Cats in Haifa • How do we distinguish between street cats and house cats and how do we know how to behave properly towards them?

On the occasion of International Cat Day this week: identification signs and feeding method of street cats and domestic cats

By: Dr. Adi Ilon-Gilad, veterinarian at the "Tzemach Yarouvot" complex, a supplier of healthy and nutritious food, one of the largest in Israel for pets.

House cats are domesticated nocturnal carnivorous mammals, common in most parts of the world. Some are raised as pets and the others are stray cats abandoned by their owners or born on the street. The phenomenon of street cats exists in most countries of the world, including Israel. According to various estimates, there are about 600 million cats in the world, including stray cats and pet cats, and in Israel there are over a million stray cats (not including data on pet cats).

The USA leads with 75 million cats, followed by China with 53 million and Russia with nearly 18 million stray cats.

Street cats are usually distinguished from cats kept as pets, but even among street cats there are two subgroups with significant differences, which are reflected in relationships and interactions with humans. The first group, cats born on the street and the second, partially domesticated cats which are cats that were abandoned by their owners, or were eaten by humans during the puppyhood period. Knowing the differences can help us know how to approach the cat and provide effective assistance if necessary.

Domesticated pet cats Friendly to humans and enjoy their company. When a kitten does not get used to the members of the house at this critical stage, it will grow up with an aversion to humans and will not be suitable for living in houses.

Stray cats are partially domesticated (stray cat) experienced contact with humans at some point in their lives. They will initially be friendly to humans, like pets, but over time may become more suspicious, as contact decreases and resemble cats born on the street and raised without contact with humans (feral cat). However, under the right circumstances and acclimatization time they can turn back into pet cats.

Why is the distinction important? Domesticated stray cats can readjust to humans and be adopted. If the cat feels threatened it will be difficult to tell if it has been domesticated, but you can observe them when they are calm and identify them by some differences:

Partially domesticated stray cats - May approach humans, houses or cars, most likely they will walk around alone, move and walk like a pet cat, with a raised tail which is considered a sign of friendship, they will probably wink, or make eye contact with humans. They can howl (meow) or respond to human voices, they can be seen mainly during the day and their fur looks wild and dirty.

Stray cats that have not been domesticated at all - They will not approach humans and will probably hide to avoid them, they will live in a pack, they will crawl and crouch to stay close to the ground and protect their bodies with their tails, it is unlikely that they will make eye contact, they will not make pampered howling and gurgling sounds, they will mostly walk around at night and their fur is clean and well-groomed, because they know how to take care for themselves, independent of humans. 

Feeding a domestic cat - When a dog refuses to eat, you can wait a little (up to a day and no more). But it is not recommended to behave like this when it comes to cats. Cats may starve themselves to the point of causing damage such as liver damage. Cats tend to be more picky about their food compared to dogs and tend to get used to a certain type of food. Therefore, if you change the type of food to the cat and he refuses to eat, you should return to the previous food that was served to him, so that he does not starve himself. For this reason, it is advisable to accustom kittens from a young age to dry food, which is considered more balanced and recommended than wet food, and also change the type of food for them from time to time so that they do not get used to one type and refuse to eat something else And in any case, it is not recommended to feed pets with human food scraps (dry whole food is recommended).

feeding stray cats - Many street cats are in a state of constant hunger and feed mainly on food they find in garbage cans. They also hunt small animals, such as birds, rodents, reptiles and insects. With the increase in animal welfare awareness, many volunteers feed the cats independently or in an organized manner. According to the recommendations, it is necessary to take care of drinking water and feeding the street cats with dry and high-quality food, at fixed times and places, in the amount required for each meal, while taking care of the feeding area, which is not a nuisance to the residents and which does not endanger them and away from natural areas that have wild animals.

At the "Tzemach Arouvot" factory, they take care of the welfare of the street cats. An organized eating and drinking corner was established within the factory area, in the office area and away from the production area. In order to maintain a constant population size, spaying/neutering operations and vaccinations against rabies are carried out with the funding of the plant. At the end of the recovery, the cats are released back near the feeding corner.