- Joined
- Nov 7, 2013
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Hello, new to site but searching for answers. First let me state, I am NOT a supporter of trap and euthanize. I have been feeding ferals in my apt complex for over two years and recently put shelters in the bordering woods for the coming winter. I have been reading up on TNR but have questions that need answered before i would even consider. I take the decision of operating and changing a fellow earthling seriously.
1) What constitutes "overpopulation"? Numbers are not what I am looking for but why those numbers are problems. Personally I see no sickly or starving cats. Many people feed them and have for years and years, way before me. I havent seen an explosion of numbers.
2) Does TNR work when dealing with large areas? These cats roam all over woods and several complexes. The characters of different kitties are constantly changing. when I think one has left the scene I find him way on the other side of complex for example and new ones just appear.
3) does TNR make fixed cats vunerable to unfixed cats? Because it would be impossible to fix all of them all at once and there will always be new ones...Would the TNR'd cats be bullied and at risk?
4) do populations of any species naturally level themselves off according to what environment can offer?
5) Is TNR dangerous for cats in winter months?
6) falls under first question- Should every situation be treated unique?For instance, if there is a cat overpopulation problem on the whole does that mean every small (eco system) should be treated as such?
I have read alittle of George Tabor and he says feral cats do quite well and live longer and healthier lives than has been reported, some ten years even. He also writes-
Because the cat is now the number one companion animal in the U.S. and in the U.K., our society is forgetful that this is a recent role. Around 4.000 years ago in ancient Egypt, cats made their way into homes from the wild. In the 1500s, only the most daring would admit to liking a cat. Even by the 1800s, cats were "still stigmatized by the taint of witchcraft, which had left residual antipathy and antagonism towards cats," says Tabor in Understanding Cats.
Since that time a shift has occurred. Attitudes have evolved (especially in the U.S. and U.K.) toward cats as companion animals, including acknowledgment of the humane treatment that is their right. Humane groups in the U.S. hold the theory that all cats, whatever their circumstances, are better off indoors in a traditional home environment.
Because of this shift in perception, cats are now the victims of new stigmas equally as serious as those under which they lived during medieval times. They are now seen as killers, devastators of wildlife, spreaders of deadly disease, and polluters of the environment (are cats the unfortunate mirror we are now holding up to ourselves?). Cats are killed daily by the thousands because of these perceptions-shades of the Dark Ages-but with the salve to our collective conscience that it is for their own good. And keeping all of them exclusively indoors is for their own good too. But is it really?
For some, yes. For others, no
So much to consider before making such a decision! I feel I have been threading a fine line of hands off but helping. Cats to me border wild and domestic. I believe they have always relied on humans to a degree but can survive without.
1) What constitutes "overpopulation"? Numbers are not what I am looking for but why those numbers are problems. Personally I see no sickly or starving cats. Many people feed them and have for years and years, way before me. I havent seen an explosion of numbers.
2) Does TNR work when dealing with large areas? These cats roam all over woods and several complexes. The characters of different kitties are constantly changing. when I think one has left the scene I find him way on the other side of complex for example and new ones just appear.
3) does TNR make fixed cats vunerable to unfixed cats? Because it would be impossible to fix all of them all at once and there will always be new ones...Would the TNR'd cats be bullied and at risk?
4) do populations of any species naturally level themselves off according to what environment can offer?
5) Is TNR dangerous for cats in winter months?
6) falls under first question- Should every situation be treated unique?For instance, if there is a cat overpopulation problem on the whole does that mean every small (eco system) should be treated as such?
I have read alittle of George Tabor and he says feral cats do quite well and live longer and healthier lives than has been reported, some ten years even. He also writes-
Because the cat is now the number one companion animal in the U.S. and in the U.K., our society is forgetful that this is a recent role. Around 4.000 years ago in ancient Egypt, cats made their way into homes from the wild. In the 1500s, only the most daring would admit to liking a cat. Even by the 1800s, cats were "still stigmatized by the taint of witchcraft, which had left residual antipathy and antagonism towards cats," says Tabor in Understanding Cats.
Since that time a shift has occurred. Attitudes have evolved (especially in the U.S. and U.K.) toward cats as companion animals, including acknowledgment of the humane treatment that is their right. Humane groups in the U.S. hold the theory that all cats, whatever their circumstances, are better off indoors in a traditional home environment.
Because of this shift in perception, cats are now the victims of new stigmas equally as serious as those under which they lived during medieval times. They are now seen as killers, devastators of wildlife, spreaders of deadly disease, and polluters of the environment (are cats the unfortunate mirror we are now holding up to ourselves?). Cats are killed daily by the thousands because of these perceptions-shades of the Dark Ages-but with the salve to our collective conscience that it is for their own good. And keeping all of them exclusively indoors is for their own good too. But is it really?
For some, yes. For others, no
So much to consider before making such a decision! I feel I have been threading a fine line of hands off but helping. Cats to me border wild and domestic. I believe they have always relied on humans to a degree but can survive without.