City funds feral cat population control program
Lisa Roberson | The Chronicle-Telegram
ELYRIA — A city-funded program to trap feral cats so they can be spayed or neutered and re-released is coming to Elyria after the Animal Control Committee of Elyria successfully convinced City Council to front the $7,500 startup cost.
The goal is to sterilize 100 feral cats and return them to the wild. Although that is merely a fraction of the 19,000 stray and feral cats believed to be in Elyria, it is a start toward controlling the growing population, said Mitch Witherell, committee chairman of the Animal Control Committee of Elyria.
“It’s just 100 cats, but it at least says we know we have a problem that’s never been addressed,” he said. “That’s what excites me about Elyria. They are at least willing to give it a shot.”
Witherell said Elyria is the first city in Ohio to provide funding for this type of program. It is usually undertaken by nonprofit organizations with private donations.
LifeSavers, a mobile spay and neuter agency already working in the county, will run the program using residents’ complaints to determine where feral cat populations are growing. Once an area of feral cats is on the radar, LifeSavers will come in and trap as many cats as possible, said President David McClellan.
The procedure calls for the cats to be kept overnight, taken to a local vet clinic for surgery, watched in recovery for a day and then released back where they were found so nature can take its course, Witherell said.
The program will follow humane policies and procedures from the American Veterinary Association.
Sending feral cats to a shelter for adoption is not really an option.
“Feral cats have never had human contact,” Witherell said. “They are truly wild, and to take an animal like this and try to turn it into a pet is very hard. Once it reaches four to eight months of age and has never had contact with a human, it is wild and wants nothing to do with humans.”
Witherell has had his own run-ins with feral cats, being left with bites, scratches and sometimes infections.
“Unfortunately, the best thing we can do is stop them from reproducing and leave them where they are. It’s not the ideal situation, but it’s what we can do,” McClellan said.
Witherell said feral cats are nocturnal creatures and although not often seen in the daytime, they roam freely throughout the city at night.
“They come out at night to breed, hunt and eat,” he said. “Just like you don’t see the skunks, raccoons and deer, you know they are there and in great numbers.”
Shrinking the cat population is not just a nuisance issue. It is also about safety, McClellan said. Feral cats can sometimes infect people with diseases through their bites. However, spayed or neutered cats are less aggressive, he said.
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Lisa Roberson | The Chronicle-Telegram September 5th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 9% |
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Comments
Comment from
shootingblanks
September 5, 2008, 5:33 am
We’re able to hunt deer due to overpopulation so let’s save some money and open up cat season.
Comment from
llheck
September 5, 2008, 5:43 am
I live in Lorain. I came home one night to find 5 cats in the driveway and 2 in the front yard. I can’t believe cities will spend money to catch them, do surgery and turn them loose.
I say catch them and dispose of them. The money would take care of more than 100 that way.
Comment from
The Raven
September 5, 2008, 6:41 am
This is an illegal program.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has determined that feral cats are “pest animals”.
Pest animals, when live trapped cannot be re-released into their environment.
Comment from
Nita Brake
September 5, 2008, 6:52 am
Here kitty…kitty..kitty…come get the nice treat!!!!
Comment from
Nita Brake
September 5, 2008, 6:57 am
Oh yeah.. I forgot to add the ending.
MMeeooowwww! THUD!
(up to 9 times per cat if necessary)
Comment from
BoothBay63
September 5, 2008, 7:32 am
Catch and send them to China, Vietnam, don’t they eat cats? Make a problem go away and make a profit, I know in China they asked the merchants to take these off the menu in resturants around the Olympics.
Comment from
bustenmymoon
September 5, 2008, 7:46 am
DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
The Neuter Scooter is coming to town!
When: Friday, September 26, 2008
Where: Elyria, OH
$50/cat for spay/neuter and free shots!
$40/cat and free shots if you pre-pay on line at www.neuterscooter.com
You are receiving this email because on a past visit to our web site you chose to join our mailing list. If you would prefer to be removed from our mailing list, click here.
ReplyReply All Move…tammytammy2
Comment from
Dave729
September 6, 2008, 8:57 am
At an average cost of $75.00 a cat you need $1,425,000 to TNR all your cats if you have 19,000 of them. Thats almost 1 1/2 million dollars. 100 is a drop in the bucket. Meanwhile the other 18,900 cat will continue to breed. How could you come up with such a useless, ineffective approach to your problem?
Comment from
MT110
September 6, 2008, 9:14 am
Too bad there isn’t a way to spay or neuter the DUMB PEOPLE who get those cute little kittens only to irresponsibly release them, dump them or let them wander at night only to reproduce more cute little kittens that will be given to more DUMB PEOPLE who are also irresponsible pet owners.
Control the DUMB PEOPLE population and we’d have a lot less problems. Mandatory vasectomies and tubal ligations for dumb people.
Comment from
mae
September 8, 2008, 2:24 pm
MT100- You got a huge laugh from me because I agree totally about the dumb people population. Unfortunately, we have been breeding down and there is no legal way to control that.
Comment from
thumper341
September 8, 2008, 3:10 pm
How does the idea of neutering stupidity make you a PETA member? I thought you had to throw blood on a starlets Fur for that?
Comment from
aceattura
September 9, 2008, 11:34 am
Feral cats are not pests. They are there on the streets because members of man”KIND” (HAHAHA! “KIND”????) abandoned them - and did not spay or neuter their pets.
i live in a city (east Coast) where TNR (Trap Neuter Return) has been used SUCCESSFULLY AND COMPASSIONATELY to make life easier for those ferals — it has been VERY succesful!1 NOW if we can only reach those members of man”kind” who are still dumping their pets!!!
Ferals cats have the SAME legal protections as do house cats (pets) — in 42 states or more– shooting or abusing any cat is a FELONY, with fines and jail time.
Feral cats do not kill birds or wildlife in great numbers– Lawn pesticides kill 100 MILLION birds a year– collisions with windows and cars and other vehicles kill 7 MILLION birds per year. Kids with BB guns kill more– as do Dogs, Hawks, Eagels, Foxes….
The biggest CAT that kills birds is also the CATerpilllar bulldozer that destroys habitats so more takcy townhouses can sit wher once sat forests full of birds and wildlfe.
I see very few level-headed comments on this page — what makes members of man”kind” think they can destroy or eradicate those non-human species that are thought to be “pests”?? when after all, this IS a problem brought about by Man”kind” itself!!
Comment from
Dave729
September 9, 2008, 9:29 pm
Whoever caused the problem, it is still a problem and needs to be addressed. And TNR is not going to do it. Too much money and not enough volunteers.
Comment from
MT110
September 10, 2008, 8:28 am
“MT100, you must be a big fan for PETA? and vegan?” WaynRahuu
No way! I wouldn’t go near PETA with a ten foot pole! I think that I am better off going to Friendship APL to walk dogs, donate food, collars, leashes, etc. Plus, my two dogs and a cat were adopted there and they were all spayed there. That’s about all I can do.
As for being vegan… heck no! I think I could give up all meat, except about once a month I’d have to have a juicy cheeseburger. I can’t stop myself.
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