I would like to offer some further information regarding the recent article appearing in the Record-Bee about the feral or community cat issue in Lake County.
First, community cats for the Cat-Snip program are cats that either live in the neighborhood and belong to no one specific or cats that have been dumped or abandoned near or on your property and you are feeding them.
Some may be tame or semi-tame, others will be more feral. These are considered outdoor cats. If tame to the extent you are taking them into your home, there are other options for those cats. Cat-Snip cats need to come to a vet in a trap. They will be spayed, neutered, given a rabies shot and the right ear is tipped to identify as to the fact they are altered and have a rabies shot. A colony may be a few cats in your backyard that you feed or it can be cats in another area that you are feeding.
It is best to get permission from a manager when feeding behind a store or eating establishments. Explain to them by trapping, fixing and returning it closes the colony and stops drawing other cats. It also keeps the mice at bay.
When you come and remove all the cats in a short time others will take their place.
It”s a cycle that continues to repeat itself and as kittens are born the cycle grows. For many people, trapping and killing these cats seems easier but as long as people continue to dump cats the reproduction cycle will always be ahead of the trapping and removal. A fixed and maintained colony reduces itself over time as no more reproducing is happening.
The first step is for everyone to stop dumping and moving and leaving the cats. This is where our feral population came from. Ferals are not a breed. They are not wild animals. Cats are domestic animals. They only become wild to survive and the suffering they go through when dumped is thoughtless and cruel. Please either talk to the shelter or find a home for an animal you can”t keep. Until we stop this practice we will never begin to solve this problem.
It”s time we stop being such a throwaway society. It touches each and every one of us.
Victoria Chamberlin
Coordinator, Cat-Snip Program
