Can someone explain ferral cat colonies?

From studying the feral cat population across the road I have observed the following;

- they have a leader but that position changes frequently OR is shared at times. It seems to depend on what is required and the mood of the rest of the cats.

- the whole colony hunts ( sometimes as a pack - sometimes as individuals) they have been known to take one of my cats with them. She ranks 5 or 6 in the parade off to the fields. Our male cat is not welcome among the feral cats. They used to try to kill him but he is the biggest cat now, and his main protagonist was killed by coyotes. But if he tries to approach the colony he comes home covered in cat feces.

- our colony lives in an abandoned wooden shed that we supply with loose straw. They can/have survived in there at temperatures as low as Minus 50F degrees. It's Minus 30F degrees here today.

- at Minus 30F Degrees the cat all sleep together in one spot; in warmer weather they sleep wherever they like.

- mating fights are rare because most of these cats have been TNR'd; the fights that do take place are extremely violent, and cats are seriously injured sometimes.

- organized ? - not formally; errant cats are 'punished' but none have ever been run off.

- right now they have a litter of kittens (# unknown) so the colony has kind of closed in on itself. I tried to find the kittens but they are well hidden right now and it's too cold for them to come outside.

This cat colony is where most of our domestic cats come from. 90% of household cats in the village can trace their lineage back to the feral colony. This colony has been supported here since the first cat came in with the railway over 100 years ago. Within the next few weeks it is projected that at least half their kittens will have been ''borrowed'' and given alternate accommodations. But they will still be outdoor cats. There are no indoor cats here.

I'm not a biologist, but from what I know from people who do TNR, there's no strict social heirarchy like a dog pack or a pride of lions would have. Some cats are more dominant than others, which I think has more to do with their personality than anything. There is no division of duties. They all catch what they can, and they do defend their territories against other cats coming in. Before they are neutered, males will fight over females. Females will mate with multiple males. Females do nurse each other's young, although of course once they are spayed there are no kittens.

There's a book called "Understanding Cats" by biologist Roger Tabor, who was one of the first to study feral cats. Alley Cat Allies would also be a great source of information. If you need information for an assignment or something else you're writing, I'm sure they would be happy to help you.

http://www.alleycat.org/

Good luck.

There have been studies done, so depending on how deeply you wish to go into the subject, I am providing some links.