[Chat] Alley cats

Wed Dec 16 15:10:27 EST 2009

While I appreciate Lauren's concerns regarding alley cats, I have to strongly disagree with her proposal.  Scientists estimate that free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians each year. Cat predation is an added stress to wildlife populations already struggling to survive habitat loss, pollution, pesticides, and other human impacts.  I believe cats should be kept indoors - and feral and free-roaming cats should be trapped and taken to shelters.  Domestic cats are not a part of our natural eco-system - and are considered primarily responsible for the extinction of 33 bird species since the 1600s.

So please keep your cats inside.......and let's find a better way to deal with feral/alley cats. I love cats......and have them - inside. 

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/index.html

As for Trap-Neuter-Release programs.....see attached information from abcbirds materials. 

Karen Morley
kdmorley at yahoo dot com

________________________________
From: Lauren Redmond <laredmond at hotmail.com>
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Sent: Thu, December 10, 2009 9:49:54 PM
Subject: [Chat] Alley cats

Hi.  There have been lots of interesting discussions about cats recently since the dog attacked our neighbor Greg and his dog, Herschel.  I am glad that both of them are on the mend and have gotten some support from the city because of the community's efforts.

Now on to other CV animals....CATS.

Our neighbor went to a workshop offered by Alley Cat Allies and this is the info she reported:

"Basically the way ACA works is that if you have a stray cat or a colony, you schedule spay/neuter appointments with a vet ahead of time (2 weeks-a month ahead to get into the $20 clinics). Then, starting several days before the appointment, you start putting out some food for the cat/cats you are trying to catch, so they'll get used to you and come around your yard/porch/wherever on a regular basis. 

You need to get a trap ahead of time (big wire cage with a trip plate), which you either buy at Ace or somewhere like that, or you can try to borrow one, which you may be able to get by getting in touch with someone from Alley Cat Allies. I think they're a bit big and expensive to buy if you're not planning on using it a lot.

So, you put out the normal plate of food inside the trap the day before you have the vet appt. and hopefully, the cat will come by, go for the food, and the trap door will snap shut behind them. They'll probably freak out, so the woman who was giving the talk said to bring the trap inside your house (a bathroom may be a good idea), put newspaper under the trap, and cover it with a towel (this calms the cat down I believe). The next day, you take them to the vet for the appointment, and then, the important thing is to keep them inside somewhere warm the night afterward because anesthesia keeps them from properly regulating their body temps. The next day, take 'em outside, open the hatch, and you're all done."

I just looked on the Alley Cat Allies website, I found this helpful info:
"What is Targeted Trapping?Targeted trapping is a method of trapping, spaying or neutering, and vaccinating an entire colony at a time before moving on to the next surrounding colonies in a specific geographic location. Newcomers entering completed colonies are immediately trapped, spayed or neutered, and vaccinated.
Conducting Trap-Neuter-Return indiscriminately by spaying and neutering only a few cats in a colony and then moving on to another colony has limited effects. It certainly helps those individual cats, but does not address the overall goal of helping all of the identified members of a colony and preventing new litters of kittens in that colony. Cats who are not trapped and vetted will continue to breed and exhibit behaviors such as yowling, spraying, and roaming for mates.   
Targeted trapping brings about total positive results. When caregivers employ targeted trapping, they work “smarter, not harder.” This focused process improves the lives of all cats in the colony."

For more info, see: http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=285

Do you all find that there are enough alley cats in the neighborhood that this would be a good idea to control their breeding?  It seems like this would be a good time of year to spay and neuter the cats since March - September is often breeding season.

Is anyone interested in leading or participating in a targeted trapping initiative in Charles Village?

Lauren 

Lauren Redmond 
2636 Guilford Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21218
(410) 366-0162
laredmond at hotmail.com

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