100-plus cats overrun prison

The words, "kill" the cats who " sneaked in" the prison facility bother me. Why not humane trap the cats who took shelter and who reproduced before any at the facility took any responsibility or excercized any concern for the animals ? Whose fault is it ? The CATS ?!!

I agree with kc. It is not the innocent cats who let this happen.

When Cats debuted on Broadway they didn't kill them, did they?

What about all the birds and wildlife cats kill. They are one of the largest destroyers of wildlife we deal with. Owners of pets need to be more responsible if they care about the natural environment.

These cats should have been sent to a shelter not destroyed. How disgusting to read such an inhumane thing.
I guess no one was responsible for feeding them? I can only image that the cats would have been great therapy for some.

Serbs wrote:

What about all the birds and wildlife cats kill. They are one of the largest destroyers of wildlife we deal with. Owners of pets need to be more responsible if they care about the natural environment.

Hey, where were you when the black plague happened? Millions of rats over-running the streets, all because people like you and these lazy prison officials killed cats! Next you have a rat in your house, call a prison official, will ya!!

Serbs wrote:

What about all the birds and wildlife cats kill. They are one of the largest destroyers of wildlife we deal with. Owners of pets need to be more responsible if they care about the natural environment.

Cats are predators and true carnivores. They are not to blame for behaving the way predators do. If you really think the bird population is in danger of extinction from cats, I suggest some research. As for other wildlife, are we talking about rats, mice, or occasional squirrels? The average cat isn't big enough to kill anything larger.

I agree 100% with responsible pet ownership - if you own any kind of small animal you should have it spayed or neutered and keep it indoors. There are better ways of dealing with the population explosion of cats at the prison than killing them. At least, if the cats must be destroyed it should be humanely done at a shelter, not a do-it-yourself job I strongly suspect will consist of a bunch of sadistic guards with guns.

These cats did not suddenly "sneak in". Since Fall 2001, Avenal State Prison in Kings County, California, has had an effective, well-managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. Now with a change of leadership, the new warden, Kathy Mendoza-Powers, is seeking to remove and ultimately kill all of the cats on the prison grounds.

Cats are now being trapped and removed by the prison. They are often left in traps on the prison grounds for two days or more with NO food or water. They are exposed to the elements and other animals that may harm them!

Cats have resided on the prison property since 1987. From April 2001 until the recent change in leadership, there was an effective TNR program in place. Using volunteers from California Feline Foundation and volunteer prison staff and inmates, this TNR program traped, sterilized, and vaccinated all the cats and returned them to the grounds where the inmates provided them with food, water, and shelter. Because the cats were sterilized and managed, the population was stable and slowly reducing. The cats were causing no problems.

Why did Warden Mendoza-Powers suddenly reverse this successful program? What does she hope to accomplish by her cruel mandate?

Serbs wrote:

What about all the birds and wildlife cats kill. They are one of the largest destroyers of wildlife we deal with. Owners of pets need to be more responsible if they care about the natural environment.

Before you start complaining about the "birds and wildlife cats kill", take a look at what developers have done to the wildlife habitat. In their eagerness to build new homes, roads, and malls, they have destroyed the wildlife habitat and, when you do that, you effectively destroy the wildlife. But that is considered "progress".

As in anything, there are some irresponsible pet owners who let their pets run wild. Unfortunately, the pets are blamed and they are the ones who suffer for it, not the irresponsible owners. There are many more responsible owners who love their pets, care for them properly, and are also very concerned about the environment. But you will not hear as much about these owners as you will about the others.

While I think all convicts are scum and they are in prison for the things they did, I do think that no matter how bad you are, everyone deserves a little Pussy------cat!

Thanks Adele for speaking the truth on this matter! The new warden is to blame for the change in policy.
From the ASPCA:
"Please attend an informational meeting at Avenal Prison to protect feral cats!
Date: Sunday April, 30th
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Corner of Skyline Blvd. & 7th Ave., Avenal, CA 93204
After thousands of letters and phone calls to Avenal Prison and the California Dept. of Corrections, acting warden Kathy Mendoza-Powers is still mandating the trapping and removal of cats from the prison grounds.
Since 2001, the Avenal State Prison in Kings County, California, has had an effective, well-managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. However, the new warden, Kathy Mendoza-Powers, has decided to remove and ultimately kill all of the cats on the prison grounds.
Cats are now being trapped and removed by the prison. They are often left in traps on the prison grounds for two days or more with no food or water. They are exposed to the elements and other animals that may harm them!
Please join fellow animal advocates to learn how you can help to protect the feral cats."

Serbs wrote:

What about all the birds and wildlife cats kill. They are one of the largest destroyers of wildlife we deal with. Owners of pets need to be more responsible if they care about the natural environment.

Its called the food chain. cats eat the birds the birds eat the bugs and the bugs eat everything else. Yes its sad that these cats are being killed.

Feral cats are filthy parasite ridden predators that are a hazard to health. They eat rats and mice and all sorts of other vermin yet the cat loving bleeding hearts seem to think the cats are immune from the diseases these vermin carry. I applaud the warden for taking care of a serious health hazard on the prison grounds and hope she has the fortitude and support to clean up the problem feral cats cause and are. In Germany one of the first indications of the possibe cataclysmic impending bird flu crisis was in cats not birds. The transfer of this disease from the avian population to the mammalian population occurred with cats. Also listed is a summary of some of the diseases found in feral cats. Lead on warden keep the prisons diseae free as possible and thanks for your corrageous stand on doing the right thing. Here are a few of the goodies found in feral cats:

Cat Scratch disease
Ehrlichiosis
Giardia
Leptospirosis
Lyme Disease
Rabies
Ringworm
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Toxoplasmosis
Not to mention the parasites infesting their internal organs and functions fleas etc etc.

Winky wrote:

Feral cats are filthy parasite ridden predators that are a hazard to health. They eat rats and mice and all sorts of other vermin yet the cat loving bleeding hearts seem to think the cats are immune from the diseases these vermin carry. I applaud the warden for taking care of a serious health hazard on the prison grounds and hope she has the fortitude and support to clean up the problem feral cats cause and are. In Germany one of the first indications of the possibe cataclysmic impending bird flu crisis was in cats not birds. The transfer of this disease from the avian population to the mammalian population occurred with cats. Also listed is a summary of some of the diseases found in feral cats. Lead on warden keep the prisons diseae free as possible and thanks for your corrageous stand on doing the right thing. Here are a few of the goodies found in feral cats:
Cat Scratch disease
Ehrlichiosis
Giardia
Leptospirosis
Lyme Disease
Rabies
Ringworm
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Toxoplasmosis
Not to mention the parasites infesting their internal organs and functions fleas etc etc.

Over 500 of these cats have been tested and spay/neutered and all tests came back negative for FElV FVRCP, no parasites internal or external. So yes I agree ferals can be carriers, but these are NOT!!!!!!!!!!