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Community Cats: A Journey Into the World of Feral Cats
It all started when a rat ran over author Dr. Anne E. Beall’s husband’s foot outside their Chicago home. The Bealls had experienced rat problems for a long time. Then, a neighbor told them about a program called Cats at Work where one could get feral cats that would take care of the rat problem.
In Community Cats, she tells how she and her husband entered the world of feral cats when they signed up for the Chicago Cats at Work program with Tree House Humane Society. Tree House practices TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), and they trapped, neutered, and relocated a feral cat colony to Beall’s home. She narrates what she learned about the unique world of feral cats and about the people who are involved with feral cats and who advocate for them.
Community Cats shares the story of what initially began as a creative solution to a rat problem and became a journey that led her to reach out to others in the feral-cat world. Beall interviewed other colony caretakers and leaders in the TNR movement and learned about how feral cats live, how they relate to one another, and how they relate to their caretakers. She also conducted survey research on American’s attitudes toward stray cats, TNR programs, and spaying/neutering.
Beall learned that feral cat programs have a huge impact on the caretakers of the colonies, on the neighbors, on the community, and on the cats themselves and details those findings in Community Cats.
In Community Cats, she tells how she and her husband entered the world of feral cats when they signed up for the Chicago Cats at Work program with Tree House Humane Society. Tree House practices TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), and they trapped, neutered, and relocated a feral cat colony to Beall’s home. She narrates what she learned about the unique world of feral cats and about the people who are involved with feral cats and who advocate for them.
Community Cats shares the story of what initially began as a creative solution to a rat problem and became a journey that led her to reach out to others in the feral-cat world. Beall interviewed other colony caretakers and leaders in the TNR movement and learned about how feral cats live, how they relate to one another, and how they relate to their caretakers. She also conducted survey research on American’s attitudes toward stray cats, TNR programs, and spaying/neutering.
Beall learned that feral cat programs have a huge impact on the caretakers of the colonies, on the neighbors, on the community, and on the cats themselves and details those findings in Community Cats.
- GenresNonfictionAnimals
160 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2014
14 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Anne E. Beall
26 books33 followersAnne E. Beall, Ph.D., is an award-winning author and social psychologist who writes about the emotional undercurrents that shape our lives. Her writing explores the psychology of relationships—between lovers, family members, friends, and pets who think they’re in charge.
She’s written eight nonfiction books, including Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After and Only Prince Charming Gets to Break the Rules, which reveal the hidden messages inside classic fairy tales. Her work has appeared in People Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Toronto Sun, NPR, NBC, and WGN.
Anne is the founder and editor of Chicago Story Press Literary Journal, which publishes true stories that invite readers to see something in a new light. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Yale—so yes, she can absolutely over analyze your childhood.
She lives in Chicago, where she writes, edits, walks a lot, and tries to convince other people that winter isn’t really that long in the Midwest.
She’s written eight nonfiction books, including Cinderella Didn’t Live Happily Ever After and Only Prince Charming Gets to Break the Rules, which reveal the hidden messages inside classic fairy tales. Her work has appeared in People Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Toronto Sun, NPR, NBC, and WGN.
Anne is the founder and editor of Chicago Story Press Literary Journal, which publishes true stories that invite readers to see something in a new light. She holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Yale—so yes, she can absolutely over analyze your childhood.
She lives in Chicago, where she writes, edits, walks a lot, and tries to convince other people that winter isn’t really that long in the Midwest.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 15, 2017
It seems that we go back and forth regarding media coverage of domestic cats. Unfortunately, the recent book Cat Wars and its attendant publicity blitz seems to have currently pushed much of the mainstream media back into the Dark Ages, in which cats were destroyed as witches' consorts and the early cat haters got the Bubonic Plague from the quickly multiplying rats as a thank-you.
The writers of Cat Wars advocate the destruction of any and all cats found outdoors--that means feral cats, cared-for cats in managed colonies, indoor/outdoor pet cats, and lost pets who have frantic owners searching for them--by any means necessary. In such a world, your cat could be shot, poisoned, leghold-trapped, and worse. The cat warmongers, while hiding behind a mantle of wild bird appreciation and conservation, are essentially those bad kids in your neighborhood who shot and spray-painted cats and kittens, all grown-up with degrees and the ear of major magazines.
So, now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to Community Cats. This is a well-written, easily read and understood book about feral cats and the right and wrong ways of dealing with them. After being fed up by the rat infestation on her property, the author learns about the Cats at Work program, a project of Chicago's Tree House Humane Society. Through this program, a caretaker agrees to provide an outdoor living space, food, and day-to-day care in return for the adoption of a small colony of spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped feral cats. Cats at Work has been wildly popular, especially seeing as Chicago is facing a rat problem of medieval proportions. Not only do cats hunt rats and mice, but their scent alone is enough to drive rodents away from their stomping grounds. (And oh, yeah, rat poison, which would be used in place of the cats, is dangerous for birds and everyone else, too.)
Beall contrasts intelligent ways of dealing with the feral cat issue, such as those practiced by Tree House, and those that are good-intentioned but damaging, such as simply feeding the cats without intending to alter and vaccinate them (and rescue adoptable kittens). Bad feral cat caretakers do just as much to fuel the fire of cat haters as those who do nothing for the cats.
Beall reveals that she is a bird lover and advocate, as well as a feral cat caretaker, and argues that these positions are not mutually exclusive. Beall volunteers for a program that rescues birds who have collided with windows in Chicago's skyscrapers, a significant risk to wild songbirds that doesn't get nearly the press of the "cat wars." She includes estimates of the actual number of wild birds killed by domestic cats annually--which is far smaller than the inflated numbers used by many cat haters--some of which, if extrapolated correctly, would have cats killing every single bird in America, each and every year!
Perhaps most encouraging, however, are the stories Beall tells of her neighbors. Originally afraid they would not take kindly to a trio of feral cats in their neighborhood, what she discovered instead was touching and heartening. The cats have brought her closer to her neighbors--people who barely spoke to her now ask about the cats and help look after them. Despite what the Cat Wars types want, I don't think the majority of people want to see cats and kittens slaughtered for being outdoors. I think when things are done kindly, humanely, and responsibly, people will support programs like Cats at Work in the interim while feral cats are aggressively spayed and neutered, thus decreasing their numbers naturally through attrition.
The writers of Cat Wars advocate the destruction of any and all cats found outdoors--that means feral cats, cared-for cats in managed colonies, indoor/outdoor pet cats, and lost pets who have frantic owners searching for them--by any means necessary. In such a world, your cat could be shot, poisoned, leghold-trapped, and worse. The cat warmongers, while hiding behind a mantle of wild bird appreciation and conservation, are essentially those bad kids in your neighborhood who shot and spray-painted cats and kittens, all grown-up with degrees and the ear of major magazines.
So, now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to Community Cats. This is a well-written, easily read and understood book about feral cats and the right and wrong ways of dealing with them. After being fed up by the rat infestation on her property, the author learns about the Cats at Work program, a project of Chicago's Tree House Humane Society. Through this program, a caretaker agrees to provide an outdoor living space, food, and day-to-day care in return for the adoption of a small colony of spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped feral cats. Cats at Work has been wildly popular, especially seeing as Chicago is facing a rat problem of medieval proportions. Not only do cats hunt rats and mice, but their scent alone is enough to drive rodents away from their stomping grounds. (And oh, yeah, rat poison, which would be used in place of the cats, is dangerous for birds and everyone else, too.)
Beall contrasts intelligent ways of dealing with the feral cat issue, such as those practiced by Tree House, and those that are good-intentioned but damaging, such as simply feeding the cats without intending to alter and vaccinate them (and rescue adoptable kittens). Bad feral cat caretakers do just as much to fuel the fire of cat haters as those who do nothing for the cats.
Beall reveals that she is a bird lover and advocate, as well as a feral cat caretaker, and argues that these positions are not mutually exclusive. Beall volunteers for a program that rescues birds who have collided with windows in Chicago's skyscrapers, a significant risk to wild songbirds that doesn't get nearly the press of the "cat wars." She includes estimates of the actual number of wild birds killed by domestic cats annually--which is far smaller than the inflated numbers used by many cat haters--some of which, if extrapolated correctly, would have cats killing every single bird in America, each and every year!
Perhaps most encouraging, however, are the stories Beall tells of her neighbors. Originally afraid they would not take kindly to a trio of feral cats in their neighborhood, what she discovered instead was touching and heartening. The cats have brought her closer to her neighbors--people who barely spoke to her now ask about the cats and help look after them. Despite what the Cat Wars types want, I don't think the majority of people want to see cats and kittens slaughtered for being outdoors. I think when things are done kindly, humanely, and responsibly, people will support programs like Cats at Work in the interim while feral cats are aggressively spayed and neutered, thus decreasing their numbers naturally through attrition.
April 23, 2015
This book is a must for ferAl cat advocates
Written well and was interesting as well as informative. I understand the roll of caretakers with a ferAl colony. I wish more vets would donate their time to working on for programs.
Written well and was interesting as well as informative. I understand the roll of caretakers with a ferAl colony. I wish more vets would donate their time to working on for programs.
March 8, 2016
Gave me a great perspective of what to expect as a feral cat colony caretaker. Neat to see the references to my city and neighborhood as well.
June 6, 2020
One of the best books I've read on the topic. Plus an extra added bonus of Beall's signature facts and data.
May 31, 2024
I met the author at a local fund raiser/celebration for a local cat rescue, and decided to check out her book. (I'm glad I did). The book is extremely well written, and is a very quick read. Beall started her own feral cat colony as a means of dealing with an out of control rat problem. She reached out to a Chicago area Trap Neuter Vaccinate Return (TNVR) program to help in starting her own colony. But the author is also the CEO of a market research firm, and she used her skills to understand the problem of feral cats, the pros and cons of feral cat communities, and ultimately to advocate for TNVR programs.
The stories of the people and feral colonies she met along the way is very engaging. The author's statistical research is clearly presented and easy to comprehend. Feral cats can be a controversial topic, but Beall does an excellent job of laying out the many benefits: to the cats, the community, and the human caregivers.
I am more of a dog person, and have never owned a cat, but definitely give this a look. And if nothing else, check out the gorgeous photos. This is an updated version to her original book.
The stories of the people and feral colonies she met along the way is very engaging. The author's statistical research is clearly presented and easy to comprehend. Feral cats can be a controversial topic, but Beall does an excellent job of laying out the many benefits: to the cats, the community, and the human caregivers.
I am more of a dog person, and have never owned a cat, but definitely give this a look. And if nothing else, check out the gorgeous photos. This is an updated version to her original book.
October 2, 2021
Loved this bool so much! I am a big supporter of TNR and this was great to read as I learnt so much more about how successful it can be. More communities need to look into this as a solution to feral and community cats rather than ignoring them or euthanizing.
March 26, 2023
I loved this book!!! A great introduction to TNR programming with narratives and data.
April 21, 2023
Very interesting and informative!
June 30, 2015
Community Cats: A Journey into the World of Feral Cats by Anne E. Beall is an interesting read even for someone who thought she knew all about feral cats and colonies. There is always something new to learn, though. Beall, with her academic background and PhD, manages to write in simple, easy-to-follow terms that relay both individual narratives and useful information for those who wish to become involved in or are simply interested in feral cats and the communities in which they live. Her research is deep, her data well founded, and her stories detailed enough to make them enjoyable.
In spite of the fact that we've been feral caretakers for years and years, I learned several important details from Beall's work. Some of the things we're doing will be changed, and we will certainly make a bigger effort to teach our neighbors about the importance of having the colony in our neighborhood. For that alone, I'm grateful for Beall's text and the practical information she provides. While this book isn't perfect for every reader, it is an excellent choice for anyone who cares about the welfare of his or her neighborhood and the animals that live within it.
In spite of the fact that we've been feral caretakers for years and years, I learned several important details from Beall's work. Some of the things we're doing will be changed, and we will certainly make a bigger effort to teach our neighbors about the importance of having the colony in our neighborhood. For that alone, I'm grateful for Beall's text and the practical information she provides. While this book isn't perfect for every reader, it is an excellent choice for anyone who cares about the welfare of his or her neighborhood and the animals that live within it.
March 31, 2020
"People who take care of free-roaming cats are unsung heroes. Many of them have made great personal sacrifices. One caretaker lost his home because the people in his homeowner's association said that he and the cats had to go. Social change is never easy, but the ship is slowly turning. And we are part of a greater universe where we're all connected. Small actions can have big consequences. Those who take care of animals represent the very best part of our humanity." ~Becky Robinson, Alley Cat Allies Founder
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews