The International Cat Care animal welfare organization has created a helpful guide to the different kinds of cats that you might see in your community.

Whether you live in an urban, suburban, or rural environment, it’s common to see cats in outdoor areas, but did you know that there are different types of homeless and free-roaming cats?

Here are the categories of domestic cats and how they differ from one another:

Pet Cats

• Live with people, either exclusively indoors or with some limited access to the outdoors.
• Socialized with humans from kittenhood.
• Interact well with familiar and non-familiar people.

Stray/Abandoned Pet Cats

• Previously lived as pets and may be comfortable or uncomfortable around people.
• Either lost and cannot find their way back home, chose to stray from home, or were deliberately abandoned by their owners.
• May join a colony of homeless cats or attempt to find food and shelter with new families.

Street Cats

• Born either to other street cats or abandoned/stray cats and exclusively living outdoors.
• They have never lived in homes as pet cats and tend not to like being taken in as pets.
• Tend to live near people in populated areas.
• Often seen in groups (called colonies) at dependable food sources like dumpsters.
• May be tolerant and friendly to humans, especially familiar feeders.

Feral Cats

• Born and living outdoors, usually several generations removed from pet cat ancestors.
• Tend to see people as a threat and are uncomfortable living near them in populated areas.
• Often live more solitary lives than street cats, similar to wild cat species.
• Prefer to hunt for their food rather than scavenge.

ICC also recognizes one other category that they call the “inbetweeners.”

Inbetweeners

• Have lived unsuccessfully as pet cats because they have some degree of discomfort around people.
• Often poorly socialized or abused as kittens and show distress around humans.
• May have a naturally timid or fearful temperament that makes them undesirable to many pet owners.
• Tend to be poorly adapted to both street life and home life, often taken in by cat care organizations.

The ICC says that it is important to understand these categories because every cat is an individual and not all cats can “fit” into every situation.

If you are interested in taking in a homeless cat, you may have better luck with some than others.

A good pet cat usually needs to be well-socialized with humans from an early age. Kittens also need positive early experiences to ensure that they will grow up to be comfortable in a home environment.

For more information on how you can help homeless cats that cannot be taken in as pets, check out our blog article on caring for community cats during the hot summer months.