Killing Cats

[laura220]

Really the only good solution is to spay and neuter all cats. And catch the feral ones, spay/neuter them and release them again. All abandoned and homeless strays can be rescued..and spayed/neutered.

[Butterscotch]

Cats should not be allowed to ROAM around their neighborhood. I have seen too many cats come into my clinic that have been attacked by dogs or wild animals, hit by cars, or gotten in cat fights. My cats are allowed outside under my supervision and only then that way I know they are safe and they aren't eating the wildlife.

[suzy_99]

I agree with you there 100%. My cats are allowed to go outside, however, they have never once left our yard. If I ever found out that one of my cats did leave my yard, they would never be allowed outside again without my complete supervision. I cannot understand how people who live in more urban areas, can let their cats go outside when they onyl have a small little yard and expect them not to roam. I mean, I have 100 acres of fields and forests, so they have lots of place to go and have never ventured onto the road or someone elses property, but I can't imagine letting them outside without complete supervision if the road is just a few feet away. Also, in many urban areas the houses are closer together and cats are more likely to wander off with another neighborhood cat or even a child.

I know that some people hate that my cats go outside whenever they want, but I must tell you that I have lived in this place for about 15 years now and have yet to lose a cat here except for when we first moved here. We had taken in stray cats where we lived before and they were very hard to keep around because they were completely wild and one day they were jsut gone, but I suspect they survived anyway. We have never had a cat get hurt by an animal, car, or any type of infections or diseases that are caught outside or from other animals, but I know that this isn't the case with most cats. I guess what I find hardest to comprehend is when people let a cat outside and it doesn't come back and then they just forget about them without even going out an looking. When I sometimes have trouble get my cats in at night (they love summer), I go out and call them until they come home, luckily this doesn't take very long. But how can someone just forget about their cat and let it become yet another stray.

[Access]

Originally Posted by voodoojoint

Notching is where a notch is cut out or the tip of an ear of cut off to identify the cat as having already been altered.

That sounds like a form of mutilation. I know they do something like this to great danes, cutting out a piece of the ear and then sewing it back together in order to make the ears stand erect, and it ought to be illegal IMO.

Under the hippocratic oath, a doctor is supposed to give treatment to a patient only in such that the treatment benefits the patient. For instance, if the patient's ear has developed gangrene or malignant carcinoma, the doctor may need to remove the ear, or a portion of the ear, in order to stop the infection from spreading to the rest of the patient's body. In a modern setting, reconstructive surgery may also be avaliable.

Cutting out a portion of a cat's perfectly healthy ear doesn't provide any medical benefit to the cat. Cats have very senstive hearing, and their ears are contoured in a certain way by design, to maximize the sensory response over a large range of frequencies (moreso than humans). In the example you gave, it seems the only purpose is to make it a little more convinient for the human authorities. Additionally, it may create problems since a stray cat whose ear was injured in a fight may be mistaken for one that has already been fixed. There are more modern ways, such as the already mentioned microchipping, for tracking medical treatments, or the good old fashioned method of just checking the underside of the cat.

The real solution here is just to get the strays off the street and adopted back into loving homes, not some poorly conceived 'catch and release' strategy.

If you doubt that you can change frequency response of the ear with a simple notch, consider that you can ruin a perfectly good stereo speaker's sound quality by doing the same.

Some links:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_modern.htm (hippocratic oath)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID#Types_of_RFID_tags (microchipping)

[DocDolittle]

That's absolutely ridiculous. I agree, the animal control should catch the strays, alter them, and then release them where they were first living. There's nno harm in that, is there? However, I don't think cats shoulc be allowed to live outside or even go outside without a leash or very strict supervision. Cat populations have decimated bird and rodent populations before, not to mention the dangers for the cats. A neighbor down the street used to have an outside cat. Nothing happened to him for ten years. But then she went outside and she saw him in the mouth of a roaming dog. Luckily, she scared the dog off and brought the cat into the vet on time, but the cat ended up having to have his tiny little leg amputated. It was terrible. Charlie(the cat) is still alive, and he's doing fine, but I cringe at the thought of what could happen if the owner hadn't gone outside soon enough. He's now strictly an indoor cat.

[Access]

There's no harm, persay, and it may eventually end the overpopulation problem. But a better solution for the cat to be adopted into a loving home than released back onto the street. It's like these soup kitchens that open up on XMAS and easter to give the homeless a good meal and a place to sleep for the night, but then put them back out on the street the next morning...

[DocDolittle]

^ But the thing is that some cats don't like being indoor cats after being raised by other wild cats in the wild for five years. often times it's simply impossible for the cats to be happy inside. However, it is possible and I agree it would be a good idea. But the thing is, most of the cats brought into the shelter would probably be euthanized anyway.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by Access

That sounds like a form of mutilation. I know they do something like this to great danes, cutting out a piece of the ear and then sewing it back together in order to make the ears stand erect, and it ought to be illegal IMO.

Yes, it is a form of mutilation but unlike the cropping of a Great Dane’s ears it is not done for cosmetic purposes. It is done for identification purposes to keep a feral cat from having spay/neuter surgery twice. Microchipping is not visible and costs money...something the already strained SPCA budget can’t afford. Yes there are flaws in the ear notching method but from what I have seen from data collected since the beginning of the Spay/Neuter/Release program the methods used have overall been successful.

Originally Posted by Access

The real solution here is just to get the strays off the street and adopted back into loving homes, not some poorly conceived 'catch and release' strategy

Have you been into a SPCA lately? Have you noticed how many cats are up for adoption? I know that the S/N/R program adopts out kittens and young cats that are brought in...but the truly feral cats are another matter.

I did not implement the S/N/R program, I support it because it has had proven results that you do not see. You can read up on it on the following webpage. If you have a problem with it I recommend you call or email the New Orleans SPCA. Here is their website page on the (as they call it) Trap/Neuter/Return program. Phone # and Fax # are at the bottom of the page and Email contact is at the top http://www.la-spca.org/education/feral_cats.htm

[Access]

I know, it's just an idea.
Also Microchipping does not cost a lot of money, I work in this field.
We can tag cows or other livestock for around 1USD. The actual cost to microchip a pet is about 40 cents for the tag and a few minutes for the procedure. Vets can charge more because people are willing to pay more... vets are running a business. But if the city hires someone to do the task, it is no more difficult than giving the pet a shot (immunization, etc.) and buying a 40 cent chip... I assume the shelters already have the scanners.

[DocDolittle]

The TNR program sounds absolutely wonderful. I hope that in time it spreads all over the country and then hopefully the world. We have a huge colony of cats living on the land behind us, but I don;t know if our animal control/shelters do this.

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by Access

I know, it's just an idea.

And it's a good idea (my pets are all microchipped) except for one problem. The SPCA relies on civilian volunteers living in the neighborhoods to trap the cats and bring them in.

Personally I HATE trying to handle truly feral cats...it's a nightmare and I am fairly skilled at handling wild animals. I can't imagine a normal person trying to wrestle a feral cat out of a trap to scan it (if they were given scanners) or to peek underneath to see if there is a scar or lack of testicles. Bringing the cat into the SPCA to be scanned would be more traumatic (IMO) then having an ear notched so that it can be quickly rereleased without suffering the stress of transport and handling.

Yes, I wish there was another way that is as easy to recognize as an ear notch. I wish all of the feral cats could be tamed and homed. Unfortunately there is no budget for that type of program in this city and the local Gov keeps cutting back money for the SPCA.

It's euthanasia or this...so far S/N/R seems to be working...if it fails in the long run then at least it was tried.

[Access]

If the objective is simply to control overpopulation, I don't see how it could fail, or at least not have a significant effect. I guess it depends on what percentage of strays are abandoned pets vs. cats that were born stray. If the stray population consists of mostly abandoned pets, another type of program like the one in Japan would be a better solution.

http://www.homeagainid.com/news/arti...?storyid=17014

Some countries take this to the next level, proposing that every pet must be microchipped before it can be sold. When sold at a pet store or by a breeder, the sale is reported to the government along with the unique microchip ID and the identity of the buyer. If the pet is later found abandoned, the government will fine the original owner (like they do for traffic tickets, etc.) If a family does not want a pet, they can still "euthenize" it or "put it to sleep", they just can't abandon it.

[LiciaMommycott]

Feral cats cannot be adopted out because they can't be domesticated. They are essentially wild animals. If not neutered and released, they would have to be killed. Far better a small notch in the ear and living in what has become their natural environment than dead. Chips would be a waste of effort because cats would be caught, transported, scanned and then have to be returned once it was found they were already altered. A visual indicator is far more effected. Tags could get caught, tear and cause more injury. Collars are a danger too. I think the notch is the least of all the evils.

[suzy_99]

Actually some feral cats can become quite nice pets, especially if you get them when they are young. I have had many cats and only my 2 most recent ones are actually fully doesmticated. We have a male cat now that we got when a business advertised that they had stray kittens to sell. It ended up being kittens from a feral mother and they were actually older than 6 weeks. Its difficult at times because he is not cuddly exept for during the winter and he tends to spend many nights outside during the summer. Many people say just to keep him in, but that would be cruel to me. He is a wild cat and he cries for hours if he cannot go outside (he is neutured). He comes home to eat and sleep and generally stays in on cold and rainy days, but the rest of the time he wants to be outside. He does not leave our yard, so I am not worried about things like cars or anything and he is up to date on all of his vaccines and worm treatments. His main diet is mice and birds and he only eats cat food every so often. However, he is a great pet. I guess I am use to this becuase we have taken in well over 20 to 30 strays or ferals. Some stay and some don't, but we at least try to offer them a nice place to sleep. Taken in a feral requires a different attitude. They are not your pets, you are simply given them shelter and food and a little companionship if they want it, but you must realize that they are essentially wild animals and need freedom. I do not beleive that most can be happy as house cats (there are some that are, so I'm not saying that it is impossible). Either way, ferals deserve a chance. I prefer them to fully domesticated cats for the most part and will continue to adopt them.

[cavy_upstairs]

wow... that cat in the picture looks JUST like mine... she doesnt wear a collar because she gets her foot stuck in it and gets stuck in a tree by it or comes limping home on 3 legs

[Susan9608]

I think that the idea of individuals shooting cats for population control is a barbaric idea. I believe that even the governor of Wisconsin stated that he did not want his state known as the state where they shoot cats. (side note: it *was* Wisconsin, right, where they proposed this idea?)

However, I see that the overpopulation of cats is a problem. The house my husband and I own has a creek running behind it. Along the creek is a "colony" of feral cats. We feed about 7 of them consistently; others drop in from time to time. A lot of our other neighbors do the same, and there is a feral cat league in our area that does the spay/neuter/release with them and also ensures that they get vaccinations for rabies and FIV. But is this a good existence for them?

There are a number of business that are also along this creek, and these feral cats often come onto the business property, probably looking for food and water. A few of these business started putting out bowls of anti-freeze for the cats to drink, so that the cats won't come onto their property anymore. Of course, these businesses received extensive negative publicity about their actions and incurred a boycott, but a great number of these feral cats suffered anti-freeze poisoning before they quit this practice.

There are also a number of coyotes that live along this creek. A number of our "regulars" have just quit showing up for food, and I imagine that they were probably attacked and killed. Others have shown up injured, and we have found mutilated bodies along the creek bed.

It is not an ideal existence. I think the spay and neuter program is excellent in keeping populations down ... but what about the cats already in existence? We (human beings) allowed them to be created, so don't we own them a more dignified life than to scrounge around for food and shelter and to live a perilous existence, fraught with dangers?

I don't know what the answer is, and until one is found, I accept that the spay/neuter/release programs are probably the best bet. But I think we should work towards something better for these animals.