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Tonchi · 10-26-2005, 12:06 AM

Geez, don't call PETA, they are a bunch of nuts! So long as you aren't making coats out of the cats, they have no interest in getting involved.

The shelters now recommend that if you are an animal lover who is concerned about the feral cats in your neighborhood, the solution is to trap them and have them spayed or neutered. Then release them back where you found them. This actually DECREASES further breeding in a very large area. Many shelters will do this for a low cost if you tell them the purpose, or veterinary schools will do it for free. See, if all you do is keep removing cats from their viable range, more breeding will take place until the space is "saturated" again. So long as a colony of cats which can't reproduce are in possession of the territory, nature takes over and breeding females will not move in. Or if one shows up, she is unlikely to find a mate before you catch her and get her spayed.

San Francisco has found this to be an excellent solution to all the feral cats in the parks there. I also saw a program on Animal Planet about this becoming the new policy in many urban areas as the word spreads. The only problem is the lowlife people dumping cats in your neighborhood, in that case you might have to take other measures. If you have really severe weather, the cats will have to fend for themselves, but cats who can't find food won't breed either. And maybe you don't want to feed 20 cats, neutered or not, so you will have to force yourself to ignore all the pleading. I suggest that you Google or Clusty "feral cats" or similar topics and there might be some very good specific suggestions online. Good luck!

10-26-2005, 12:06 AM	#5
Tonchi Victim of gravity Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hiding in plain sight Posts: 1,412	Geez, don't call PETA, they are a bunch of nuts! So long as you aren't making coats out of the cats, they have no interest in getting involved. The shelters now recommend that if you are an animal lover who is concerned about the feral cats in your neighborhood, the solution is to trap them and have them spayed or neutered. Then release them back where you found them. This actually DECREASES further breeding in a very large area. Many shelters will do this for a low cost if you tell them the purpose, or veterinary schools will do it for free. See, if all you do is keep removing cats from their viable range, more breeding will take place until the space is "saturated" again. So long as a colony of cats which can't reproduce are in possession of the territory, nature takes over and breeding females will not move in. Or if one shows up, she is unlikely to find a mate before you catch her and get her spayed. San Francisco has found this to be an excellent solution to all the feral cats in the parks there. I also saw a program on Animal Planet about this becoming the new policy in many urban areas as the word spreads. The only problem is the lowlife people dumping cats in your neighborhood, in that case you might have to take other measures. If you have really severe weather, the cats will have to fend for themselves, but cats who can't find food won't breed either. And maybe you don't want to feed 20 cats, neutered or not, so you will have to force yourself to ignore all the pleading. I suggest that you Google or Clusty "feral cats" or similar topics and there might be some very good specific suggestions online. Good luck! __________________ Everything you've ever heard about Fresno is true. Last edited by Tonchi; 10-26-2005 at 12:11 AM.