Ferals

On the Halifax cat licensing thread, catcaregiver and I have gotten into a discussion of feral cats. I figured I'd move it to a new thread with a more accurate title to give others a chance to comment (and spare the people who want to talk about licensing cats in Halifax).

Continued from previous thread:

The "R" in TNR? The cats are returned aka released after being neutered, tested, vaccinated, etc. I'm not sure what that particular statement has to do with any money-making schemes. That's simply what is done, regardless of any past, present, or future licensing, fines, proposed legislation, etc. Meanwhile, healthy cats who don't happen to be feral are being euthanized all over the country. Healthy cats who may or may not survive for a while if they were neutered and released in some predetermined area.

Even if that feral is hit by a car the next day? Next week? Next month? Next year? Either way, the life expectancy of these cats is absurdly low.

Plenty of tame cats live "on the streets" all over the place. Just because they don't run from people doesn't mean they can't "survive" outside (if you're content with what passes for "survival" in feral populations).

I have seen tons of plans for outdoor shelters for cats. Why not move them into their advocates' backyards? Why not build large-scale enclosures to house colonies? The one-time expense of building an enclosure that simply contains the cats is all I'm asking for. Heck, even if you live in an urban area, there are rural areas with very cheap land all over the country. A few undeveloped acres would be dirt cheap, fencing is not that expensive, and overhead wouldn't be any more than bringing food to any other colony (if we want to nitpick, fuel would be more expensive if the urban caretakers are the ones heading out to feed the cats in the sticks). The cats don't require heated, indoor accomodations. They don't need cages, full-time staff, etc. If they have access to food and water and no one sees them for several days at a time, what is the real difference? If you don't see a feral ever again, you never know what happened to it. If you don't find an injured feral until it's too late, it's no huge crime of animal cruelty. If you don't check on the feral cats that happen to be inside a fence for a few days, what is the difference? I'm not asking people to provide them top notch veterinary care throughout their golden years.

Are people afraid that they'll have to go to great lengths and expense to care for these ferals if they simply "own" them? Is it more distasteful to let them die from easily treated/prevented diseases and injuries if it's happening in your own backyard? Might someone point fingers at you and claim you are a bad cat owner for allowing these things to happen?

I don't get it. I walk a fine line between wanting everyone to make sure they're financially able to provide veterinary care for their pets and accepting that some people would rather give fifteen cats a good home for as long as they can remain healthy with minimal care than let thirteen of them get euthanized as young, healthy cats because he/she can't afford to provide the same level of care to fifteen vs. two. I certainly wouldn't begrudge someone who wanted to contain feral cats in a relatively safe environment but couldn't afford to provide them with a lot of veterinary care, leading to euthanasia for things that TCS members might consider fairly minor.

As for killing them...it happens every day in every state in the United States. Ferals and non-ferals alike. I don't like it, but I have yet to figure out a humane alternative. Personally, I'd rather a thousand cats get humanely euthanized to avoid just one cat hit by a car, but not immediately killed and left to die slowly. Or just one cat tortured by cruel kids.

For those of you just joining us, I don't agree with the idea of free-roaming cats, feral or not. Outdoor cats that remain on someone's property or cats that are otherwise contained, but not inside, do not bother me in the slightest. I'm not out killing feral cats in the dead of night, and I'm not doing anything to hamper the efforts of TNR folks. I simply don't agree with them. Perhaps I'm an ogre, but I just don't think every type of life is always preferable to death.

Living in the land of the $500k starter home, I understand that property is very expensive in many areas. Having also lived in places where $50k will buy you a house on a good-sized lot, I know, without a doubt, that it would be very doable to purchase five, ten, twenty undeveloped acres, fence it, add plenty of shelters for significantly less than one month's operating expenses at my local shelter. Trapping, neutering, and food costs are already in place in managed colonies, so I'm not including those. Admittedly, I do not know the recommended population density for any given area, so I don't know how many cats you could reasonably contain in such an area.

There are people transporting cats and dogs all over the country for rescue groups. Someone with an SUV or a truck could cram a lot of carriers in there, make a two hour trip, and deposit another load of trapped and neutered cats in a much safer environment than many of these feral cats are living. Please keep in mind, I'm not so naive to think this can all happen overnight.

Obviously, I don't think TNR groups should just give up and do nothing. I fully support their efforts to at least neuter the animals. I even donate money to several of them because I would rather the cats be neutered than not. I just don't agree with returning them to roam free in populated areas.

I also don't have any animosity toward the TNR groups because they didn't cause the problem. They are making an effort to do something about it. Personally, I couldn't trap an animal, neuter it, and release it to an uncertain future. I don't want to wonder if every dead cat on the road is one I trapped. I don't want to wonder if every cat in some newspaper story about some new cruelty case is one I trapped, had my hands on, and could have euthanized before it ended up in some horrible situation.

icklemiss21:
That's why I would suggest trapping, neutering, and relocating the feral cat colonies to cheap rural areas. They aren't native to any particular geographic region or ecosystem (at least, not in the United States), so their survival doesn't hinge on remaining in place. They can eat cat food just as easily in rural Missouri as they can within the city limits of St. Louis.

catcaregiver, I have been referencing TNR groups when discussing possible alternatives. I wouldn't suggest individuals attempt to take on such large scale projects alone.

Is there any particular reason you don't work with a non-profit group?