To Intervene or Not to Intervene? The Issue of the Liminal Feral Cat

The question of what responsibility humans have toward feral cats, if any, is a hotly contested one. Cats can be categorized in a number of ways: domesticated, stray, feral, and wild. However, of all these categories, feral cats are the most marginalized. Thus, they can pose a predicament for humans in terms of how or how not to care for them. Possible responses to this predicament range from leaving them alone; feeding them, but not neutering/spaying them; adopting a practice referred to as “trap, neuter, and release” (TNR), in which humans take responsibility for feeding cats, curbing their populations, and possibly monitoring their medical conditions; and even euthanizing them. This paper will provide an introduction to the issue of animal ethics in general and feral cats in particular; identify an ethical framework with which to address the issue of feral cats; explore the history of cat domestication; utilize a framework with which to examine the relationship of all cats to their environments; consider options for how to deal with feral cats in particular (TNR); explore and analyze data on TNR from the city of Philadelphia; and offer concrete solutions to the issue of the liminal feral cat.