So as I have implied I am new to these issues but here's my version. Check my Links page for more info.

STRAY: A stray cat is one that was 'owned' by a human and was domesticated and cared for and somehow now is loose with no one to care for it. Strays still have domestic habits. They will generally make eye contact with a human and be vocal with a human, ie. meow sounds. They may try to go inside with a person, and will eat in a person's presence. They may feel a lot of anxiety at being abandoned outside and stop grooming themselves and look disheveled.

FERAL: A feral cat is a cat that has reverted to "wild" ways in order to survive. They teach eachother to avoid human contact, they are not likely to make eye contact or be vocal with a human. They do not trust humans so they will not eat in their presence. A stray cat can become a feral cat if he/she is on their own outside without care for enough years. Then when a feral cat has kittens those kittens are taught to fear and mistrust humans by the parent and those kittens are feral kittens. Feral kittens, particularly the younger ones, can be socialized and become domestic house cats. Many people believe that truly feral adult cats are too wild and set in their ways and will not enjoy indoor life. They believe the best way is to TNR - trap, neuter, and release and then care for the cat colonies by leaving out food and water. Realistically there are not enough homes for all of these cats anyway.

So why is this important? Well it's basically an animal rights issue, an issue of human compassion. A feral's life span is so much shorter as they try to survive by eating garbage or rats I suppose, avoiding dogs and moving cars, agressive cats, and some abusive humans. There really are some sick people out there. The elements is a whole other issue. I have seen some feral cats who got rescued and their ears are shriveled permanently by frostbite. I read that a feral with no assistance surviving outdoors might live to 4 yrs old while a cat cared for in someone's home can live up to 20 years.

How has this become such a problem? Some people actually let their cats go and move away without the cat. So many of these cats have never been spayed or neutered so they have litters and litters and litters once outdoors. Apparently a male stray or feral cat will roam multiple neighborhoods just looking for females with whom he can mate. There is a common fantasy that one can just take the cat to a no-kill shelter if it's no longer wanted. Most no-kill shelters as far as I know are so short on funding that they are usually full and cannot take the cats. While some people have unforseen sudden situations, there do seem to be many who are short on planning ahead. I've seen lots of Craigslist ads where people say "I need to get rid of my cat by Friday" and it's Wednesday. Even those who keep their pets indoors may have their unneutered pets escape as their urge to breed causes them to seek out mates. Getting new pets from shelters rather than breeders or home breeding, and spaying/neutering of house pets can reduce many of these problems.