Phase two of our TNR (trap-neuter-release) program will begin on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday December 6th, 7th and 8th of 2006. Trapping of the feral cats will be done on Wednesday and Thursday and surgeries will be performed on Friday, cats released on Saturday to their original place of capture. River City Community Animal Hospital is a reduced fee mobile spay & neuter service for cats and will come to Cedar Key to perform these surgeries within their mobile unit. They will come as often as monthly and require a minimum of 35 cats to be neutered per trip. If you have a feral cat or colony in your area you would like to sponsor or new pet cat that you need to have neutered please contact me at 543-5330. The cost per neuter is $35 for males and $50 for females. River City Community Animal Hospital is a 501c-3 Non-Profit Organization located out of Jacksonville. Their website address is www.rccah.org. We anticipate making a presentation to our city commission to assist us with funding. Until then I am relying completely on the support of our Cedar Key citizens, business owners and tourists for funding. I am desperately seeking the following donations: A donation of two rooms for two people each for two nights to be occupied by the veterinarians and vet technicians. A donation of finger foods or sandwiches to keep the veterinary group fueled for the many procedures they will be performing. We would be greatly appreciative for any financial support you may be able to provide. We need donations of feral traps and crates. I know this is a lot to ask and I hope you can find it in your heart to help me, your community and your neighbors. Check Donations can be made out to: River City Community Animal Hospital and make a notation in the memo: Operation Cedar Key Feral Cats then drop off at the Faraway Inn on Third and G Street.
I will keep you informed of our progress and the dates for the January 2007 TNR phase 3.
I would also like to share some educational information which I have obtained from the Feral Cat Coalition:
Feral cats are the `wild` offspring of domestic cats and are primarily the result of pet owners` abandonment, or failure to spay and neuter their animals, allowing them to breed uncontrolled. Feral cat `colonies` can be found behind shopping areas or businesses, in alleys, parks, abandoned buildings, and rural areas. They are elusive and do not trust humans.
Many people assume their animals will survive when they move away and leave them behind. Contrary to popular belief, domestic animals do not automatically return to their "natural" instincts and cannot fend for themselves! Already, U.S. animal shelters are forced to kill an estimated 15 million homeless cats and dogs annually. The alternative to humane euthanasia for almost every stray is a violent end or slow, painful death. Many "throwaways" die mercilessly outdoors from starvation, disease, abuse --- or as food to a predator. A pair of breeding cats, which can have two or more litters per year, can exponentially produce 420,000 offspring over a seven-year period. Studies have proven that trap-neuter-release is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat colonies with the least possible cost to local governments and residents, while providing the best life for the animals themselves. Spaying/neutering homeless cats:
* Stabilizes the population at manageable levels
* Eliminates annoying behaviors associated with mating
* Is humane to the animals and fosters compassion in the neighborhoods
* Is more effective and less costly than repeated attempts at extermination --- costs for repeatedly trapping and killing feral colonies are far higher than promoting stable, non-breeding colonies in the same location. Vacated areas are soon filled by other cats who start the breeding process over again. Without a stable cat population our island would see a dramatic increase in mouse and rat numbers which could pose far more costly health issues.
The most common method by animal control organizations for control of cats has traditionally been to capture and euthanize feral/unowned cats. It has been proven that as soon as a cat is removed, a new one will move in to take over the food source.
After a six-year study by Karen Johnson of National Pet Alliance and her daily observation of a feral cat colony, it has been documented that stray female cats start cycling when they are 4-6.9 months old, or as soon as the days are long enough. January and February are the start of the kitten season, with the litters born in March and April. These cats have an average of 2.1 litters per year of 4.25 kittens. 42% of the kittens will die by the age of two months of natural causes. Many more will end up at the shelter. Those who escape early death and the shelter go on to be prolific bearers of kittens over their short lifespan of approximately three years.
Taking the mortality into account, along with birth and death rates, the average stray female will have 5.25 litters in her lifetime, encompassing 22.3 kittens. At age two months there should be 12.9 survivors, roughly six females and seven males (at maturity, roughly 2/3 of the stray cat population is male, due to the high mortality of females during first pregnancy and birth), which will decrease to four females over time. These six females will go on to have their 22 surviving kittens each. Realistically, over 12 years, one unspayed female, with all her unspayed female offspring, reasonably can be expected to be responsible for over 3200 kittens if there is no human intervention.
Some continue to advocate the trap and kill eradication approach. However, if eradication programs really worked, we wouldn`t be faced with so many stray cats and their offspring at the shelters. Cats are territorial. They don`t allow other cats into their territory to steal their food. Altered cats will stand their ground and guard their food source, will not have kittens, and will die in a few years. Remove the cat(s) from the habitat without changing the habitat and another cat will move in.
Once the offspring of these feral cats are over about six months of age, it is nearly impossible to socialize them to the degree necessary to be placed as house pets. An unsocialized cat is an unadoptable cat. The Cities and Counties pay for the handling of these stray cats and their offspring. Reducing the number of kittens born to these cats would substantially reduce the number of cat euthanasias at the shelter, thereby reducing the costs born by the taxpayers to handle and kill stray cats which cannot be socialized.
Doreen Bauer, Cedar Key | 