Many organizations have paused feral-cat programs
Many organizations have paused feral-cat programs
In response to the letter to the editor entitled “It costs too much to surrender feral cats:”
It is true that Kaua‘i has a feral-cat problem. This just goes to show that the trapping and killing of cats at the Kaua‘i Humane Society has been insufficient to manage this issue.
Animal-control facilities across the country have stopped taking in feral cats altogether because they recognize that doing so has been ineffective at controlling their numbers. Instead, they are promoting targeted surgical sterilization and return efforts, which has prevented the unnecessary killing of cats and has been more successful at reducing their population. Appropriate management of the cat population will result in less cats to predate on birds and spread toxoplasmosis.
Studies have shown that feral cats are no more unhealthy than any other wild carnivore of similar size, and to say that they are “fearful” and “aggressive” supports the fact that they should be considered “wild.” These are not pet cats, and to compare their health and behavior to a pet cat is inappropriate. Studies have also shown that 70% to 90% of a feral cat’s diet may be made up of rodents, which are abundant here in Hawai‘i. Rodents themselves are detrimental to Hawai‘i’s ecosystem and native species, particularly nesting birds, and removing cats as one of their top predators may result in a boom in the rodent population and an increase in the diseases that they carry (more than 40 of which are of public-health significance, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, including rat lungworm. Rodents are only one example of invasive species that are preyed upon by cats in Hawai‘i.
Spaying/neutering very often reduces the behaviors of feral cats that are considered undesirable, such as vocalizing, urine spraying and fighting. The Spay Pod on Kaua‘i offers spay/neuter services for cats for $60, which is less than the cost to have a cat killed at KHS. There is often funding available through the Kaua‘i Community Cat Project to cover the entire cost of surgery. For more information, please contact the Spay Pod by calling 650-2720 or emailing spaypod@kauaicats.org.
Note: The Spay Pod is not affiliated with the Kaua‘i Humane Society.
Katie Spaulding, DVM, MPH, Spay Pod, Kealia
Nothing but a sales pitch. This idea of returning the cats after sterilization is just insane.
The “Cat Ladies” are crazy, but at least they are trying to fix the problem with their finite time and money.
You just complain and criticize? Hope you get paid for it.
Amen!
Let’s see…
“I have a business that makes money off of the overabundance of feral cats. Please don’t solve the problem. Think of it as natural, but keep trying to solve the problem that isn’t a problem by bringing cats to my service. That way, you can keep paying me to not solve a problem that isn’t a problem.”
F’reals.
Nice article Kate! Thanks for educating everyone on this issue & thanks for all your hard work.. the spay pods are a great idea and hopefully they will be a part of the solution to our feral cat issue here on Kauai.
If feral cats prey on rats, and rats are too abundant,, then shouldn’t we want to promote more feral cats…?
Cats are nicer than Rat Lung Worm.
Yep, locals only understand one word on this island ……”Free”.
There would be no need for any organization, ……KCC, KHS, SPCA, Spay Pod….to spend endless volunteer hours, and endless $$$$$$ if locals were responsible pet owners in the first place.
“I don’t know how my cat got pregnant”. “My dog keeps getting pregnant for some reason”.
“Why doesn’t KHS come to my door to fix my pets for free anymore”?
They cats didn’t swim here and the hated tourists did not pack them in their bags. The “wonderful culture” on this island inculcates irresponsible pet owners. Third World.
No, No, and more NO.
Here is an outline for a plan to control and reduce the feral cat population.
Start by cutting off the source of feral cats, which is owned pet cats.
1) Require licensing, micro-chips & collar tags for all owned pet cats.
2) Require spay/neuter of all owned pet cats.
3) Require containment of all owned pet cats (No free-roaming). Fine violators with progressively increasing fines.
4) Consider subsidizing spay/neuter and micro-chipping of pet cats owned by low-income residents.
License fees and fines can be used to help fund Animal Control, just as dog license fees and fines do.
At the same time, take meaningful steps to reduce the feral cat population.
1) Ban feeding of feral cats. Fine violators with progressively increasing fines.
2) Ban re-dumping of neutered cats (TNR). Cat advocates can still trap and save cats. Kittens can still be pulled and adopted to indoor homes. A large percentage of free-roaming street cats are actually strays, not feral, and are suitable for adoption to indoor homes. These cats can also be adopted to indoor homes. For the truly feral cats, each cat advocate can save several of them in enclosures on their own property if they wish to do so. If each cat advocate would do this, a significant number of cats could be saved. If enclosed sanctuary space is available some feral cats could go there also. But no re-dumping of cats. Any that can’t be placed in one of the above options should be euthanized.
3) Require shelters that are contracted with the city to accept all cats, without surrender fees or waiting lists. If citizens are willing to trap feral cats they must have a shelter to take them to.
4) Eliminate or greatly reduce the required hold time for cats at the shelter. Since all owned cats will be required to be micro-chipped and collar-tagged, they can be quickly reunited with their owners. Shelters can still hold unidentified cats for adoption for as long as they want if they have space available, but they will be able to euthanize feral cats or cats they don’t have space for immediately. This will reduce costs greatly.
5) Encourage citizens to live-trap free-roaming cats on their property and take them to the shelter. Use public service announcements, the town website, and other social media to inform citizens about the diseases spread by cats and the damage they cause to native wildlife so that they understand why cats should be removed. A small incentive could be offered for cats brought to the shelter (perhaps a discount coupon to local restaurants or other local businesses).
6) Post signs at parks and other locations stating that abandoned cats will be trapped and potentially euthanized. Post this same information on the town website and other social media. People will be far less likely to abandon cats if they know they may be euthanized.
7) Encourage citizens to report colonies of cats and people feeding feral cats. The vast majority of people don’t like living around large groups of free-roaming cats.
8) Use Animal Control to trap and remove reported nuisance cats and large or particularly troublesome groups of feral cats. This does not require the hiring of new squads of Animal Control Officers to patrol neighborhoods searching for cats. Enforcement will still be complaint driven, and violations observed by Animal Control Officers will be ticketed and fined.
9) Require individuals and business to contain garbage so that it is not accessible to cats.
I want to see a full funding analysis of this plan, and pilot programs with data that show your ideas work better than TNR (hint: THEY DON’T).
Your first 4 steps are already in place in many places and are not working.
Of your second set of “ideas”, #1 has also been tried and is ineffective.
#2 is basically just “ban TNR” for no good reason other than you apparently don’t like it.
#3 is great if funds are unlimited. Where is the funding coming from? #4?
Which, as far as I can see, is your way of killing as many ferals as quickly as possible, and isn’t going to save a whole lot of money anyway. You are aware that it costs money to euthanize, right? That’s not free.
#5 is going to cause the rodent population to EXPLODE. And again this will cause euthanizations costs to go up, which you seem to think that LOCAL BUSINESSES should subsidize these.
#6 shows a completely unwarranted faith in human nature. People abandon pets and they aren’t going to stop doing it.
#7 assumes everyone else thinks exactly like you. (HINT: They don’t)
#8 clearly isn’t working now.
#9 if businesses and people aren’t containing their garbage, they are going to have a rodent problem before they have a cat problem.