Comments on: This and that about cats

By: Ed S.

Ed S. — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:44:24 +0000

Snoopy,

I read a hilarious story in an old issue of Reader's Digest that you may be able to glean from.

A couple had a cat that would roam the neighborhood. However, each summer the cat would disappear for two weeks, then reappear just a good as he ever looked. They were so perplexed that they finally attached a note to his collar to the effect of "This is our cat, he goes missing for two weeks every year...blah blah."

An older couple showed up at their door one day with the note. Apparently the cat was very friendly with the neighborhood, and the older couple had also taken him in--feeding, brushing, etc. They felt so bad that the cat just wandered the neighborhood that they took him to Florida with them for two weeks every year!

If you're really mischievous, you can just attach a pet food receipt to his collar.

By: snoopy

snoopy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:21:19 +0000

I have a wonderful tom-cat who comes by for love, affection and lol food. He has a collar, but looks as though his "people" forsaked him. He is an unaltered boy. If you have an animal, it should be spayed/neutered, and kept within your own yard/house. Cats should no more be allowed to roam free than dogs. And I am tired of the double standard there!!! I worry about this cat, are his shots up to date, do THEY care to do so. He is soooo sweet! and loving. And it breaks my heart thinking he comes to my house, for love, food, to be cleaned( he likes being brushed! ) wiped down with baby wipes, and if it was not for that collar, and not wanting to "take" him away from someone who may have good intentions,,,you know where I'm going.... I'll do my best to take of him. And to all who leave their cats to roam,, you are setting yourself up for grief.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:42:57 +0000

You are giving the cats too much credit if you think that they think about euthanasia or their future. Cats live for the moment and do not have any concept of the future. Humane euthanasia, without a doubt, is a gift to them.
I would say kudos to these volunteers too if what they were doing made any sense. TNR is a self serving practice that does nothing for the cats, but it does make the caregivers feel good about themselves.
Enclose the poor cats and I would be willing to get on board with this in SOME instances. Enclosing them will protect the cats and our native wildlife.
What about the time and effort that wildlife rehabilitators put into trying to mend what these outdoor cats have caught? I spend many unpaid hours and hundreds of my own dollars caring for wild birds caught by cats. I can't tell you how many have come from so called "managed colonies" but the number is high.
Cats belong indoors, they are domestic animals with no natural habitat outside. Our native creatures belong out there but they are at a definate disadvantage since they have not evolved along side with cats and therefore have no instinctual reaction to their attacks.

By: Ed S.

Ed S. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:11:30 +0000

Certainly, kudos to the volunteers! They are actually putting forth their valuable time and effort to try and help the situation. It may not be perfect now, but they're at least helping by trying to control the population, as you said.

By: Nona

Nona — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:37:42 +0000

Feral cats are indeed in danger of getting and transmitting rabies, a horrible and fatal disease. They can also suffer terribly from fleas and mites and a host of other health problems. They are in perpetual danger of predators and cars. The average life span for ferals is significantly shorter than for house kitties.

They have a tough life. And when animal control confiscates a feral cat, the cat will most likely be put down, and that is a sad but unavoidable fact. And maybe it is for the best.

But I think what Alley Cat Angels does is noble because it allows people to neutralize the breeding of what are most likely semi-feral cats: unsocialized but not completely wild.

Volunteers have to catch these cats, and to do that there is usually some level of trust between the person and the feline. While these cats will never be purring little house kitties, usually they have a slightly better chance at living a decent life than their completely feral cousins.

Anyway, I can't help but applaud the efforts of people who are just trying to help these cats, who are the direct descendants of someone's throwaway pets.

And I reiterate that, if you have a pet cat, especially one that goes outside, you have an obligation to the cat and to society to get that cat fixed. The end of the kitty population explosion has to start with pet owners.

By: Ed S.

Ed S. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:27:06 +0000

To be quite honest, I would take a logical look at the situation and take measures as necessary. I know cats are cute and fuzzy, but honestly their mentality and abilities are very close to their "wild" cousins. Well, except for some breeds that were bred to incompetence.

As Nona said, they can be useful in reducing the rodent population that is growing to disgusting proportions in some areas due to poor sanitation. However, there is also the threat of them becoming vectors for diseases such as rabies.

Now the *real* trick would be to engineer a virus that could be introduced to the feral cat, communicable sexually when released, that caused infertility to the other animals it infected. Would be a spiff trick, but I'm not sure I trust our understanding of genetic engineering to that level yet.

By: Nona

Nona — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:07:06 +0000

I realize this is anthromorphizing, but I doubt that the cats would think of euthanasia as a gift.

But Tim, you did hit on the real issue. Is it better to euthanize the cat humanely or let the kitty take his chances on a worse fate living on the streets?

Feral cats can be very self-sufficient and turn into prolific hunters of things we don't want, namely vermin. They can survive better on their own than most dogs can.

But they are also lower on the food chain than some predators, including evil people who like to abuse small animals.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:28:45 +0000

Yes, feral cats should either be enclosed or euthanized. To reabandon them to the streets is abuse and must be stopped. The gift of euthanasia is preferable to a life of misery outdoors.