Dont be a Feeder, be a rescuer: Why Do You Do It?

Hi,

Please consider getting a regular cat trap, and trapping that calico you are feeding

Amen!

EXCELLENT ADVICE ! Which brings up one of my pet peeves. Last night on one of the Washington DC TV stations there was a piece about 9 ferals living beside a shopping center near Annapolis. For some reason the cats had to be trapped and moved but the reporter never mentioned if the cats had been fixed. It was just a standard 'war story'; the store owners vs. the cat lovers with no educational value. Nothing on cat population control, health, or anything else. We need to teach the teachers (i.e. reporters). It also seems we should have some rights (Eminent domain perhaps) that is if we spend our own money to fix the cats they have a right to the land their living on and can't be forced off it. (April fools) Back to the point at hand, My group has only TARed a dozed or so cats at our little corner of the world. Only a dozen. If we hadn't we'd have a thousand by now.

Same here in Los Angeles, California. They used to have the ferals in cages in the same room as socialable cats but finally gave them their own area as they would freak people out by lunging at everything. People thought all the cats might be like that. They just go to sleep at the city shelters as they cannot legally release an unsociable animal due to liability issues.

You mention below that we have to teach the teachers (reporters.) Agreed. Even Animal Planet doesn't always included 'disclaimers' (or any type of Public Service Announcements running with the program regarding the responsibility of spaying/neutering strays). There should be some press release created so that when a situation arises, the release (already written) could be sent to the reporter who will be covering the story. Perhaps PETA has something already written or could refer you to an organization that has something that could be mailed to the media.

<Which brings up one of my pet peeves. Last night on one of the Washington DC TV stations there was a piece about 9 ferals living beside a shopping center near Annapolis. For some reason the cats had to be trapped and moved but the reporter never mentioned if the cats had been fixed. It was just a standard 'war story'; the store owners vs. the cat lovers with no educational value. Nothing on cat population control, health, or anything else. We need to teach the teachers (i.e. reporters). It also seems we should have some rights (Eminent domain perhaps) that is if we spend our own money to fix the cats they have a right to the land their living on and can't be forced off it. (April fools) Back to the point at hand, My group has only TARed a dozed or so cats at our little corner of the world. Only a dozen. If we hadn't we'd have a thousand by now.>

I believe PETA does have something already written and I'm afraid it's KILL ALL feral cats. Alley Cat Allies http://www.alleycat.org/ based in Washington DC advocates TAR; it would be nice if they could put out a release as you suggested. I'm assuming someone at Alley Cat Allies follows this news group like Friends Of Campus Cats does.

or could refer you to an organization that has something that could be

Hi all,

We don't really have to use someone else's press release

<I believe PETA does have something already written and I'm afraid it's KILL ALL feral cats.>

I'd have to check on that before I'd believe it (because it's an unbelievable, unacceptable viewpoint - especially from a supposed animal rights organization, even if that organization has radical tendencies).

I'm afraid that is true. They have been caught in the act of trapping and killing *managed* (sterilized/tended) feral colonies, one of them in their own back yard.

Sharon Talbert Friends of Campus Cats

I wonder if those ferals were ear notched? We've had all of our TARs ear notched here but I wonder if animal control or PETA would realize what that meant if they trapped one. I have absolutely no legal backing for this but my opinion is if I pay to fix and feed a cat with my own money, and have it ear notched to prove its fixed, that makes it my cat and PETA has no more right to touch it than they do to grab fluffy off of my living room sofa. (but I hope I never have to defend that opinion in court)

AC in Santa Barbara knows what it means, can't speak for other areas. There's a nonprofit in the area that manages feral colonies; when AC gets a 'notched' cat, they call the feral group to come get it. The system works pretty well, for the most part.