Free roaming cats can either be stray or feral (wild).

Stray:
A cat that has lived with, and become socialized by humans and has become lost or abandoned, is a stray cat. 

Feral:
A feral cat is the offspring of a stray or feral cat, who was raised with no or limited human contact.  Typically they live in colonies where there is shelter and a food source suitable enough to sustain them. Both stray and feral cats lead harsh lives, that are short due to malnutrition, disease, and trauma.

Because cats can have 5-15 kittens per year, an unaltered cat can produce or help produce hundreds of kittens in their life time.  Spay Baton Rouge can loan traps to feral or stray colony care givers to help you trap, sterilize, and release any free roaming cats you are feeding. This will slowly decrease the size of the colony.