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Here’s an oddity: Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, says experts say neutering and releasing feral cats is actually a better way to get rid of colonies of feral cats than killing individual cats from the colonies, because they reproduce so quickly and the colonies persist. When colony members are neutered and released, the colonies eventually go away. But current Idaho law suggests those who capture, neuter and release feral cats may be running afoul of animal abandonment laws. So at the request of the Idaho Humane Society and other animal shelters around the state, Kelly introduced legislation today to allow local communities to permit and regulate the practice if they choose.
“This is a problem for a lot of communities,” Kelly told the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee this morning. Most of Idaho’s animal shelters won’t even accept cats; the Boise shelter took in 8,000 cats last year, she said. The committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill, allowing for a full hearing later.
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one4outdoorfun on February 10 at 6:16 p.m.
As a veterinarian - I think there are public health, child safety and other issues at hand. Domestic HOUSE cats are just that - DOMESTIC and belong in the HOUSE. They are obligate carnivores that kill 20-30 small living creatures per week, they kill them whether they are on the endangered list or not. They wipe out entire genetic lineages of birds, ground squirrels, rabbits, and so forth. Not to mention that they transmit many deadly diseases to larger wild and native cat species, such as feline leukemia, FIV, FIP, Panleukopenia, respiratory tract infections, campylobacter, bartonella, etc…. Cats choose to defecate and thereby transmit parasites and bacterial pathogens to humans, in our gardens, sand boxes, school playgrounds, flower beds, on our shores and beaches, in our barn isles, where we walk barefoot, when fecal contaminated runoff gets into our municipal water supplies… Cats are NOT meant to be in the wilds of America, they are a domestic animal, they reproduce rapidly - removing and replacing these animals is the proper thing to do. Their feces, bites, scratches and diseases are VERY dangerous to humans. Veterinarians are key in keeping your family PET safe and free from zoonotic diseases. There are many sites that you may check for the TYPES, KINDS and ROUTES of ZOONOTIC DISEASES cats can carry and THREATEN human health and well being. Cats can even carry the flea that causes bubonic plague…
it is well known in ALL the colleges of Veterinary medicine that there are NUMEROUS diseases that cats expose humans to…
Heartworms are adapting to cats, and learning to infect humans, the CAT not the family dog is more of a threat, as most households routinely administer a heartworm preventative and dewormer to their DOGS, but FAIL to do so for their cats.
http://oregonvma.org/care-health/zoonotic-diseases-cats
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/ZoonoticDisease.html
http://www.vin.com/proceedings/Proceedings.plx?CID=WSAVA2004&PID=8685&O=Generic
PLEASE make an informed decision and DO NOT RELEASE CATS BACK INTO THE WILD once they have been captured, continued capture and removal should be stepped up. Nobody is out there feeding, supporting and encouraging the survival of coyote and foxes, owls and hawks, snakes and other small predators who RELY on the same animals that the DOMESTIC FERAL RELEASED HOUSE CATS are consuming. Their feces are toxic, the DNA linkage of the TOXOPLASMA organism in 62% of dead and 46% of SICK sea otters was linked DIRECTLY to a feral cat colony living under the wharf, the FECAL CONTAMINATION OF THE WATER SUPPLY IS A THREAT TO ALL WILDLIFE, then to hunters, farmers and hikers. PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW FERAL CAT COLONIES TO BE MAINTAINED WITH STATE MONIES UNLESS YOU GIVE FREE HEALTH CARE TO EVERYONE THAT COMES NEAR THE ANIMALS, FREE DEWORMING and VACCINATIONS TO THE WILDLIFE THAT MUST RUB SHOULDERS with the DISEASE CARRYING, HOMELESS CAT - the ones that get medical care ONE TIME IN THEIR LIFE and then are released to wreak havoc - one feluk/FIV test may be negative for 6 months to a year before they seroconvert. THEY STAND AS A DEADLY RESERVOIR!!!!!
PLEASE make the right decision for HUMANITY and for the wildlife - they are depending on you.
hleonrus on February 11 at 8:30 a.m.
I am also a Veterinarian with 30+ years of clinical and public health experience. I would agree with what my collegue statements regarding Zoonotic (diseases which are transmitted between people and animals) disease reservoire. In addittion I have seen no good evidence that capture, neuter and release programs actually decrease feral cat population. Cats have a tremendous capacity for reproducing progeny . In most areas of the U.S. they either have a very long reproductive season or reproduce all year resulting multiple large litters over a season.They are also one of the few mammals that can become inpregnated while still nursing. I think more research is needed before allocating large amounts of public monies to neuter spay release programs.