WORDS MATTER! 
The terms "feral cat" or "community cat" are often used interchangeably and refer to a cat that is an unsocialized outdoor cat who has either never had any physical contact with humans, or human contact has diminished over enough time that she is no longer accustomed to it. Most feral cats are fearful of people and are not likely to ever become a lap cat or enjoy living indoors.

This is not a completely true statement and is often misleading to the average person.  In reality, many of these cats are living in communities or "colonies" that are partially or fully dependent upon humans for their food.  Many of these cats or not unsocial, they are just scared.   Many were at one time someone's pet or born to an indoor cat and subsequently turned out.  Often times kittens, even born to feral parents, can be social if caught early enough.

Unfortunately, there are those cats that were either born outdoors to feral parents and grew up without human interaction or were abandoned at such a young age they were never exposed to humans.  These cats can never be expected to be happy indoors but that does not mean that they are completely capable of surviving on their own for any length of time.  The average life expectancy of a "feral" cat is two years where that is a house cat can be well beyond 12 to 14 years.

The Music City Animal Rescue FERAL TO FOREVER program is designed to trap cats/kittens in specific colonies.  The ones that are capable of being brought into a home and socialized to the degree that they can become a pet, will be fully vetted and kept in a foster home until such time as they can be adopted.
For those cats/kittens that are unable to be socialized, they will be trapped, spayed or neutered, given medical care and then released back into the colony in which they came from. This process is referred to as TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release).   MCAR will continue to care for that colony and/or help the families that live in that area that are willing to care for the "community" cats.

This is an overwhelming task and it is an expensive one as well.  There is an estimated 30 million stray cats in the U.S. at any time and the count is rising.  Thousands of cats roam the streets of Nashville, Davidson County, alone. 

The average cost of fully vetting a cat/kitten is $150.00.  This does not include food, litter or extra medications should they be ill.  The minimum cost to vet a TNR cat is $80.00.  This includes spay/neuter, ear tip, rabies vaccination and test for FIV/FLV.  Music City Animal Rescue will not return a cat to a colony that has not been fixed or has had a rabies vaccination or tested for feline aides or leukemia.  If you return a sick animal to a colony, you are potentially infecting the rest of the colony and our aim is to reduce the risk to these colonies - they have enough struggles just staying alive.

YOU CAN HELP - AND HERE IS HOW:

1.  FOSTER   We need foster homes - not only for these types of cats/kittens but those that are owner surrenders or that come from severely over-crowded shelters.  Without a foster home, we can not take in a cat/kitten.  We provide everything you would need during the time the little one is with you.  All you do is provide the love and attention they deserve.

2. DONATE  Food, supplies and medical care are extremely expensive and getting more expensive every day.  You can provide for some or all of the needs of a baby in our Feral to Forever program by making a donation today. 
$150.00 donation will save the life of one cat and give them the chance to find a family of their own where they are safe and loved.
An $80.00 donation will give a feral cat a fighting chance.  They will not be adding to the cat over-population problem and they will be given a healthy chance in the community.
DON'T FORGET - You can make a recurring monthly donation so that you can help a baby each month!

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR FERAL TO FOREVER PROGRAM OR FOSTERING OR DONATING - PLEASE CONTACT US AT MUSICCITYANIMALRESCUE@GMAIL.COM