The managed stray cat category includes, but is not limited to, cats referred to as colony cats (these are managed stray cats living within a specific cat colony) and semi-owned cats (these managed stray cats are of varying sociability, many are socialized to humans, they interact with people regularly and are directly and indirectly dependent on specific humans but are not part of a cat colony) ( 4, 5).Ĭoncerns have been raised about the welfare state of stray cats, particularly when compared with companion cats ( 6– 9).
Managed stray cats have a human carer(s) who provides some care to the cat (feeding and sometimes other care such as veterinary care) unmanaged stray cats do not have a human carer(s) ( 4). Recently it has been suggested that the stray cat category should be further defined into managed and unmanaged stray cat categories. There are also considerable numbers of stray cats in New Zealand estimates indicate that there are approximately 196,000 stray cats in New Zealand, although the stray cat population is not able to be accurately quantified ( 3). There is an estimated total companion cat population of 1,134,000 in New Zealand and the majority of owned cats are at least partly free-roaming ( 2). New Zealand has one of the highest rates of cat ownership in the world with almost half of all households (44%) having at least one cat. Feral cat population size fluctuates largely independently of humans, is self-sustaining, and is not dependent on input from the companion cat population.
Generally, feral cats do not live around centers of human habitation. Feral cats are not stray cats and have none of their needs provided by humans. Nonetheless, the results from this study provide preliminary information about assessing the health and welfare of stray cats as well as considerations for developing and implementing robust assessment scales. The scale also requires further validation by comparing the visual observations against more detailed physical examination and biochemical data. Although there were no appreciable differences in the apparent welfare of CC and MS cats, future studies with more robust sampling designs are needed to draw accurate inferences. The majority of cats in all groups appeared generally healthy with no nose or eye discharge, ear crusting, or injuries. The welfare assessment was performed through distance observation and consisted of body condition score (BCS) coat condition score nose and eye discharge score ear crusting score and injury score. In this study, a 5-component visual health-related welfare assessment scale was developed and piloted on a convenience sample of 213 free-roaming companion cats (CC), 210 managed stray cats (MS), and 253 unmanaged stray cats (UMS) from various locations in Auckland, New Zealand.
Free-roaming cats are a polarizing issue in New Zealand and there is strong need for a comprehensive evaluation of their welfare to better inform population management decisions.
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