"It’s not easy being a feral cat in an unmanaged, unsterilized colony. It’s a life without a reliable source of food, and with no guarantee of a tomorrow. You need look no further than your own alley or back yard to find them. Regardless of where you live, their story is much the same…
The gray-and-tan tabby, tired and thin, walked wearily down the street. For weeks she had searched for food and a safe, warm place to give birth. Barely more than a kitten herself, she found a garbage bag that smelled of food.
Clawing desperately through the bag, she gorged herself on stale french fries, crusts of bread, and decaying meat. Her stomach full for the first time in weeks, she curled up in a crushed cardboard box. This would be her haven, her salvation, and the place where she would bear her six tiny kittens.
A few days after their birth, the mother cat realized three of her kittens were not going to make it. Weak and underweight, they struggled with every breath. Without adequate food herself, the mother’s body simply could not produce enough milk to feed all six.
She knew they would not live long so, obeying an instinct deep within, she made a painful decision. She gathered up her three stronger kittens and moved them to another box farther down the alley.
Finding food for herself and the remaining kittens was all she could manage…

They make their homes wherever they can find food…near dumpsters, behind restaurants and shopping centers. Half of all the kittens born die soon after birth. Thousands of cats die each day from hunger and neglect in unmanaged colonies.
As her surviving kittens grew, she taught them to protect themselves from harm. They learned the survival skills just as their mother had learned them, and they too became feral.
Soon other cats and kittens, driven by the same survival instincts, joined them near their food source. Another "colony" was formed."
(Alley Cat Allies’s story)

You may ask, what’s a feral cat?
The definition of a feral cat is: "Feral cats are the 'wild' offspring of domestic cats and are primarily the result of pet owners' abandonment or failure to spay and neuter their animals, allowing them to breed uncontrolled. Feral cat 'colonies' can be found behind shopping areas or businesses, in alleys, parks, abandoned buildings, and rural areas. They are elusive and do not trust humans." -Feral Cat Coalition

As from the story, life as a feral cat is no picnic. Domestic cats are abandoned/lost, left to defend for themselves. Adults and kittens die of starvation, disease, abuse, injuries or become a predator’s food. I’m afraid for those ferals because American’s have the wrong idea that cats do not need us. Those who believe in that myth are wrong! It takes a long, long time for a domestic feline to get back those wild instincts. Cats and kittens can not take care of themselves outside of our homes. They need human care and love, just as any child would need from their parents or guardian. Please help "kill the problem, not the cats."