Feral cat problem

On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:56:26 -0700, Mack A. Damia
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:19:39 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:35:17 -0400, (Pon o)
wrote:

"Trap, neuter, and release is one
"solution". At least, a partial solution.
You can help either by donating money
to organizations who do this, or catch
your own feral cat, have him/her
neutered, and release him back where
you caught him. (when we do this, we
usually end up owning another cat)."
Ok, thanks! That's what one local cat org. is doing. But they rely on
private donations since there is no legislation/no funding, concerning
domestic cats, feral or not, in the state of NY (& other states as
well).

For all their good intentions, this expensive neuter/release program is
a drop in the bucket. Donations are scarce; cats' lifespans are short
because of disease, traffic, starvation. frigid winters, & this
summer--drought! It's heartbreaking to see what these animals go
through.

So I guess there is no good & lasting solution?

Do you expect this to be a growing problem in the future? I don't
remember feral cats being a problem until a few yrs. ago.
Thanks,
- Pon

Oh, if you're in New York City get in touch with Neighborhood Cats
(www.neighborhoodcats.org). They have classes in how to do TNR (I'm a
graduate) and it helps a lot to know the ins and outs. Someone in my
neighborhood asked me how to deal with the cats, I told her to take
the class, and she just did around 15 cats on her block. Pretty
amazing work. Once you take the class, the ASPCA will do the neutering
for free, otherwise it's $100 per cat.

But it still does look like a growing problem even though TNR is a
good solution. I think a lot of cats got dumped when folks were losing
their homes and it seems to have upped the population. There sure are
a lot of cats around though.


http://tinyurl.com/8k7l4cd

Yes, that would be me. Hopefully I can get to the carrier.

dgk wrote:
On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:56:26 -0700, Mack A. Damia
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:19:39 -0400, dgk wrote:

On Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:35:17 -0400, (Pon o)
wrote:

"Trap, neuter, and release is one
"solution". At least, a partial solution.
You can help either by donating money
to organizations who do this, or catch
your own feral cat, have him/her
neutered, and release him back where
you caught him. (when we do this, we
usually end up owning another cat)."
Ok, thanks! That's what one local cat org. is doing. But they rely
on private donations since there is no legislation/no funding,
concerning domestic cats, feral or not, in the state of NY (&
other states as well).

For all their good intentions, this expensive neuter/release
program is a drop in the bucket. Donations are scarce; cats'
lifespans are short because of disease, traffic, starvation.
frigid winters, & this summer--drought! It's heartbreaking to see
what these animals go through.

So I guess there is no good & lasting solution?

Do you expect this to be a growing problem in the future? I don't
remember feral cats being a problem until a few yrs. ago.
Thanks,
- Pon

Oh, if you're in New York City get in touch with Neighborhood Cats
(www.neighborhoodcats.org). They have classes in how to do TNR (I'm
a graduate) and it helps a lot to know the ins and outs. Someone in
my neighborhood asked me how to deal with the cats, I told her to
take the class, and she just did around 15 cats on her block. Pretty
amazing work. Once you take the class, the ASPCA will do the
neutering for free, otherwise it's $100 per cat.

But it still does look like a growing problem even though TNR is a
good solution. I think a lot of cats got dumped when folks were
losing their homes and it seems to have upped the population. There
sure are a lot of cats around though.


http://tinyurl.com/8k7l4cd

Yes, that would be me. Hopefully I can get to the carrier.

I wonder if the drugs you need for neutering the cats are easily available?
I would be surprised if they are in todays druggie society.....

"Pon o" wrote in message
...
Ok, thanks! That's what one local cat org. is doing. But they rely on
private donations since there is no legislation/no funding, concerning
domestic cats, feral or not, in the state of NY (& other states as
well).

Where in NY are you talking about? Upstate, the Island or the city?


For all their good intentions, this expensive neuter/release program is
a drop in the bucket. Donations are scarce; cats' lifespans are short
because of disease, traffic, starvation. frigid winters, & this
summer--drought! It's heartbreaking to see what these animals go
through.

So I guess there is no good & lasting solution?

No there isn't since there is no way to stop people from abandoning their
cats for whatever reason they have, and others for allowing their cats to
roam and breed instead of spaying/neutering them. I remember the suffering
of the stray cats in Brooklyn. Very sad. Some people would toss leftovers
out the windows to the yards and starving cats below. At the time I was too
young to do anything for them.

Do you expect this to be a growing problem in the future? I don't
remember feral cats being a problem until a few yrs. ago.
Thanks,
- Pon

Since I no longer live in NY I for one can't comment.......

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message
...

I have no clue what preys on cats except for foxes.


Where I live in TN it's not just fox that keep feral cats under control, but
also coyotes, large hawks by day and owls by night. Roaming dogs pick a few
off before someone shoots the dogs. One neighbor is a sharp-shooter so
loose dogs don't last long here. People put out poison for cats and other
critters they consider pests or vermin. People shoot cats for the hell of
it. Anyone who loves their cats here keeps them indoors or have safe
outdoor enclosures for them as we do. Ours is small but the cats can still
get time outside to sun themselves and enjoy the fresh air.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Graham"
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012 4:12 PM
Subject: Feral cat problem


Bill Graham wrote:

I forgot other hazards such as enclosed places like auto trunks. and
sometimes cars don't kill cats by running them down, but their fan belts
kill them on start up in the morning.....

Or leave them crippled on the road after running them over. We found a 6 or
7 wk old kitten dragging itself across the road to town using it's front
legs. We scooped her up and ran her to our vet who couldn't save her. She
was in agony with a crushed leg, torn rectun and partly crushed pelvis. I
still see her little face looking up at me from the container we put her in
to take her to the vet... and tears are running down my face remembering
her.... :*(

"Pon o" wrote in message
...

I rescued a feral kitten from a tree the other day after it cried from
morning 'til dusk. I held my breath as it hissed & tried to bite.

Wear heavy gloves like those who work for the SPCA wear.

Per Kelley Greene:
Where I live in TN it's not just fox that keep feral cats under control...

Where I live (Philadelphia PA, USA suburbs...) the foxes even
keep domestic cats under control. Our neighbors have a cat door
through which their cats come and go at all hours. They have
been through at least a half-dozen cats since we've had our one
cat.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Wed, 5 Dec 2012 14:58:38 -0600, "Kelley Greene"
wrote:

No there isn't since there is no way to stop people from abandoning their
cats for whatever reason they have, and others for allowing their cats to
roam and breed instead of spaying/neutering them. I remember the suffering
of the stray cats in Brooklyn. Very sad. Some people would toss leftovers
out the windows to the yards and starving cats below. At the time I was too
young to do anything for them.

Where did you live in Brooklyn? I lived on the corner of Church and
MacDonald Avenues above the F train stop in Kensington back in the
1980s.

I never remember seeing a cat in Brooklyn!

--