Catfight! Readers Argue Over Fate of Free-Roaming Felines

I have feral cats where I live, I feed them and give them water on a regular basis for two reasons, 1) so they don't starve or dehydrate and suffer and 2) so they don't need to kill other animals to survive. I've rescued and found homes for some of the kittens I was able to get on time and the ones that could not be socialized I did the spade and release approach. They are not flea ridden or diseased thank God and thanks to the fact that it's a good neighborhood with some decent and caring people. But how these cats became feral in the first place was because of irresponsible owners who abandoned their cats and other owners who did not spade/neuter their cats and let them outside to inevitably breed. Cats are NOT wild animals and are NOT meant to be outside. They are amazing, beautiful and HIGHLY intelligent and loving creatures and they are NOT to blame for any of this. The answer isn't in  what to do with the cats, it's what to do with the OWNERS!!! Until people start thinking STRAIGHT and REALISTICALLY and approach the actual only SOURCE of the problem which is IRRESPONSIBLE OWNERS, this is a dead end conversation at it's WORST. Time to wake up people.

As far as dealing with the cats that have already been abandoned, the spade and release truly IS the ONLY humane approach and therefore SHOULD BE the ONLY option. We live in a sick speciesist world however, and sadly it is the most innocent beings that end up having to pay.

There needs to be strict laws (like there are with dogs) about letting your cats roam wildly for starters. It isn't safe for the cats, outdoor cats are vulnerable to disease, poisonings, wild animals, and human cruelty and also kill our declining bird population as well as other native animal. This is not the cat's fault, dogs would do the same thing, it is the OWNERS FAULT. So for all the neanderthals who want to take it out on the innocent victims; the helpless cats just being cats, go take some meds and try to think for 10 seconds.

Perhaps more importantly there needs to be STRICT laws on abandoning your pets! It is like abandoning a child. And if an owner lets their cat outside and he/she has kittens, those kittens should be legally linked to that or both owners and to leave those kittens outside should be considered abandonment.

The ONLY time any animal should be put down is if they are suffering to painful extents and nothing can be done and putting them down is the most humane approach (HUMANELY as in painless or virtually painless and quick methods only, no gas chambers, etc...) Otherwise the spade and release method is the way to go.

You can say you're "protecting them from suffering" by just killing them, but you don't go around culling homeless people do you? All life must be respected or you respect no life at all. And though the equality between all species is sadly approached the same way equality between all races was approached way back in the day, there is one thing no man can argue, that in pain and suffering, we are all equals.

Wake up people, stop blaming these poor cats, they are the VICTIMS of irresponsible and selfish human beings. The only problem here is people:

 1) Irresponsible pet owners who let their cats roam outside not taking responsibility for the important animals they kill. 

2) Irresponsible pet owners who don't spade/neuter their pets.

3) Irresponsible pet owners who knowingly let their pets out to breed and take no responsibility for their off spring.

4) Irresponsible pet owners who abandon their pets.

5) Animal breeders and kitten mills. There are TOO MANY cats without homes for one, when you breed or buy, a shelter animal dies. Secondly it is WRONG to profit off of another life. These are helpless babies we are talking about, to sell them for money is nothing short of ABANDONMENT, you don't know what will happen to them ultimately. And lastly, kitten mills just like puppy mills are a little piece of HELL on earth.

And lastly....

6) Careless and cruel people. People who see kittens under some abandoned shed and do nothing but go about their own everyday lives as if they have no moral responsibility or even the responsibility of being a citizen of wherever they may be, or rather the earth alone. And people who do horrifying and disgustingly evil things to these innocent animals such as poisoning, torturing, shooting, etc.... They're the problems more so than any feral animal that is continuously caused by man alone in the first place.

So PLEASE, can we start looking at the real problem here... PEOPLE. 

Point one finger and 3 more are pointing back at you, quite the simplest of concepts yet one so arrogantly ignored by most human beings and THAT is why these problems continue and that is the only reason why they WILL continue.

also of note Thomas Seberry a vet tech (everyone commenting is of course self described) who among other things commented that:

"Hello everyone. I'm a veterinary student who has had a lot of experience in TPR programs, and after a few years experience with our local cat colonies, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really work (even with a large vet school and literally hundreds of students to do free spays and neuters)."

per this article regarding the article on the original article: 

very fair to note that William's comment wasn't inaccurate just potentially misleading to those already inclined to poison cats.

I didn't think this whole debate has been about killing or poisoning "80-million-plus domestic cats" but rather what to do with the strays (feral and wild are misnomers as cats are neither in N. America) as well as urging cat owners to keep their pets inside.

Cynthia Gee: Cats are not wild.   

Jim Read: Has a devilish sort of sense of humor.

i  live in Jakarta, many native animals here disappeared. such as kestrel I saw the last time 10 years ago. and feral cats last seen 1 year ago

I know alot of cats where i live here in florida are left to fend for themselves after the owners move away, and it got worse when the economy fell.

I love both cats and birds and i want no harm to either. But it always seems these people who complain that the cats are killing the birds are the same people who complain all the time that the birds leave their droppings evey where and bird feeders cause rats and other unwanted pests. Feral cats have been here since the pilgrims came here and should be never just killed off because they do what nature tells them to do.

Hello everyone. I'm a veterinary student who has had a lot of experience in TPR programs, and after a few years experience with our local cat colonies, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really work (even with a large vet school and literally hundreds of students to do free spays and neuters). However, we run into the same problem with euthanasia, and I do think its cruel to euthanize young healthy animals. I'd like to put a new spin on things. I think its time that we really start to educate and crack down on people who let loose their cats that form these colonies. If we, as a general rule, make it the norm to keep cats inside, we can deal with the current wild cat colonies using more humane methods (TPR, perhaps adoption). The bottom line is that its going to take all of us to take care of this problem, and we have to take responsibility in creating the solution together in a civilized and constructive way for us to deal with it.

Feral cats are and invasive species, and deserve no more and no less consideration than any other intruding lifeform. Where they are causing little or no harm, leave them alone; they're occupying the niche of native predators WE have displaced. Where they ARE a problem, their population should be controlled or eliminated. I love cats as pets, but there can be too much of a good thing, and feral cats are wild animals and NO ONE'S "pets".

Trap-Neuter-Return should work out in a few short years. Evidence shows that the lifespan of a cat with access to the outdoors is scarily shortened compared with that of cats kept indoors. For some feral cats, 1 - 3 years is the expected lifespan. If the fertility of ferals is reined in, the likely outcome is that the number of cats born in the wild will decline. Trap-Neuter-Return is a good way of managing a cat population that has overwhelmed native species. However, T-N-R does not address what can be done about people who continually release their unwanted pets into the outdoors.

In Australia, we have a massive problem with feral cats and other introduced species. They destroy the environment and all the native fauna. 

As with a lot of pets these days, people buy them without understanding what it takes to look after them. When they get bored or can't deal with the responsibility of looking after them, they just dump them out in the bush. It is a shame that there are no laws requiring the mandatory neutering of cats when they are bought.  Unfortunately, the existing penalties for not looking after or dumping your animals isn't a deterrent and no government or council will introduce a harder sentence.

Putting up feeding stations and the like, isn't a solution. These things can affect natural animal behaviour and these creatures in turn could become pests, over breed and run rampant. It is about balance. If we have introduced something that is decimating native populations, then we have a responsibility to fix it. Humanely.

Whilst I agree that it is the problem with the owners not taking responsibility for their animals, that doesn't save the native creatures from being killed. The only way we can deal with that is to destroy them as humanely as possible. 

Seriously, these cats are living things and we can't just kill them because they carry a disease or two! Why don't these people just spay/neuter them then set them back!

I think we should euthanize the people who deposit unwanted litters of kittens in other people's backyards....

The arguments for and against treatment of feral cats are both valid.  However, as WE as humans created the problem, I see no reason to KILL what we find inconvenient.  I recently saw an excellent piece on the History 2 channel showing an active catch and release and tag program for feral cats in New Orleans.  The animals were trapped, neutered or spayed, given shots and treated for  injuries and fleas and released where they were found.    Had we not as humans abused our stewardship of our pets and environment, the problem wouldn't exist in the first place.  We have decimated the natural environment of animals and birds forcing them to live in rather bizarre situations.  It is morally up to us to fix the problems that we created not by KILLING but by fixing the problems we have caused.  More bird houses (cat proof of course) bird feeding stations.  Wild animal feeding stations (yes that means feral cats) and control by spaying and neutering the overpopulation.  We should safeguard our trash so as not to attract animals...dogs, cats, raccoon, possom, aligators, etc...... We should try to cure or treat the sick or injured animals rather than using euthanasia as a first solution.  Of course, some times it is necessary when the animal cannot be cured, but it should be used only as a last resort.   Use community service to trap and fix the animals.   Guidance by a vet would be all that would be needed.  We MUST fix our self created problems in a humane way (though the human 'way' seems to be to kill anything it finds convenient)/.   Now that is a real problem that needs to be addressed.

Tie up all of your garbage. Encourage those who are in your neighborhood to try and do the same thing. Have deterrents in your lawn. Try and not kill animals who are only around because too many people leave too much --old food-- out, as if it was dry, natural, biodegradeable trash, when, in fact it will either end up rotting in the street or another's lawn, or, attracting more nuisances, for -the same- people who leave all of this out, in their yard

I believe that killing feral cats should be allowed- they reproduce rapidly, kill animals, and can carry/ spread diseases. SW TANG: Although the disease did start in rats, the cats were at fault for the rapid spread of the disease.

It is reasonable and desirable to eliminate feral cats. There are many things that we cannot control, but this is a problem that we can. Kill them humanely and the problem is eventually solved. They are annoying pests, not pets and should be controlled. I know that in the country most farmers and ranchers kill them regularly because of the harm that they do. Why do cat advocates deny all the negative aspects of feral cats? Let's be advocates for humans, not destructive feral cats.

http://cedarcountyvet.com/30.htm

Makes sense.

I do also believe we need legislation making it compulsory for those who are not licensed breeders to have all pets spayed or neutered; additionally requiring that pets may only be purchased through licensed breeders or through adoption agencies.

here is the link of the article on man of plague http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/06/15/plague-oregon-cat.html

http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2012-06-14/taos-cat-infected-plague-say-health-officials#.UVSI2RmkDbk

 both stated plague was from rodent instead of cats ! 

what nature advocate said was all bull. i did google on the oregon man who was bitten by a friendly stray cat. and the communicate disease coordinator Karen Yeargain stated plague occurs regularly now.  and the plague was from a rodent NOT the cat or cats ! She also stated, it is the role of cats to keep rodent population in control near or around barns and homes.

The same thing also applied the Taos cat case which is the plague was from rodent instead of cats ! as for toxoplasma, rats are NOT pregnant wommen or people !  normal dialy washing one's hands before putting your dirty hands on your food or before cooking kills all diseases including pure hatred and lies by idiots.

I don't think we, as humans, have a right to decide to kill a living creature simply because we find it "threatening" to us. While toxo can be harmful to humans, rather than using our intellects and our ability to rationalize euthanizing feral cats, why don't we come up with a solution to stop cat populations from running rampant? Clearly, we are doing something wrong if we are opting to murder the animals we domesticated to become our companions.

And the argument about birds--that's the circle of life, but euthanizing feral cats because they've become overpopulated is not.

We are responsible for our animals, especially those we domesticated, and we need to find an ethical solution that does not involve exerting our "superiority" over other living beings simply because we think we have more of a right to life than they do. It is our moral duty as humans to be the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Inside Cat = Domestic – Outside Cat = Feral

Feral animals need to be dealt with in a way that they cannot possibly harm our native animals.