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
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Domestic cats
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Owned
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Identified with and cared for by a specific person, and are directly dependent on humans.
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The cats are usually sociable although sociability varies.
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Semi-owned
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Fed or provided with other care by people who do not consider they own them.
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The cats are of varying sociability with many socialised to humans and may be associated with one or more households.
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Unowned
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Indirectly dependent on humans with some having casual and temporary interactions with humans.
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The cats are of varying sociability, including some who are unsocialised to humans.
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Some may live in groups in common aggregation sites (e.g. rubbish tips, food outlets, coastal fishing spots associated with urban environments, etc).
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Feral cats
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Feral
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These cats are unowned, unsocialised, have no relationship with or dependence on humans, and reproduce in the wild, independently from the domestic cat population.
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Other commonly used terms
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“Community cats”
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The term used to refer to semi-owned or unowned cats.
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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.
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They live in areas in cities/towns where they can scavenge food or are fed by one or more people
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“Stray cats”
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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.
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