Blog : Stray Cat Problem

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Stray Cat Problem

Where I grew up in Maryland and where I live now, there are no stray cats. Honestly, I never saw a cat roaming free. I used to hear about alley cats in Baltimore City and assumed that stray cats were a “big city” issue. I didn’t really understand the stray and feral cat problem until I came to work in Berks County. Why is there such a problem here with stray and feral cats? It’s a very disturbing issue that seems to have no resolution. We can talk and talk about spay and neuter, and people turn out in large numbers when we have our spay and neuter clinics. But are we putting a dent in the problem? For several months in the summer and fall, we received over 700 cats at the shelter per month. Ouch! It’s no secret that we don’t have nearly enough room or staff to care for all of them. And it’s discouraging to think that all we do is not enough. Any ideas for what else can be done? I think it’s about education. Sadly, you, my loyal readers, already are educated in this issue! How can we reach the others? The ones who don’t know, and worse, the ones who don’t care.

Occasionally, the ARL will receive a call or email from someone who has brought in stray cats and wants to know if we were able to adopt them out. When they get the sad news that the cats needed to be euthanized, the people are incensed that we did this. Okay, here comes the education part: When the best of the best cats sit in shelters for months without getting adopted, how in the world can you expect a cat who grew up as a stray to be chosen over one who is sociable and litter trained? Yes, some strays can be rehabilitated to make wonderful pets but the very large majority are not adoptable. There simply isn’t room for them all. Even cat rescue groups don’t have enough room for all of them. Some people who drop off the strays will claim that they said they’d take the cats back if we couldn’t find them homes. Well for goodness sake, then you should have kept them!!! People, we need to get realistic here. We all need to work on this problem together. If you really want to help the cats, please do your part by finding them good homes and getting them spayed and neutered yourselves. The ARL needs everyone’s help with this problem. The ARL cannot do it alone.

Posted By Berks ARL At 10:39 AM • Comments (5)

I too am angered over all the euthanasia that happens at the ARL. My anger is directed at the people who let their pets breed. I am sickened that the wonderful people at the ARL have to feel sad when they put an animal down while the people who caused it to happen feel nothing at all. Education is the answer to this horrible problem. But the education that would work hurts. I can guarantee you that after falling in love with numerous cats only to find out that they had to be put, my kids will never have a pet that isn’t spayed or neutered. I have held my kids while they cried over the loss of an ARL cat, kitten, or rabbit. I tell them it isn’t fair, and it isn’t! Why should we hurt when we did nothing wrong?

Comment By Dawn Moore At 12/18/2009 7:31 PM

We need tv shows and movies that address this issue in a way that is real and people will understand. No more movies where the “pound” is an evil place. Have you noticed that in every dog movie where two dogs fall in love there are always puppies born at the end?

The ARL is a wonderful place. Even though you can’t fix this problem you are making a difference. You have definitely made a difference for my kids.

Comment By Dawn Moore At 12/18/2009 7:32 PM

We also need more free and low cost spay/neuter clinics for both feral and owned cats. I hear the waiting list at the ARL is months long because the need is so great. I have been taking feral cats all the way to Whitehall and Jonestown to be altered, and then I maintain the colony here at my house in Leesport.

The public needs to realize that feral cats are best trapped/neutered/returned (TNR) and kept in their home environment. Sure, they won't live as long as pet cats, but they are essentially wild animals, so the outdoors is all they have known.

The friendly ones I trap, I try to find homes for. I have been successful in several cases, and have a big boy in my basement right now who will have all his needs taken care of (neutered, FeLV/FIV testing, vaccinations, microchipping) and then I will do an adoption with an application, references, and a home check.

Comment By Valerie B. At 12/18/2009 9:32 PM

If everyone, at least everyone who claimed to be an animal lover, did their part in this respect, we could make a huge difference. There are very few of us doing it in this town, and a huge difference has been made already.

And people, PLEASE keep your pet cats indoors, even if they are spayed or neutered! No dog OR cat should be wandering around unsupervised, in the neighbor's yard, on the street, or in the garbage.

Comment By Valerie B. At 12/18/2009 9:33 PM

The strays in my neighborhood near Maple Grove are overwhelming. There are at least 4 that regularly visit my back door and 3 litters of wild kittens from this past fall alone. I know 2 of the strays were 'left out' because the homeowners lost their home. The last snowstorm they literally sat up against my sliding glass door for heat and protection from the weather, and the snowy covered ground around my house is littered with paw prints from every direction in these woods. :(

Comment By Kristen Turnbach At 1/16/2010 2:00 PM

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