Stray Cats
"Stray" is a word used to describe the activity of a cat, regardless of its ownership status. Generally, when people use the term "stray" they are referring to semi-owned and unowned cats.
Cat Definitions
Domestic cats
|
Owned
|
-
Identified with and cared for by a specific person, and are directly dependent on humans.
-
The cats are usually sociable although sociability varies.
|
Semi-owned
|
-
Fed or provided with other care by people who do not consider they own them.
-
The cats are of varying sociability with many socialised to humans and may be associated with one or more households.
|
Unowned
|
-
Indirectly dependent on humans with some having casual and temporary interactions with humans.
-
The cats are of varying sociability, including some who are unsocialised to humans.
-
Some may live in groups in common aggregation sites (e.g. rubbish tips, food outlets, coastal fishing spots associated with urban environments, etc).
|
Feral cats
|
Feral
|
These cats are unowned, unsocialised, have no relationship with or dependence on humans, and reproduce in the wild, independently from the domestic cat population.
|
Other commonly used terms
|
“Community cats”
|
-
The term used to refer to semi-owned or unowned cats.
-
Cats of varying sociability who may have either an indirect dependence on humans, sharing casual and temporary interactions; or a direct dependence on humans, sharing long-term interactions.
-
They live in areas in cities/towns where they can scavenge food or are fed by one or more people
|
“Stray cats”
|
A term which is often used to refer to unowned or semi-owned cats, but ‘stray’ refers to the activity of cats that roam, not an ownership status.
|