Sorry no blog entry yesterday; sometimes my other work responsibilities jump ahead of blogging, as much as I hate it when that happens. I'll make up for it with a long one today.
I'd like to start a dialog about cats, a pretty hot topic in the news lately.
I got this e-mail from Kathy Perdue at the Roanoke Valley SPCA yesterday:
"We have seen the largest influx of cats and kittens that anyone can remember. Many of them are coming to the RVSPCA as strays, but so many of them are being turned in by owners who cannot take care of them any longer. We are hearing more stories from families in financial crisis that must give up their family pet. We are desperate to get the word out that these cats need homes. The RVSPCA does not have space for any additional cats/kittens and the space at the Regional Center for Animal Control & Protection is quickly being filled.
If you’ve been thinking of adding to your family of four-legged friends, now is the time to act. Pass the word along to all your friends and colleagues. We need your help to find homes for as many of these wonderful felines as possible.
For more information, contact William M. Watson, Jr., Executive Director of the RVSPCA at 540.344.4840, ext. 205, or bwatson@rvspca.org."
Pet are indeed the victims of economy. So many people are losing their homes and forced to give up their pets when they move back to rental property. And current gas prices are cutting into food budgets; hard to feed the animals when your kids are hungry.
Sounds like we need to extend Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat month into the rest of the summer.
There have been several articles and editorials in The Roanoke Times, and a couple of entries on this blog, about the program of trap-neuter-release for feral cats.
After the editorial board of the paper took a positive stand for the program, operated locally by the volunteers of Alley Cat Angels, this letter was published in response:
Don't release feral cats back onto the streets
Can you guarantee that the cats you are trapping are indeed feral and not someone's pet that's been out for some fresh air and exercise? You very well could be neutering someone's property ("Litter prevention," June 16 news story).
What seems like feral aggression toward all people can be overcompensation for plain, old fear of what they find to be a very scary situation. Once reunited with the owner, the cat becomes a completely different animal. (The same goes for dogs.)
The object of these missions should be to get these animals off the streets. If that means, upon evaluation, that the cat is found not adoptable and euthanized, it's more humane than having one left to suffer from injuries, hunger or cruelty.
Many people can't stand the thought of "killing an animal for nothing," but that's not what we do. The word "euthanasia" comes from two Greek words meaning "good death." It's quiet and gentle if done properly, and many places across the country are under strict guidelines to assure the animals' best interest.
Spaying/neutering does help, but turning the animal back out to fend for itself is counterproductive to the greater mission.
Jane Raymond, attendant, Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection in Roanoke
This commentary was published in rebuttal to Raymond's letter:
Alley Cat Angels are on the right track
I encourage those who read Jane Raymond's letter regarding feral cat clinics ("Don't release feral cats back onto the streets," June 30) to reference Alleycat.org for comprehensive information on Trap-Neuter-Release. It will shed light on the mission of Alley Cat Angels and promote an understanding of what the clinic is attempting to accomplish.
It explains why previous attempts to eradicate this population of cats have failed. Many U.S. cities are embracing TNR as the most viable option for feral cats. TNR stabilizes colony numbers, decreases free-roaming cats, decreases behavioral problems associated with mating (fighting, spraying and noise) and provides for adoption of tameable kittens.
Raymond could have investigated and found that the clinic accepts cats from designated caregivers. These cats are well known to individuals bringing them to the clinic; these people sign forms declaring themselves responsible for ongoing care of the cats. Caretakers feed cats daily and monitor for any health issues.
This is a different situation than that of a scared cat that has been lost. Rest assured these people are not setting traps in an attempt to trap a pet cat that happens to be out for fresh air.
Until this clinic opened, caretakers had no place to take these cats for vaccines and spay/neuter services. The vets who donate their time to this endeavor would be quick to share statistics they have compiled about caretakers and origins of the colonies.
Euthanasia is an unfortunate and necessary practice in animal shelters/pounds. Shelters are overcrowded, and companion animals meet that fate if they are deemed unadoptable because of age, illness or behavioral problems. I understand that, but feral cats are a distinctly different population.
Since Raymond is a trained attendant, I believe the clinic would be happy to have her volunteer to familiarize herself with services provided. Perhaps Raymond would gain some insight into the plight of this underserved population of cats. I appreciate her right to an opinion, but I am sorry that she attempts to use her title at the Roanoke Valley SPCA to promote her personal feelings as authoritative.
Victoria Brownell, of Troutville, is a volunteer for several animal rescue groups in the Roanoke Valley. She was a board member of the Guilford County, N.C., shelter.
A minor correction to Brownell's commentary: Raymond said she works for the Regional Animal Control Center, not the RVSPCA.
My biggest problem with Raymond's commentary is the idea that there is something wrong with a wandering cat, pet or feral, being sterilized. "You very well could be neutering someone's property," she wrote.
Well, personally, I'm okay with that. If you let your cat out for "fresh air and exercise" he or she needs to be unable to create more kittens. It's beyond irresponsible to let an unaltered cat roam free.
What do you think we should do about feral cats? If TNR is not the answer, should all the feral cats be euthanized?
Comments
[July 8, 2008 2:28 PM]
TimYes, 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.
[July 8, 2008 4:07 PM]
Nona : →http://blogs.roanoke.com/thehappywag/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.
[July 8, 2008 10:27 PM]
Ed S.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. ;)
[July 9, 2008 1:37 PM]
Nona : →http://blogs.roanoke.com/thehappywag/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.
[July 9, 2008 7:11 PM]
Ed S.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.
[July 10, 2008 1:42 PM]
TimYou 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.
[July 10, 2008 6:21 PM]
snoopyI 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.
[July 11, 2008 8:44 AM]
Ed S.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. ;)