To Intervene or Not to Intervene? The Issue of the Liminal Feral Cat ()
Affiliation(s)
1Humanities Department, Alvernia University, Reading, PA, USA.
2Leadership Studies Department, Alvernia University, Reading, PA, USA.
3Mathematics and Sciences Department, Alvernia University, Reading, PA, USA.
ABSTRACT
The question of what responsibility humans have toward feral cats, if any, is a hotly contested one. Cats can be categorized in a number of ways: domesticated, stray, feral, and wild. However, of all these categories, feral cats are the most marginalized. Thus, they can pose a predicament for humans in terms of how or how not to care for them. Possible responses to this predicament range from leaving them alone; feeding them, but not neutering/spaying them; adopting a practice referred to as “trap, neuter, and release” (TNR), in which humans take responsibility for feeding cats, curbing their populations, and possibly monitoring their medical conditions; and even euthanizing them. This paper will provide an introduction to the issue of animal ethics in general and feral cats in particular; identify an ethical framework with which to address the issue of feral cats; explore the history of cat domestication; utilize a framework with which to examine the relationship of all cats to their environments; consider options for how to deal with feral cats in particular (TNR); explore and analyze data on TNR from the city of Philadelphia; and offer concrete solutions to the issue of the liminal feral cat.
Share and Cite:
Yarri, D., & Stober, S. S. (2019) To Intervene or Not to Intervene? The Issue of the Liminal Feral Cat.
Open Journal of Philosophy,
9, 204-222. doi:
10.4236/ojpp.2019.92014.