Can they be moved or adopted?
An expected question is just this. Since the cats are in an inherently unsafe environment, can’t they simply be moved or adopted away? The simple answer to the often asked question regarding cat colony reallocation is no, but the long answer fall into a grey area that offers the possibility of relocation and forever home’s.
The quick answer will likely pop up as no because the success rate of relocation cats from colonies is low. The statistic is about 30% will survive a move to a new “safer” location for a number of reasons. One, while it may seem more safe for a cat in the countryside on a quite plot of land vs the industrial parks of the city, the cats have grown up in the concrete jungle of metallic moving monsters and have their safe spaces plotted out. While overall they remain in danger, when moved to a completely different world, they can experience confusion and get themselves hurt, over stress and not eat etc etc. This does not mean that the reallocation to a farm or similar type destination is impossible, it is simply fraught with difficulties and there are not many people/institutions around with the manpower and knowhow to do so.
Secondly, while relocation may sound like an easy thing, these cats are smart and gathering them and moving them may cause them harm, we just haven’t really figured out how to talk to them and explain we want to help them.
The third reason for why relocation and adoption is hard to do with a cat colony is due to their nature of being on a spectrum of “feral”. Some will never be a house cat, some will never allow for human contact aside from feeding maintaining a safe distance away. These cats are going to need a lifestyle that is hard to make in most conditions aside from trying to make their current situation safer.
Fourth and the last reason I will state here for why relocation is usually not recommended is a theory that continues to be proved right time and time again called the Vacuum Effect. Here is an excerpt from “Alley Cat Allies” to explain:
“The Vacuum Effect occurs when a portion of an animal population is permanently removed from their home range. These animals may have been killed or removed by people, a natural disaster, or any other means. The result is a temporary dip in population levels.
To be clear, any such population dip will only be temporary. The initial population lived in that location because there were resources such as shelter, food, and water. Once emptied, this still resource-rich habitat, the vacuum, inevitably attracts other members of the same species from neighboring areas. They move in to use the same resources that sustained the first group.
Both the new individuals and any remaining members of the original population then reproduce. What’s more, they reproduce at higher rates to fill the habitat and take advantage of the available resources.
Before long, the area fills back up to capacity again, as if the animals were never removed at all.
The Vacuum Effect occurs across many species, including foxes, mice, coyotes, voles, possums, and badgers. Of course, it also occurs for cats.”
You can read more here.
These reasons are why we at the Sacramento Cat Colony recommend doing all you can to help existing colonies stay safe.