To the editor:
It’s my hope in writing this (now that the freezing cold and snow are gone, and the “trap, neuter, release” program for feral cats will be stepped up) to stir up some long-range thoughts on the cruel practice of dropping cats off in the location that they were live-trapped at. The people who dropped them off in the first place, did so because “they” didn’t know what else to do with them.
What’s the difference? I’m sure some of those cats that were dumped out were also neutered/spayed. OK, ”we’ll have someone feed them they say” … which will draw everyone’s “pet cat” to that social gathering too, spreading contagious cat diseases everywhere.
Where are the dollars for the cat food coming from? You’ll be feeding all the cats in the area, because there will be no one, checking to see who’s “feral” or who’s just showing up to socialize, and gaining extra pounds.
What about veterinarian costs? Who’s responsible to take these feral cats to a vet? Since the cats are now trap-wise, how are you going to get them to go in a trap again?
What happens when a dog gets hold of them because they couldn’t climb to safety in time? Or what if the dog was experienced in chasing cats, and knew how to grab the front leg first and crush the bone? What if the dog, (or coyote or fox) was able to grab and crush the back bone before the cat could scratch to defend itself? Who’s going to rush it to the vet immediately because the cat got away wounded, and now faces dying a painful death slowly. No one will miss this “feral” cat, he had no “home” to crawl home to.
Have I got you doing some serious thinking yet? What about when the cat gets struck by a car or truck? He’ll stay alive in the ditch, maybe for days, until some predator finishes him off (if he is so blessed to have one find him and end his pain). No one will go up and down the roads searching for that cat … he’s “feral”. What good did the “spay/neuter/release” do for him then? No … he still has to fend for himself. In the wild a neutered cat is only that much slower, and even more prone to the perils of life.
Who’s going to keep these “released” cats (“dropped off” really) from being eaten alive until they are weak and anemic by ticks? No one. They’ll die a prolonged slow death. Who’s going to keep them from fleas crawling all over them, causing them to itch, lose hair and get skin infections? Who’s going to treat them for ear mites that leave their ears filled with caked blood, and destroys their ability to hear?
No one, because no one even knows. You see … he or she is a “feral” cat, and trusts no one, no one will risk getting scratched or bitten to check the feral cat’s ears.
I have six cats, two of those were dropped off out here. The last one that I took in was an all black cat, whom I have named “Mercy”. He was live-trapped by me in June of 2015. He is now neutered, vaccinated, and has gained from eleven and three-quarter pounds to a nice fit fourteen pounds. He was at least 18 months old when I finally caught him. My other four cats were adopted from the shelter. It’s not that I don’t like cats, but I, like many, also like to feed the birds in the cold Maine winter, and watch the chipmunks in the spring. I don’t want to have to constantly drive off feral cats who have to kill birds, squirrels, (and young partridge, as well as turkey poults by the way) to feed themselves. The young of wild turkey and partridge cannot fly any more than a young Rhode Island Red chick can. Feral cats will pick off as many as they can of those little morsels.
My cats are confined to the house with a pet door that goes to an outside covered pen. A cover that keeps them in, and in the past kept a barred owl out.
We don’t allow feral dogs to run abroad and neither should we have feral cats running everywhere either. Most of these cats can be rehabilitated as Mercy was, but if they can’t, then it’s better that they be put down. They “could” be confined in “spacious” cat colonies, (with a caretaker), but even then, even though they are neutered or spayed, they will still be fighting for their position in the hierarchy which will require veterinary care.
It would be a very costly project, although if all cats were picked up now, and no “feral” cats allowed to remain in the the future, there should be no feral cats left in Maine in 12 years or so. (theoretically speaking.) Cats don’t live much longer than that if they have been “feral” for a while.
The only way it would work would be if all cats wore break-away collars and I.D. tags, or not allowed to roam at large at all. It may be that there is not sufficient cat litter to supply even the “urban”cat population in Maine, if all cats were kept in, unless we used outside sandboxes.
We have to bring the days of the “feral cat” to an end. Please don’t follow the example of those who irresponsibly dropped their problems off for someone else to deal with. Dropping them off again, after trapping them and picking them up, far exceeds in cruelty above spacious confinement, (with a good caretaker) or, if no one will support this cause, then as a last resort they should be humanely euthanized.
