Editing Cat (section)

=== Ferality ===
{{Main|Feral cat}}
[[File:Feral cat Virginia crop.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Feral [[farm cat]]]]
Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state. They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas.<ref name="Rochlitz">{{Cite book |title=The Welfare of Cats |last=Rochlitz |first=I. |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |isbn=9781402061431 |series="Animal Welfare" series |location=Berlin |pages=141–175 |oclc=262679891}}</ref> The numbers of feral cats are not known, but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million.<ref name="Rochlitz" /> Feral cats may live alone, but most are in large [[feral cat colonies|colonies]], which occupy a specific territory and are usually associated with a source of food.<ref name="hsus-feral">{{cite web |url= http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/feral_cats/feral_cats_frequently_asked_questions.html#1_What_is_a_feral_cat |title=What is the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat? |date=2 January 2008 |work=HSUS.org |publisher=[[Humane Society of the United States]] |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080501093143/http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/feral_cats/feral_cats_frequently_asked_questions.html#1_What_is_a_feral_cat |archive-date=1 May 2008}}</ref> Famous feral cat colonies are in Rome around the [[Colosseum]] and [[Forum Romanum]], some being fed and given medical attention by volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.romancats.com/index_eng.php |title=Torre Argentina cat shelter. |access-date=17 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090122203413/http://www.romancats.com/index_eng.php |archive-date=22 January 2009}}</ref>

Public attitudes toward feral cats vary widely, from seeing them as free-ranging pets to regarding them as [[vermin]].<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=Humane Society of the United States |isbn=9780965894272 |editor-last1=Rowan |editor-first1=Andrew N. |editor-last2=Salem |editor-first2=Deborah J. |first1=Margaret R. |last1=Slater |first2=Stephanie |last2=Shain |title=The State of the Animals II: 2003 |date=November 2003 |chapter=Feral Cats: An Overview (4) |chapter-url= http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/hsp/SOA_3-2005_Chap4.pdf
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061110230426/http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/hsp/SOA_3-2005_Chap4.pdf
|archive-date=10 November 2006}}</ref>