Decrimilalizing feeding stay and feral kitties!

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♥- Daisy Glass- ♥

baby daisy,- little ol daise,- butter cup

Purred: Mon Nov 29, '10 6:10pm PST


	Catster is the best place to get Kitty help! How about this Meow Friends? http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/decriminalize-feeding-str ay-and-feral-cats/ I know Catster can get these signatures! We need over 1,900 more signatures in less than 166 days. Come on! Show everyone what Catster is made of! Yey Kitties! Meow! Everyday people across the US are threatened with fines and jail time for providing food to homeless cats. Most local Animal Control agencies criminalize feeding community cats. Their solution to cat homelessness is to post feeding bans. The logic behind such bans is that if there is no food available, the cats will go away. This is not true. Starving out cats will only make the situation worse. Feral cats are territorial animals who can survive for weeks without food and will not easily or quickly leave their territory to search for new food sources. Instead, they tend to move closer into human habitations as they grow hungrier and more desperate. Plus, feeding bans do nothing to stop reproduction, so malnourished cats will continue to give birth, resulting in the visible deaths of many kittens. People who feed stray/feral cats should NOT be blamed or penalized, but rather encouraged for their acts of compassion. Animal Control should be assisting with resources and information on how to care for and sterilize these animals. It makes no sense to use tax-payer money to hand out fines and take people to court (or put elderly ladies in jail), when private funds are caring for these cats. Under current laws, individuals and rescue organizations work everyday in a shadow of fear from being persecuted for helping animals, and we are tired of working this way. Feeding bans are rarely effective and are nearly impossible to enforce. Repeated experience has shown that people who care about the cats' welfare will go to great lengths, risking their homes, jobs and even their liberty, to feed starving animals. It makes no sense to penalize people who are trying to improve the situation for homeless animals and for being involved in their communities. Out-dated laws HAVE to change and compassionate people should be encouraged to continue to take care of feral colonies.

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Apollo (In- Memory)

Love Ya

moderator

Purred: Mon Nov 29, '10 7:39pm PST


	Went to the page but it says the petition is closed. ???

Scooter

Even the sun- loves me.

Purred: Mon Nov 29, '10 11:10pm PST


	Ditto.

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Scooter

Even the sun- loves me.

Purred: Mon Nov 29, '10 11:23pm PST


	I have found several old posts on other sites regarding this issue. This is the best retort of sorts I have found. "Please urge the National Animal Control Association (NACA) to request that animal control agencies stop ordering individuals NOT to feed stray/feral cats. Promoting starvation DOES NOT comply with the NACA's vision statement to be a "respected world leader in the field of animal protection and care." Hope this does not muddy the waters. There is a valid point - just keep urging/protesting about feeding. Educate people about the bubble effect. Educate folks about and get other folks in to teach about TNR. Alley Cat Rescue can help out a lot.

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Umesaburo

I'm a stud!

Purred: Mon Dec 27, '10 1:48am PST


	This is a bit OT, but are there more strays and feral colonies than there used to be decades ago? I haven't lived in the States since college, but in my childhood surburban neighborhood we almost never saw strays. Occasionally, somebody's cat would have a litter, the family would advertise in the paper, and the kittens would find homes. I also remember seeing very few strays or street cats in the city where my college was located. I'm sure that even in those times it wasn't a utopia for cats, but it seems worse now. Is this because people are becoming more responsible (unwanted cats are no longer just thrown into the nearest river in a sack, just thrown outdoors--if that can be called responsible), and more people are feeding strays? I'm more familiar with the situation in Tokyo. There used to be a lot of feral colonies and feeding stations, one reason being that until recently it was hard to find an apartment that would allow cats, so cat lovers got their "cat fix" by feeding strays. Now I notice that there are fewer feral colonies and feeding stations. On the good side, this is evidence that grass-roots rescue efforts, including TNR and capture/adopt, are having an effect. On the bad side, I think that this may have something to do with Tokyo's present governor, who has magically reduced the crow and rat infestation by mysterious means (rumors of mass poisonings are rife). Unfortunately, regarding cats, I suspect that the measures taken are grim. Cats are either killed on the spot or taken to all-kill shelters. For a country that claims to have a Buddhist respect for all life forms, this is pretty contradictory.

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Hermoine

play 23 hours a- day!

Purred: Thu Dec 30, '10 8:20pm PST


	I don't know where people are geographically in this, but there ARE more of them as I think that even the SPCA and the Humane Society advocate Trap, Neuter, and Release programs. I know we have one here in Albuquerque. --des

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Chibi

Proud mother of- the Gang of- Four!

Purred: Fri Dec 31, '10 7:26pm PST


	A few statistics I posted on the Rescue Forum: Total U.S. owned cat population: 73 million --Of the 73 million, 87% are already neutered or spayed by their caring owners --Total unowned/feral cat population: est. 10-40 million --Number of cats and dogs entering shelters annually: 8.3 million These are all estimates, but come from actual studies. You can see that there's no accurate figure for the number of ferals (which is hardly a surprise). At most, they make up more than half of owned cats. Although the number of owned cats who have been altered is quite high, one imagines that the 17% who are not spayed or neutered are contributing to the feral population, as are the ferals themselves. Spay/neuter and TNR are the only humane ways to combat this situation. Unfortunately, there will always be cat owners who let their unaltered cats outdoors, and I'm sure there are many more feral colonies who are simply fed by well-meaning people than controlled by a TNR program. There does not seem to be a solution to this that will satisfy everyone. Some people believe that feral cats, like other wild animals, should be allowed to live their lives in peace. Other people, such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (to use an example I'm familiar with), feel that feral cats pose a public health threat. In the case of Tokyo, feral colonies, when discovered, are subject to being carried away and euthanized. This is not a pretty picture. But when you see feral colonies filled with cats and kittens who all appear to be suffering from URIs (goopy or sightless eyes, sneezing), you do tend to feel that there is a health threat there. Japanese cats also get FeLV and FIV. Fortunately, rabies does not exist in Japan, but in countries where it does, unvaccinated ferals can become vectors for rabies. I can see the arguments for feeding and for not feeding. I can also see the arguments for trying to control feral populations as well as for doing away with them. I don't have any answer, beyond the fact that "owned" cats (however loosely "owned") should be altered, and that anyone who feeds ferals should also take the responsibility for TNR. Letting an unaltered pet walk the streets is irresponsible. Feeding without carrying out a TNR program is irresponsible. Irresponsible in regards to the cats themselves and the community at large.

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MR.- VEGEMITE!!- Deseased

There is- somebody for- everybody

Purred: Tue Jan 4, '11 2:56pm PST


	I have sent another kitty that looks just like I did when mom started to feed me and ended up adopting me. Mom has been feeding him, or her. It is black just like I was. It is very cold, around 10 degrees. Mom feels bad for kitties that don't have homes and that are hungry.