Fur and feathers may fly over Cape May cat control plan

the feral colony is much like a vacuum, if you remove the cats, more will come to fill the space.
THIS IS A KNOWN FACT!!!!
the people who say TNR does not work are misinformed, or have not managed the colonies properly. and on that note, it is we, mankind, who is at fault for this whole mess anyway!
in the UK, there are no strays roaming like the US. instead of spending tax dollars on gas chambers, why don't they try enforcing the breeding and spay-neuter laws? alley cat allies,
why don't you lobby that one?
i have personally tried TNR at 3 different feral cat colonies and each time the results were positive. the existing small kittens were vetted, including pediatric spay/neuter, fostered and adopted out @ petsmart. with every adult spayed and neutered, guess what? NO MORE CATS! several folks take turns delivering the food, there is adequate shelter, and these guys seem pretty darn happy with life.
www.thebirdhousechick.com

Bird and Cat Lover in NY wrote:

I do enjoy having pet cats and enjoy watching birds in my yard. I feel that fix and release does help slowly eliminate a feral cat population. I do not think KILLING feral cats that come into your yard is right. In NY that is illegal and you can be arrested for animal abuse. Both sides have a point but I think fixing and adopting when possible is the best option. With most pets it should be mandated that your animals are fixed unless you have a license to breed.
<quoted text>

I agree. I would like to see them all adopted into good "indoor" homes. But it will never happen, so I have to give precedence to the "native" animals. I have 3 dogs and as a responsible pet owner, they are all fixed and I do not allow them to ever kill any wildlife.

Linda Gonzales wrote:

Can't help but notice that those people who will NOT give their REAL names, are the ones who OPPOSE TNR...fascinating...do you not stand behind your convictions/opinions/rants???? !!!!

Alot of people know where I stand on the issue and they know my name, too. I'm not ashamed of my position and only formed it after getting an education in ecology and declining native bird populations. I do not give my name on the internet for obvious reasons. I don't know what kind of nut cases are out here. No, I am not calling you a nut case! BTW- I don't know why it took so long for topix to let me know there were replies on this thread.

beth wrote:

the feral colony is much like a vacuum, if you remove the cats, more will come to fill the space.
THIS IS A KNOWN FACT!!!!
the people who say TNR does not work are misinformed, or have not managed the colonies properly. and on that note, it is we, mankind, who is at fault for this whole mess anyway!
in the UK, there are no strays roaming like the US. instead of spending tax dollars on gas chambers, why don't they try enforcing the breeding and spay-neuter laws? alley cat allies,
why don't you lobby that one?
i have personally tried TNR at 3 different feral cat colonies and each time the results were positive. the existing small kittens were vetted, including pediatric spay/neuter, fostered and adopted out @ petsmart. with every adult spayed and neutered, guess what? NO MORE CATS! several folks take turns delivering the food, there is adequate shelter, and these guys seem pretty darn happy with life.
www.thebirdhousechick.com

The problem is neutered cats still kill native, federally protected birds and other wildlife, even if they are well fed. How many birds or other animals will one cat kill in it's lifetime? If one cat kills one bird per day and lives for ten years there is 3650 dead birds. What if these birds were all Kirtlands Warblers? That would mean total wipeout of a whole population and another lost species. I know it's an exaggeration because they don't get all the same species, but so many are in severe decline already, we need to preserve the remaining populations.

Realist wrote:

Only a crazy person would say "Cats are a part of the fabric of society here." when referring to feral cats at the beach.
They are relentless predators. The people who feel the need to treat them like human children need to get mental health counseling.

You got it! There is no (0) niche in the Americas for the domesticated cat to fill. Our native animals evolved without them and are particularly vulnerable to them.

Amanda Bell wrote:

Clearly TNR is working!

Clearly the Trap, Neuter, Abandon crowd are here. Zero tolerance is the only way to insure some bird species are not wiped out!

Kris Neal wrote:

Feral cats are opportunistic, they would just a soon eat food from a plate than hunt. If they do hunt, rodents are they're preference not birds.

Try telling that to the nesting mockingbird and Blue Jay pairs in my yard. Oh, you can't. The feral cats my neighbor feeds ate them!