Any truly feral cats would have easily scaled the wall in the outdoor community cat area of the West Van SPCA and been gone, long before they got "socialized". This is what feral cats do. They literally climb the walls to find freedom. To keep a truly feral cat confined in any way is the same as putting a whale in a tank, or a bird in a cage. It is cruel, far more cruel that sterilizing them and releasing them back to their neighbourhood where a team of volunteers builds and maintains shelters for them and feeds them every day.

I am a feeder at some of Pacific Animal Foundation's (PAF) feeding stations. Every day one of us goes to the stations, cleans the dishes and replenishes the food with good quality canned and dry, fills the water bowls with fresh water, shakes out the lovely fleece blankets and squishy beds that are in the shelters and checks to see if they need washing, sweeps any dirt or debris from inside the shelter, returns clean blankets and beds into the shelter, sprinkles them with catnip and cat treats, then drives slowly away - slowly so that we can watch with happy hearts the shiny -and pretty darn skookum- feral cats that have been hiding in the bushes the whole time move in to inspect which dishes have the best food.

I am also a veterinary technician, and so have dealt with many, many feral cats and kittens that PAF has humanely trapped and brought into the vet hospital that I work at for treatment. Each cat is spayed/neutered, tattooed, vaccinated, dewormed, defleaed, and given a thorough exam under anaesthetic to determine if any other medical attention is needed. Sometimes this includes dental work, wound treatment, or ear flushing/earmite treatment. PAF does it all. Each cat is treated as an individual, and if there is any chance that it may not be truly feral, or may be young enough to tame, it is not rereleased. It is taken to a foster home and given as much time as it needs to become adoptable.

I see the ferals PAF helps. With the vet care and ongoing maintenance PAF provides they look healthier than a lot of owned cats I see. They are healthy, of good solid weight, and live for many many years - we have some as old as ten. Most importantly, they are free, as EVERY wild animal deserves to be.

If I were a feral cat I'd far rather be one of PAF's TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) cats, than trapped and terrified at an SPCA, awaiting an uncertain fate.