Millions of cats living a life out on the streetsHow feral cats suffer in Germany

Many people only know feral cats from abroad. But there are millions of homeless strays in this country. Over the years, the suffering of feral cats has become one of the biggest animal welfare problems in Germany.

Feral cats in Germany suffer in secret. They are usually fearful of humans, live on overgrown properties, abandoned factory sites or cemeteries and avoid people. As a result, the suffering of these animals remains invisible to many, but not to our member associations. 92 percent of them have direct contact to stray cats.¹ This shows that the suffering of feral cats is a nationwide problem.

99 percent of feral cats are sick. This is reported by our member associations, most of which deal with the animals on a daily basis. One in 20 is even terminally ill.¹ Feral cats most often suffer from parasites, malnutrition and infectious diseases such as cat flu. Although the cats are usually seriously ill, they can usually be cured by vets. But for this to happen, helpful animal rights activists have to find the animals in the first place and catch them in time. The less time a cat has to spend alone on the street, the greater the chance that the treatment will be successful.

Feral cats are the offspring of domestic cats that have not been neutered and have been allowed to roam free, or of abandoned or left-behind animals. They are therefore dependent on help from humans: As a domesticated species, they are not as adept at hunting as their wild ancestors. In any case, they usually find little prey and are unable to provide for themselves and their offspring in the long term. A vicious circle begins: poorly nourished feral cats fall ill more quickly. Thus weakened, the animals are even less successful at hunting. Inevitably, many feral cats are malnourished and have little resistance to disease.

Many member associations of the German Animal Welfare Federation look after or support feeding stations where they feed the feral cats. They also check how many of the animals are living in their environment and how they are doing health-wise. If necessary, they can also catch feral cats there, give them medical treatment, neuter them and have them identified. They then register them with FINDEFIX, the pet register of the German Animal Welfare Federation, and release them back into their home territory. In this way, the free-roaming cats do not continue to multiply, are less likely to contract certain diseases and compete less for food and shelter.

Cities and municipalities react very differently to the problem of free-roaming cats. Some refuse to provide any help for the animals in need. They even forbid feeding the feral cats. Others are more open-minded. They oblige cat owners to have their free-roaming cats neutered, identified and registered, give grants to animal welfare organizations that carry out neutering campaigns and work with them to solve the problems. Some federal states also provide financial support for neutering free-roaming cats. Overall, however, the support from local authorities and the federal states has so far been nowhere near enough to cover the costs of neutering, microchipping and caring for the cats. The animal welfare organizations that have the feral cats neutered and microchipped, also with financial support from the German Animal Welfare Federation or its regional associations, are therefore left with some of the costs. The additional work alongside the day-to-day business in the animal shelters pushes them to their limits. This work is only possible with the help of donations and the support of volunteer animal lovers.

Have your free-roaming cat neutered if you have not already done so. This will prevent further offspring from increasing the suffering on the streets. Neutering male and female cats is now a routine procedure and has many benefits. You should also have your cat identified and register it with FINDEFIX, the German Animal Welfare Federation's pet register - even if it only lives indoors. Your local animal welfare association can use all the help it can get and will be delighted if you support its work. Donate locally for the neutering of feral cats or at jetzt-katzen-helfen.de/spenden for the German Animal Welfare Federation's cat protection donation project. You can also post a story about feral cats on your social media channels. This will help to educate as many people as possible.