My cat, Nadia, was a feral cat rescued from freezing conditions by my sister when it was a little kitten. Being it was Nadia’s sixth birthday this weekend I figured I should post on her behalf on an issue that may concern her if she thought about things other than food and what’s going on outside the window.
Wildcat Wednesdays is a program by Animal Ark, St. Paul Animal Control and the District 7 Planning Council where volunteers catch feral cats, give them up to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated for Rabies and marked (PDF), care for them as they recover and then release them back into the wild. Right now it’s only in Saint Paul’s District 7 (PDF).
I noticed an interesting statistic in the Pioneer Press article ‘Wildcat Wednesdays’ has alternative approach to feral cat control:
Organizers launched the program Sept. 26 and hope to expand it beyond District 7. So far, it has netted 17 feral cats.
That doesn’t sound like much compared to the estimated 300,000 to 1 million feral cats in the Twin Cities, but program boosters say it is a good start.
It doesn’t sound like they know how many feral cats there are out there either but 300,000 is their low number? And there might be a million? That would be at least one feral cat for every three people. Where are all these cats?
In a WCCO report about Wildcat Wednesdays, “Gene” without a last name got four free traps and nabbed two cats. I guess Frogtown has a lot more cats compared to my neighborhood.
Ethically I think the program is great and better than euthanizing them but I’m not sure how much this will impact will make if all of this work goes into just getting a tiny fraction of a percentage of the cats out there. Mike Fry, executive director of Animal Ark said that “TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) is not only more humane, it is more effective and more cost effective.” He elaborates in the Pioneer Press:
Fry said killing feral cats - the city’s policy before Sept. 26 - did nothing to diminish the population.
“Lethal means are always unsuccessful; you can’t kill them fast enough,” he said, especially in a neighborhood like Frogtown, where a high number of rentals and vacant buildings has resulted in plenty of habitat for abandoned cats.
Feral cats form colonies, Fry explained, and such factors as food supply determine a colony’s size. Killing a cat only made room for another cat.
Taking away a colony’s ability to multiply shrinks it over time.
If you’d like to learn more, participate or donate to the program, check out the Wildcat Wednesdays PDF provided by Saint Paul Animal Control.
On a related note, I contribute a small amount yearly to Feline Rescue, which is another no-kill cat shelter in Saint Paul. Another group worth supporting.
Comments 15
Minneapolis Animal Control definitely needs to follow St.Paul’s lead on this regarding the TNR pilot project. Interestingly, I know that CM Gary Schiff’s office has been working with Mike Fry over the past few months on the possibility of ordinance changes similar to those made in St. Paul that made the TNR pilot project possible. Obviously there are difference in the feral kitty population between the two cities that make it difficult for Mpls to enact exactly the same legislation as St. Paul which is why it may take a while to figure something out.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 12:22 ¶I remember reading something brief about this a few months ago. Nice idea. Animal Ark also has a groovy thrift store on E 7th, near Arcade.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 13:30 ¶Hmm, interesting. I worked with AA a long time ago and they were kinda nutty, but I think most of us hardcore animal folks are.
Pretty kitty.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 14:49 ¶I think Feline Rescue still does a low cost spay/neuter program. When I got Cosmo, I got him neutered for $40. Forever grateful for that!
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 16:11 ¶Also, it is far more successful to do the alter/release since an unspayed cat can have her first litter at about 6 months and can have at least 3 litters a season. Sluts.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 16:12 ¶Oh! One more thing. Feral cats live, on average, only about 3-4 years in the wild. So by altering even about a quarter of them, you can reduce the population dramatically.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 16:19 ¶Off-topic, but I was just making my round of online stops and Boinkology used one of your Flickr photos today:
http://boinkology.com/2007/10/16/the-phone-book-transfer-who-makes-the-cut/
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 17:09 ¶Despite being overlooked by so many people, the overpopulation of feral cats is a huge problem in metropolitan areas. I admire the approach of projects like Wildcat Wednesdays and hope their efforts continue to be recognized.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 19:21 ¶And happy birthday, Nadia.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 19:21 ¶Colony I work with nabbed their final two cats this past weekend. Good way to celebrate Nadia’s birthday.
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 19:45 ¶Happy bithday, Nadia!
Posted 16 Oct 2007 at 23:22 ¶I wonder if anyone has considered locating the dens of some of the larger colonies and asking local clergy to perform mass weddings of these cats? Individually neutering the cats just seems so inefficient.
Posted 17 Oct 2007 at 07:49 ¶Pretty kitty. My cat was a rescued barn cat from Iowa, where they have much the same problems with litters, and then throw in distemper to boot.
Great mousers, though.
Posted 17 Oct 2007 at 10:59 ¶Nadia is a Tortoise Shell — I have a cat that looks just like her (her name is Gidget). Happy Birthday, Nadia!
Posted 19 Oct 2007 at 06:08 ¶Speaking of pets, Griff just learned how to fetch. I think you would find it endearing at first, then annoying.
Posted 19 Oct 2007 at 09:07 ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
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