So what's the deal with feral cats? why is there so
much fuss about them and why are they a burden upon environment and
resources worldwide? A feral creature is referred to as a wild,
untamed, savage animal that has gone from a state of domestication to a
wild presence. Feral cats are typically kittens of domestic cats that
were left, disowned, discarded by their owners. Un-habituated to
humans, they live in colonies in urban areas...in alleys, malls,
garbage disposal areas etc. If they manage to stave off starvation and
death from other predators like coyotes, foxes, dogs, they thrive and
breed at a prodigious rate - producing over half a million offsprings
in their lifespan. A burden on resources, millions are spent annually
to control them.
There are two approaches commonly advocated to
deal with this problem. One is merciless euthanasia of every captured
feral. The other, which is more sensible and what I also advocate, is
TNR i.e. Trap, Neuter and Return - this involves capturing the stray
cats, neutering them and returning them to the area. This approach,
apart from being more humane, is also more successful and
cost-effective than repeated attempts at extermination since the area
of killed cats is soon taken over by other ferals. During TNR, cats are
also frequently immunized and one of their ears nicked to identify them
as being inoculated and neutered.
Whilst feral cats have had
devastating ecological influences on biodiversity of certain species
like the extinction of huitas from the Caribbean and the Guadalupe
Storm-petrel from Pacific Mexico, they are also believed to be of use
in controlling over growth of populations of certain animal species. An
example is their removal from Macquarie Island where the number of rats
and rabbits grew exponentially and had harmful influences on local
ecology including the native seabirds. Debate is going to continue on
feral cats and how to best deal with them, meanwhile the take home
message for pet owners is to neuter their cats - not only to avoid
having to deal with a litter of kittens every few months - but also for
the health of the cats.
