WebMD for Pets has an excellent article on the problem and solution. Some highlights from that article:
* There are between 60 million and 100 million feral cats in the U.S. They are usually the offspring of cats who were lost or abandoned by their owners, and they grow up not socialized to humans.
* A female cat can become pregnant as young as 16 weeks of age and go on to have two or three litters a year.
* In seven years, a single female cat and their kittens can produce 420,000 more cats.
* Feral cats often live in vacant lots, dodge cars, and eat from trash cans; face infection, disease, and an endless cycle of pregnancy.
* feral cats also leave issues on the human doorstep — including noisy fights, odor, urinating to mark territory (also known as “spraying” or “marking”), flea infestations, and the inevitable constant breeding.
* Trap-neuter-return (TNR) endeavors are geared toward reducing the number of unwanted cats by catching and then neutering or spaying them. Also called trap-neuter-spay-return or trap-neuter-vaccinate-return, they are endorsed by both the ASPCA and Humane Society.
Read much more of the WebMD article by –> Clicking Here
MY OWN COMMENT: We have found that some of the cats in these outdoor communities were once owned by someone or often handled by their community caregivers. Many of these cats were actually neutered and kept for adoption. They will be given a new lease on life.