Why should we maintain feral colonies?
As sad as it may seem, the number of cats far exceed the number of homes available. In Jefferson County alone, every man, woman and child would have to own 45 cats in order to give every cat in the county a home. Nationally, only 32 percent of households own any cats. Clearly, at the current rate of reproduction, there will never be enough homes for all cats.
According to a study done by the National Pet Alliance, 75 percent of surplus cats come from breeding by stray cats. In a presentation to the AHA/CFA Federal Cat Conference in 1996, Karen Johnson of the National Pet Alliance stated that, "Owned cats are not the cause or the solution to the problem of too many cats entering shelters. Unowned cat reproduction must be addressed . . . by making it as easy as possible for citizens to round up and alter as many stray cats as possible."
The traditional method of controlling the stray population has been to trap and remove the animals, and then to either place them in homes or euthanize them. As we see from the numbers mentioned above, placing all homeless cats is not numerically possible; also many stray cats are not tame enough to make suitable pets.
What about trapping and euthanizing stray cats that cannot be replaced? Killing healthy animals is distasteful to most people. It is also not a solution. If the cats are removed without changing the environment (i.e. removing the food source and shelter), more cats quickly replace the cats that were removed. It is also more expensive
to continually trap and euthanize cats than to alter
the cats and maintain a colony. In a study done by
the San Francisco SPCA and the National Pet Alliance,
they found that the cost to maintain a 1000 cat population
using the trap/neuter/release method would cost $17,306
initially and $2,660 a year thereafter. To trap/remove/euthanize,
the cost would be just under $80,000 initially and
then just over $60,000 a year after that to keep the
population under 1,000.
The trap/neuter/release method has been used in England since the 1960s with much success. In the United States, the first national organization to be devoted exclusively to the welfare and maintenance of stray cats was formed in 1990, although the method was being practiced on a local level well before then. One group, the Feral Cat Coalition, has made a major difference in the San Diego, CA area. In their first four and a half years, they altered more than 7,000 cats. During this same time period, the San Diego Department of Animal Control reported a decrease of 45 percent in stray cat intake, and a 40 percent reduction in euthanasia. There were no other factors that could be found to explain the drop.
We want to have the same effect on overpopulation in the Louisville area. With your help, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE !!!
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