Feral Domestic Cats (Felis domesticus) are house cats that have been abandoned and gone wild. They look exactly like house cats because they are house cats.

Unfortunately, thoughtless people abandon pets and force them to find another home or fend for themselves. When the number of feral cats gets too high in an area, they can decimate local wildlife populations because they eat almost anything that moves.

Sometimes kindly people put food out for feral cats. While this might seem nice, it is in fact very bad for local wildlife, especially birds, because it concentrates the feral cats. Feral cats needlessly kill thousands of birds every year -- and the birds are having a hard enough time as it is.

It is not kind to "release" unwanted pets. Most either die quickly (run over by a vehicle) or die slowly and painfully (starvation and disease). The best thing to do is spay or neuter your pet, then if you can't take care of it, find a home or no-kill shelter for it. Don't abandon unwanted pets.

After house cats go feral, it is very difficult to tame them again, so don't expect that someone will come along and take it home.