Today is Feral Cat Day. 10 things you might not know about feral cats:
What is a feral cat? Basically, a domestic Cat (Felis catus) which has always lived outside in the wild and has had little contact with people. Since it didn’t learn as a kitten that humans are mostly nice, they avoid human contact.
Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral.
It’s said that in seven years, two unfixed feral cats can produce up to 420,000 kittens. Which is why there is often a policy of TNR (trap-neuter-release).
In Italy, feral cats have been protected since 1991, and it is illegal to kill them.
They make a lot of noise, especially at night. If you hear caterwauling it’s likely a feral cat that hasn’t been neutered and is looking for a mate. They might also make a racket because they are in pain, hungry, fighting other cats, or simply because they are bored. However, one sound they don’t make is a meow. That’s because domestic cats learn this sound as a way to interact with their humans.
There is a difference between a stray cat and a feral cat. A stray cat is one which has lived with humans but has become homeless for some reason. A feral cat has always lived outside. A stray cat is more likely to approach humans as they’ve learned not to be afraid of us, and that we might feed them.
Male feral cats have bigger heads than male domestic cats. This is because they don’t get neutered so early and produce hormones which give them larger heads.
If the cat’s coat is in good condition, it’s more likely to be a feral cat. Stray cats are used to being looked after and so their coats will suffer if they find themselves out on the street. Feral cats have learned to take care of themselves from birth.
If you see a feral cat with a bit of its ear missing, it probably hasn’t lost it in a fight with another cat. It has probably been done by a vet. When a feral cat is caught and neutered, before it’s released back into the wild, the vet will snip off part of its ear to show this cat has already been “done” and there’s no need to waste time trying to catch it.
While they will catch small animals and Birds, According to The British Journal of Nutrition, 1.2% of free-range feral cats in North America rely on insects as a protein source.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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