. Feral cats also mate year-round and produce dozens of kittens. According to the Wisconsin DNR, “the feline population has tripled over the last four decades with about 2 million feral cats roughly estimated in Wisconsin.”