A feral cat is either a cat who has lived his whole life with little or no human contact and is not socialized, or is a stray cat who was lost or abandoned and has lived away from human contact long enough to revert to a wild state. Feral cats avoid human contact and cannot be touched by strangers.

"Feral" is not another word for "stray." A stray cat is a domestic cat who has been abandoned or has strayed from home and become lost. A stray cat may be skittish in your presence, but because stray cats once knew human companionship, they can usually be re-socialized and re-homed.

Adult feral cats usually cannot be socialized and are most content living outside. Feral kittens up to eight or ten weeks of age, on the other hand, can often be tamed and placed in homes. See "Taming Feral Kittens."

Observe the cat's appearance and behavior. A stray cat is likely to approach you, although usually not close enough for you to touch him. If you put food down, a stray cat will likely start to eat it right away. A stray cat is often vocal, sometimes talking insistently, and may look disheveled, as if unaccustomed to dealing with conditions on the street. A stray cat may be seen at all hours of the day.

A feral cat is silent, will not approach humans, and generally will be seen only from dusk to dawn, unless extraordinarily hungry and foraging for food. A feral cat has adapted to conditions and is likely to be well groomed. If you put food down for a feral cat, he will wait until you move away from the area before approaching the food.

Generally, no. Adult feral cats usually cannot be socialized and will not adjust to living indoors. A great deal of time and effort can go into attempting to tame an adult feral cat, with no assurance of success. This time and effort is far better spent sterilizing feral cats to break the cycle of reproduction. See factsheet, "The ABCs of TNR."

Stray cats and kittens up to eight or ten weeks of age can usually be socialized and placed in homes.

The first step is to determine if the cats are tame or wild. If the cats are tame, they may belong to people living in the neighborhood. Observe the cats to determine if this is so. Post "lost cat" flyers throughout the neighborhood. After a day or two, if you get no response and you decide they are lost or otherwise not owned, you can register the cats for free at Atlanta Journal Constitution "Found Pets." If you take the cats to a shelter, chances are they will be killed. Only 2 of 10 cats on average leave shelters alive (unless the shelter is no-kill)