Do feral cats voluntarily come into people's homes?

Sometimes feral cats do come into people's homes. It depends on the circumstances. One of those circumstances is how feral the cat is. If the cat is hard-wired feral and totally unsocialised, they won't go into a person's home as it would be too frightening. Too many possible dangers lurking in a strange place.

Dorothy and Marvin. Marvin was a semi-feral cat that DW adopted and brought inside. He adapted brilliantly to home life.

But if the cat is somewhat feral and partially domesticated as is the case fairly often and if they are starving which is also pretty common, they'll take risks to get food and take their chances particularly if the home owner is apparently friendly or even calling them over and actively encouraging them to come in.

It is all about the competing feline emotions of fear and hunger. Both are linked to survival. The cat makes a decision on the best strategy in order to survive. Cats are great survivors which is why they have nine lives.

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Sometimes people confuse stray cats with feral cats. The stray is often domesticated and quite likely to come into people's homes looking for food or even a new caregiver.

Some cats can be quite bold in that respect. The almost ask to be adopted through their body language, vocalisations and behavior.

If the recipient person is in the mood to adopt, they do. There have been some great cat adoptions in this way.

But true ferals just run from the nasty hostile human! Well, not all humans are nasty and hostile but to true feral cats they are. They are an unknown quantity to be avoided.

So, that's the key to the answer to the question in the title. How feral is the feral cat?

Can house cats adapt to going outside?

People ask whether indoor cats can adapt to going outside. The answer has to be a convincing Yes provided they continue to have access to the inside! This is because the default position in the minds of domestic cat is freedom to roam outside. The outside is their natural environment and therefore they will naturally want to be in it.

Stray cat makes a den for her kittens and herself in a bird's nest. Photo: Cats Protection.

Also, domestic cats are highly adaptable. The better question is whether an outdoor cat i.e. one who has been allowed to go outside freely but lives inside the home, can adapt to being confined to the home. The point here is that most house cats have not been selectively bred to be full-time indoor cats 24/7. 

Domestic cats are adaptable to a wide range of environments and they don't normally show "stereotypic behaviour". This is a reference to pacing that you see in tigers and other wild cats confined to cages at zoos. Domestic cats don't do this which indicates that they are fairly relaxed about being confined.

But there are certainly far more difficulties in keeping a cat indoors than allowing a cat that has been kept indoors full-time access to the outside. That said, if you open the doors wide to a full-time indoor cat who has never had access to the outside, they will be reluctant to go through those doors. It will appear as if there is a glass barrier between them and the enticing outside environment.

However, they will go through it once they pluck up the courage. It is a kind of agoraphobia albeit temporary. It's a fear of the unknown, out there, because full-time indoor cats are completely cosseted by this artificial environment in which there is little or no natural stimulation except when they look through windows.

The question in the title has wider implications. It might also be asking as to whether house cats can successfully live on their own outside as a stray cat or a feral cat. Well, some do and they do survive. But it depends on the climatic conditions which is why you see lots of community cats in countries where there is a warm, hospitable climate such as the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. On that topic, both Cyprus and Greece have many community cats. The former has more cats than people: 1.4m versus 1.2m.

SOME PAGES ON STRAY CATS

But in other places where the winters are harsh, it is likely that a domestic cat would quite quickly succumb to the weather conditions if they are forced or voluntarily choose to live outside full-time. Perhaps if 100 house cats were forced or voluntarily chose to live outside you would expect about 50% to survive while the rest would die within 6 months. That is a wild guess.

One issue here is that domestic cats who do find themselves living outside for whatever reason tend to be fed by volunteers or neighbours who take pity on them. So, they are not truly surviving in the wild environment. They are surviving in an urban environment with the help of humans. They may even make a new home for themselves in a neighbour's property and be adopted by that person.

It appears that a lot of people believe that house cats can survive outside because they dump them in woods where they expect them to survive. Or there might be a known feral cat colony supported by volunteers where people who want to abandon their cats dumped them. It is a falsehood to think that true domestic cats living indoors can easily adapt to living outside. Some can while some can't but we don't have a percentage except for my guesswork above.

Did Binx a black domestic cat survive the collapse of Champlain Towers South condo?

8777 Collins Ave, Surfside, FL News and comment: The Miami-Dade Mayor is seen on video telling the world that a black cat has emerged after the dramatic and tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium. It is a moment of light emerging from the darkness of this tragedy. 

The building is adjacent to the beach and the sea and it is believed that poor quality concrete eroded because of the sea air. So far it is known that 79 people have died while 61 are still missing. The world has read about this story. Nobody could survive that collapse looking at the rubble which is flattened.

Binx a black cat survived the Maimi Beach condo collapse? Pic: ABC News.

But it appears that Binx, a black cat has survived it. Nobody has said that this cat actually survived the crushing collapse. However, he was found in the area after the collapse and there are question marks as to why he was there. Binx lived on the ninth floor of this condominium. He must have been a full-time indoor cat. He was found and a person has claimed him as their cat.

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A local cat rescue, The Kitty Campus, is involved because the cat was taken to them. They posted on Facebook what had happened but that particular post cannot be found by me. It seems impossible that Binx survived the collapse and therefore he must have been outside. And if he was outside, was he the resident of an apartment on the ninth floor of this building.

What I'm saying is that he may be a community cat of which there are quite a few in Miami Beach being looked after by volunteers. I guess the only evidence that we have that Binx lived on the ninth floor is that the owner of the apartment on the ninth floor claimed him as their own. That's the evidence.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

But being a cynical old man that I am, it seems plausible or at least arguable that the person who claimed Binx is not the true owner but a person who wanted to adopt a cat and perhaps wanted a bit of celebrity although we don't know the person's name which indicates that they did not want celebrity! :)

But we also know that a lot of people, a lot of the time, do rather strange things under these situations. In the past people have claimed to be the murderer of an individual when they are not. They did it for celebrity. They want to be in the news. Perhaps this person did in fact want to be in the news but she was prevented from appearing before the cameras! I have no idea because I'm speculating wildly but it sniffs of that to me.

If Binx truly did survive the collapse of this building he would be the single sentient being to do so. And it would seem to be unimaginable that it actually happened despite the enormous ability of the domestic cat to survive the most extraordinary conditions and emergencies. That's why they are said to have nine lives.