Experts disagree on trap, neuter, release program for feral cats

 
Experts disagree on trap, neuter, release program for feral cats

AKRON, Ohio -- In an area of Akron, Ohio, that residents don't want disclosed live three colonies of wild, or feral, cats.

They dine in trash bins, are fed by employees of a local restaurant and find handouts and shelter from people in the neighborhood.

The Beacon Journal isn't disclosing the location because these cats are part of an experiment.

By some estimates, there may be 90,000 feral cats in Summit County, Ohio, alone.

To address this, residents in the area of the colonies have taken the cats to the vet for vaccinations against diseases and to have them neutered, with the thought that the problem will eventually disappear without outright destruction of the animals.

"There are probably five neighbors, and some of the waitresses help pay vet and food bills," said Karen Coleman, who is familiar with the experiment. She is affiliated with Alley Cat Allies, a national advocacy group that promotes TNR (trap, neuter and return feral cats to their place of origin).

The colonies have been monitored for about five years, and there is a feeling of success. The oldest member of the colony is 10 years old -- ancient for a feral cat.

And most importantly, there have been very few additions over that period, Coleman said. That's why they don't want the location disclosed.

Too little, too slow?

Bird advocacy groups argue that the trap, neuter and return method cannot work fast enough to solve what they see as an environmental crisis.

A feral cat is described as a cat born and raised in the wild, or one that has been abandoned or lost and has turned to wild ways to survive.

In seven years, one female cat and her offspring theoretically can produce 420,000 cats, according to estimates from the Humane Society of the United States.

They are not a native species, said George H. Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy of The Plains, Va.

"As such, it has an advantage over all the native species that have found a balance in nature," he said. Because they receive vaccinations and auxiliary food, they have become "a super predator."

"Take the 'C' off cat and replace it with an 'R.' They are both small predator mammals. How would people feel about TNR colonies of rats? They wouldn't take it well," Fenwick said.

His group estimates there are 9 million wild cats nationwide, part of a free-roaming population that is killing more than a half billion birds annually.

In October, the conservancy sent mayors of 50 large American cities letters advising them of the threat "posed to birds and other wildlife in your city by feral and free-roaming cats." The letter stated that outdoor cats, even well-fed ones, kill hundreds of millions of wild birds and other small animals each year in the United States, including endangered species.

"Our read is really quite clear that free-roaming cats -- that includes TNR cats -- are proliferating. They are expanding horrifically and the data that we have, that's been peer reviewed and published, makes it quite clear that there is no evidence that TNR works," Fenwick said.

"During the past year, there has been a lot of misinformation circulating about the decline of bird populations, and the cats in the ecosystem, based on inaccurate information or misleading statistics circulated by groups seeking to bolster their cause," Alley Cat Allies President Becky Robinson said from the agency's base in Bethesda, Md.

Studies have shown cats to be mainly scavengers, not hunters, feeding mostly on garbage and scraps, she said. When they do hunt, cats prefer rodents and other burrowing animals, as witnessed by samples of the diets of outdoor cats, Robinson said.

ACA cites studies that show that the overwhelming causes of wildlife and bird deaths are loss of habitat, urbanization, pollution and environmental degradation -- all caused by humans, not feral cats. And when cats are removed from an area, rat populations soar and wipe out the birds completely, according to ACA.

The estimate of 90,000 homeless cats in Summit County comes from a formula devised by Julie Levy, director of Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida. Estimates are based on surveys of people who admit they feed free-roaming cats they don't own.

"The people who are concerned about cat welfare also love birds, so we would like to humanely reduce the cat population to help the cats and the birds," she said.

There are examples of TNR successes, but problems arise in expanding the program to have a communitywide effect, she said.

"It's why my main research area has been in the development of nonsurgical contraceptives of cats. I am working on a sterilization vaccine because TNR is a huge bottleneck to trap and transport every cat to get it care," Levy said.

One of a Kind Pet Rescue in Akron altered more than 1,000 feral cats in 2011, veterinarian Meg Geldhof said. The clinic typically alters 30 feral cats per session but would like to raise that to 80, she said.

The clinic's $60 feral cat package includes the surgery, trap rental, rabies vaccine, distemper shots and flea treatment.

"Eventually, hopefully, we can whittle the number (of area ferals) down 20 to 40 percent over a five-year period," Geldhof said.

Veterinary technician Stephanie Sivula, practice manager at Dancing Paws Wellness Center in Richfield, Ohio, said she and her husband, veterinarian Neal Sivula, personally participate and provide TNR in their Akron neighborhood.

TNR works because "spayed and neutered cats mean no more kittens," she said.

"Yowling, fighting and noise from mating is reduced or eliminated. And the bottom line: It's the humane way to control cat populations," Sivula said.

Coleman and her neighbors use ACA guidelines, providing shelter in donated dog houses and insulated igloos she bought on sale at a discount store for $10.

Spay and neuter surgery and vaccinations cost about $50 for each cat and are done at Pet Guards in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Veterinarian Geldhof said if the conservancy's goal is to reduce the number of feral cats, she doesn't understand its issue with TNR.

"If we do nothing, then we will continue to have an overpopulation of cats. This actually reduces them. And, isn't that what they want?"