- April 19, 2024
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Solution to overpopulation of cats: trap, neuter, release
Dear Editor:
Regarding the letter about feral cats in your June 19 edition, Community Cats of Palm Coast would like to respond.
We all agree that our city has too many feral cats. Where do these cats come from? Some are abandoned pets and their offspring. Many are the result of unsterilized domestic cats being allowed to roam. While we need to address the root causes of the problem, our goal is to reduce the feral cat population.
In a misguided attempt to do this, the city continually traps cats. Many that are too feral for adoption are euthanized. What we have is an endless cycle of trap and kill. It is inhumane, expensive and, ultimately, ineffective. Cats reproduce too quickly and new cats move into areas where other cats have been removed.
The alternative is trap, neuter and return. With this well-established protocol, cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, given a rabies shot and released. As the cats stop reproducing, the number of feral cats in the community declines, reducing animal control costs and shelter intake fees. The benefits of TNR increase over time.
Municipalities with proactive leadership, including Jacksonville, Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, Flagler Beach, Holly Hill and DeLand, are noting the success of TNR programs and embracing this approach.
Our local animal welfare community is united in its support for TNR. Let’s put an end to trap and kill in Palm Coast. It’s not who we are, and it’s not who we want to be.
Elizabeth Robinson
Director, Community Cats of Palm Coast
Humans, not cats, are the biggest threat to native species
Dear Editor:
I do not support or oppose the actions of the Community Cats of Palm Coast organization. My point in this letter is to the ignorance of Mr. Robertson.
The No. 1 threat to wildlife (native species) is humans: habitat destruction, industrial and residential development of land, logging, crop farming, livestock grazing, mining, roads and dam building, pesticide use and oil spills.
Opponents of trap-neuter-return often blame cats for bird species decline, but humans are by far the biggest threat to bird species, lizards, frogs, squirrels, etc. The exponential population growth and vast expansion have left little land untouched by human development, modification, fragmentation and pollution for these species.
Birds, for example, collide with windows from tall buildings and store fronts, have collisions with automobiles or planes, and are exposed to pesticides and oil spills.
Cats have always been part of the natural environment; they have lived outdoors for years. People’s unrestrained use of natural resources is what has damaged the crucial habitats and resources species needed to survive — that includes cats also.
Here’s an idea for you, Mr. Robertson: Promote high-volume, low-cost, spay or neuter for these felines, and that would help with the overpopulation issues, like there is at present. Instead of pointing a finger at these feral cats, try getting involved and doing something productive for the “Murderous Cats of Palm Coast,” as you call them.
Mari Molina
Executive director, Flagler Cats
Feral cats exert no more influence than hawks, bobcats, etc.
Dear Editor:
It’s always amusing to learn what people think of themselves. Such is the situation with the self-described animal lover’s letter to the editor about feral cats. Trapping feral cats, shipping them to the Everglades, and then feeding them to snakes is not what animal lovers do.
People who care about feral cats know that trap-neuter-return programs are extremely successful in controlling the numbers of feral cat populations and are the only humane way to treat these poor creatures that have been dumped on the streets by people (See ASPCA.org.).
The letter writer has feral cats mixed up with family kitties that people make the mistake of letting out of the house at night to roam. They are the ones that leave the carcasses this person finds “every” day. On the contrary, feral cats consume all of their prey in a safe, hidden, place.
My observations of three years of daily care of a feral colony tell me that they exert no more influence on the local animal populations then the other predators such as hawks, owls, crows, bobcats, etc. I have conducted research at Everglades National Park; I have a masters degree in wildlife biology and over 40 years experience in the natural resources. The letter writer would be wise next time to go to the library and get a book or do online research on the subject. Perhaps that way, when the mouth is opened, the foot won’t go in as it did here.
Jeffery C. Seib
Palm Coast
