Catch and release feral cat plan for city

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Council OKs cat plan
By Prentiss Findlay
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A program setting up rules for allowing homeless cats to roam free in Charleston was approved Monday night by City Council, and the same ordinance will be considered today by County Council.

Under the approved city program, "free roaming" cats would not have to be trapped and killed but instead could be spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before being turned loose again. The ordinance would have an immediate effect of returning 1,000 to 1,500 cats to the wild over the course of a year instead of euthanizing them.

A $100,000 grant makes the pilot project possible, said Charles Karesh, a board member of the Charleston Animal Society. Veterinarians at the Animal Society and Pet Helpers will participate in the program, which is scheduled to start in January.

Karesh said that up to 5,000 cats are killed annually in Charleston, but the "trap and kill" approach does not work well. People would be more willing to bring in free-roaming cats knowing they would be freed afterward, he said.

The Free Roaming Cat Program received final approval Monday night. Under the program, a cat must be assessed by a veterinarian and deemed healthy. It must be spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calcivirus and panleukopenia. It must be microchipped and "ear tipped" to indicate those steps have been taken before being turned loose again.

"Free roaming cats shall only be allowed as long as they do not create a nuisance," the ordinance states. Any cat trapped three or more times shall be deemed a nuisance. A free-roaming cat shall be returned to the area where it was trapped unless a property owner asks that the cat be released elsewhere. The city will not be held liable for the disposition of any cat in the Free Roaming Cat Program.

Charleston County Council will hold a public hearing on its cat ordinance at 5 p.m. today in Council Chambers. The council has given initial approval to the ordinance but has yet to take a final vote.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is providing grant money for the cat program.

Most of the money, about $60,000, will go for surgeries and vaccinations, Karesh said.
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Council OKs cat plan The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper

What do you think of this plan?

The cats will be sterilized, so they won't have kittens but they will still be a nuisance and wild. They'll still kill birds, spray things, pee and poop on property, scratch cars, carry fleas, stink, etc.

I wonder what will happen when the money runs out?

:dunno:
 
I never really understood these catch-and-release programs.

In Australia, they are legally allowed to shoot feral and free-roaming cats. :\
 
I would like that idea. same thing they have to spend their money to put them down. sometimes people find cat to bring home and find out that cat have been neutered. lucky for them!
 
souggy said:
I never really understood these catch-and-release programs.

In Australia, they are legally allowed to shoot feral and free-roaming cats. :\
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In rural areas, Americans can also do that but Charleston is a small urban area--no shooting cats allowed in the downtown tourist area. ;)
 
I figure as much, but I always find Canadian and American's attitude toward the Australian stance on feral cats amusing.

How much does it cost to vaccinate them and neuter compared to putting down ferals, anyway?
 
souggy said:
How much does it cost to vaccinate them and neuter compared to putting down ferals, anyway?
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That is a good question. how do they get rid of cats as to where? more costly or dump them somewhere else for free?
 
Stephen King once wrote in the Stand about how natural life/animals will resume their dominance on the planet after a year... one of the characters had mentioned about how wildlife would rebound remarkably... saying "you would have to elbow deer out of the way and that there would be a plague of cats..." implying that they would feed upon the dead bodies scattered across the country. Basically meaning that they will breed constantly and thus become a serious problem. Now granted I know they said they would spay/neuter the cats before releasing them but still...

I think that feral cats should be eliminated altogether. We got several that roam around our neighborhood and they ARE a nuisance because they get into the trash and etc.
Also think about how those animals may dart across the road and some fanatic cat lover slams on the brakes not wanting to hit the kitty... sheesh.
 
I hope they give him rabies shots.

They never would become a pet and it is hard to tame them. They would be in shelter for life. Especially more and more people are becoming allergic to cats. Sometimes it is better for them to live in the wild.

Anyway, I had several feral cats, I fed them anyway as they were my backyard cats (lucky for them, they live out in the country). These cats didn't live long...

They never would come up to me... EVER
 
I rather be having cats to have spayed and neutered with control numbers of cats and be alive. They are so useful on the earth. They can help to eliminate too many small nasty creatures that have been spreading all over on earth. Anyway, I desperately hope it is going to work that way. I know I love animals, but numbers of animals are overpopulation.

I agree what Lighthouse said that more people gets allergy to cats. then it's better for them to live in the wild. Its their nature, just like other animals. Sadly, i know those cats don't live long enough.
 
This program was started here in Jax, Florida about 2 years ago, and I've read it has shown much success.....Not only feral cats, but all cats. Trapped, shots & spay/neuter, then taken back to where they were trapped and set loose.
 
We have a program that's been here about 10 years and it's been fairly successful. Some restaurant owners like the feral cats around to keep down the rodent population. Rodents are a problem with dumpsters.

Now, the feral pigs further out in the suburbs, I'm for getting rid of them. What can you do with a feral pig? They are aggressive and they dig up everything.
 
We have this in our city . It help keep the water rats population down!
I am feeding a feral cat right now , and I am really concerned about it being out in the winter! My neighbor has mice in her unit , but I do not have that
problem! I feed the homeless cats and they hang around home and I find dead mice near my building that cat kill. They are trapped to give shots and spay or neuter to keep the population down! It made great sense!
The feral cats do not made good house cats this why they're release. I had one for a pet and it hated being the house.
 
Frisky Feline said:
I would like that idea. same thing they have to spend their money to put them down. sometimes people find cat to bring home and find out that cat have been neutered. lucky for them!
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Yes, I'm thinking exactly. It's also helpful, too. :)
 
It's in the south so the winter is alittle warmer there.

When I lived in the mountains (country), the weather was very cold in the winter (we had more snow than the city below us). all my cats survived ok. They tend to find shelters easily. But sometimes I let them in the basement. My mom didn't like that but she didn't fuss at me over it either.
 
we have neuter/release program for ferals here; I don't mind it. The program is fairly common around U.S. Adult ferals tend to be extremely hard or impossible to rehab and there wouldn't be enough homes and knowledgable people to do it; there isn't enough rescue resources as it is. From a economic viewpoint I personally think it would cost more in time and money < and be fairly logistically impossible> to round them all up and humanely kill them immediately and dispose of them, and my heart has a very hard time with that anyway. At least if they're caught and neutered, they can no longer add to the problem.
 
dogmom said:
we have neuter/release program for ferals here; I don't mind it. The program is fairly common around U.S. Adult ferals tend to be extremely hard or impossible to rehab and there wouldn't be enough homes and knowledgable people to do it; there isn't enough rescue resources as it is. From a economic viewpoint I personally think it would cost more in time and money < and be fairly logistically impossible> to round them all up and humanely kill them immediately and dispose of them, and my heart has a very hard time with that anyway. At least if they're caught and neutered, they can no longer add to the problem.
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yes, even if we did round them up, it doesn't stop newer cats from being feral as less and less people are not providing homes for them. Sometimes it is just best to leave them be and let them learn how to survive on their own.
 
one of the very sad results of this economy in U.S. is number of pets - especially cats, as people tend to think they survive than better then dogs do unattended if they get outdoors - who are simply abandoned. Left in a empty house, taken and dumped out in a field somewhere, left in carriers or boxes on at shelter door, etc.
 
it is sad, but majority of people are becoming allergic. I get severe asthma and even severe hives around my eyes and in my eyeball (it is really gross to see what happen when I touch a cat and rub my eyes afterward). it is very rare to know anyone who doesn't have allergies these days.

These cats have always been outdoor cats before technology such as cars took control of their lifestyle.
 
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