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Feral felines spur debate over control By Chris Miller Ashland Daily Tidings / see photo It's a question of heart versus mind. For many, releasing unwanted pets in the wild may feel more humane than having them destroyed. But animal control officers, health officials and citizens concerned with ballooning populations of feral animals all agree that while setting animals free may soften the blow, it's also creating a problem of epidemic proportions. According to the Feral Cat Coalition (FCC), every year in the U.S. an estimated 48 million out of an estimated 60 million homeless cats are killed when they are brought to animal shelters and not adopted. Last year the Jackson County Animal Shelter took in more than 3,000 cats, about 83 percent of which were strays. By way of example, in seven years, a single breeding pair of cats can potentially produce as many as 420,000 offspring. According to the FCC, this geometric breeding dynamic has created feral cat colonies across the country. According to Sally Mackler, a volunteer with Spay and Neuter Your Pets, or SNYP, the main cause of the feral cat population is human-caused. "People are irresponsible and they have not neutered their animals," Mackler said. "This is a large problem and the fact is that the cats are going to breed." Mackler, who previously founded the FCC in San Diego, Calif., in 1993, advocates trapping the animals, neutering them, then releasing the adult cats back into the wild. This method is called TNR and she said it is the most humane way to reduce wild cat numbers. Mackler has been involved in attempting to control feral cat populations since the 1980s. She said controlling the population of wild cats has fallen almost entirely to non-profit organizations dedicated to feral cats and local volunteers. "Shelters are not in the adoption business," Mackler said. "And most of the cats are not adoptable." Although SNYP encourages the TNR method of population control, not everyone agrees with this method. Some Web sites dedicated to feral cat control advocate trapping and euthanizing the animals. This is a method that Mackler openly disputes. "It is hard to educate people about the problem because they just want to get rid of them (cats)," Mackler said. "Killing the cats doesn't solve the problem, it is a long-term issue. With killing as a means of control you get into a cycle, but there is no end to the number of stray kitties out there." The cost of neutering a wild cat is between $10 and 40. The Best Friends Animal Hospital in Talent charges the fee based on the client's income level. Because most feral cats will never see a pet hospital again after capture, Best Friends de-flea the cats, give them a shot of penicillin and address any other health problems. In 2002, Best Friends fixed 125 wild cats, and starting nine years ago they clip the top of the left ear to identify which cats have been neutered. If the cats they encounter experience health problems, they are often euthanized. According to Teri Mason, an assistant at Best Friends, neutering wild cats is hardly a walk in the park. Most feral cats are wary of humans and tend to fight tooth and nail, particularly when attempting to remove them from the traps. Further complicating matters for veterinarians, feral cats must get special sutures that don't require a check-up visit to remove. Ashlanders Linda Jones and Jacquie Christensen trap wild cats, and are financing the feline healthcare out of their own pockets. In 2002, Jones and Christensen trapped 45 cats on Corp Ranch off Highway 66 near Emigrant Lake. Between May and August, Jones paid $1,350 to have cats neutered, and shelled out another $900 on things like tail amputation on a cat aptly named Lucky, and an eye operation on another cat named Teddy. Christensen spent another $650 on neutering. Jones said she too believes the cause of feral cat problems are careless humans. "People drop cats off out there and the cats migrate to the newest spot to find food," Jones said. "College kids get cats and when they leave for the summer, they leave them." Keith Corp doesn't herd cats. He just feeds them. The owner of the 200-acre ranch feeds the wild cats every morning. At 8 a.m., just before the food starts hitting the dishes, there are only one or two in view. But the second the dry food hits the metallic pans, cats come crawling out from under the corner of the house and running in from every direction in search of their only easy meal of the day. Thursday, Corp said was a slow day, only about 15 or 20 cats showed up. "Sometimes it's a lot worse than others," Corp said about the kitty population. "It can be wall-to-wall cats, they will be coming out of the woodwork." Jackson County Animal Shelter receives the bulk of the homeless pet population from Ashland. Colleen Macuk, an 18-year veteran employee echoes the statements about where to place the blame for the homeless pet population. "Responsibility is the biggest problem," Macuk said. "People don't spay and neuter their pets, or they move and leave them, or dump them near farms." Macuk said one solution to the overpopulation problem is to make it easier to spay and neuter pets. She said that although feral cats are a county-wide problem, the numbers have gone down, but the damage to property remains. "The cats cause thousands of dollars of damage to insulation to homes and paint jobs to cars," Macuk said. SNYP is holding a workshop on TNR at 10 a.m. Feb. 15 at the First Presbyterian Church on 855 Holly Street in Medford. In addition to the workshop, SNYP will work with people interested in trapping cats by loaning traps and helping, or paying for the surgery to neuter the animals. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -