DO NOT FEED THE CATS
Feeding feral (wild) cats leads to overpopulation, territorial fighting, disease spread, and reliance on humans, increasing risks of injury from traffic or neglect. These cats are resourceful hunters just like other wildlife; they do not need human intervention.

Reasons to Not Feed Feral Cats:
•Safety Risk to People: Feral cats are poorly acclimated to human beings and other animals. When confined, cornered and approached, these animals may claw or bite in self-defense. They may end up attacking and harming the very people attempting to care for them.
•Population Growth: Feeding supports more cats, allowing them to breed, creating a larger, uncontrolled population.
•Safety Hazards: Concentrated feeding areas attract predators, increase risks of being hit by cars, and lead to injuries from fighting over territory and resources.
•Property Nuisance: Large groups of cats can cause noise from yowling and fighting, odors from spraying, defecating and urinating, destruction of property, equipment, and materials, and, if not managed correctly, sanitation issues.
•Disease Spread: High-density, unvaccinated populations allow diseases to spread rapidly. These cats may host a range of parasites such as ticks, fleas, worms and mites. They may also carry diseases like feline leukemia and both the feline immunodeficiency and distemper viruses (all transmittable to other cats) as well as toxoplasmosis and rabies (also transmittable to people), which is a neurological disease transmitted via contact with the saliva of an infected animal, typically from a bite or scratch. It is always fatal if untreated and has been detected previously at West Point when years ago one of the most serious rabies incidents stemmed from an illegal cat colony.
•Impact on Wildlife: Even well-fed feral cats will hunt, creating a significant, persistent threat to local bird and small mammal populations. National Geographic reported that cats kill between one and four billion birds annually in the United States alone.

The issues our Community Service Officer deals with, and the problems reported by the citizens of Hudson, are DIRECTLY connected to people feeding these feral cats. The feeding of these cats, however well-intentioned, is ultimately costing these cats their lives. Please stop feeding the cats.