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Important Topic
This archived discussion is "read only".
» StrmDncr - A problem that has grown Because people wish to help stray cats they often feed the problem instead of solving it. Working at PetsMark it was very common to see customers buying large amounts of cat food to feed strays. Trying to educate them about the problem is nearly impossible. If more people would get involved in a TNR type program we would see the numbers of stray cats decline within a short span of time. Great article...-- posted by StrmDncr » biogardener - Bleeding hearts I am afraid that your message may be lost to the bleeding heart souls who are doing the damage. Here is an example of what happened here one winter. I had an old wicker chair standing on my open porch for my cat to rest on with a great view of passing traffic. Two huge neighborhood cats decided that the chair was theirs, and they slept in it all day, curled up like bosom buddies. They were well groomed and fed, and I just ignored them, because I knew that they always went home when they got hungry.Unfortunately, a huge bowl of dry cat food appeared on my porch each day. I kept throwing it out, because I do not approve of cats being fed outside. Each day a new bowl would appear all winter long. In the summer, I mentioned the occurrence to a neighbor who walked her dog past my house daily. Then I found out that she was the culprit, thinking she was helping to save the lives of two strays. Well, they weren't strays, and my cat did not appreciate them hogging her wicker chair. I gave the lady a kind but stern lecture, and it seems to have helped in this situation. At least she no longer puts food out on my property. -- posted by biogardener » seranade - Re: A problem that has grown Thanks StrmDancer for the complement. It is appreciated. In response to A problem that has grown posted by StrmDncr:-- posted by seranade » seranade - Re: Bleeding hearts Yes there are those people who want to help stray cats, in fact I have a friend who feeds stray cats at work. But the word about TNR is getting out into the public. In fact I saw it in the news, that people are learning this technique and implementing it.In response to Bleeding hearts posted by biogardener: -- posted by seranade » nycsiamese - Multiply by Seven! The most effective way of persuading stray feeders of the damage they are doing is to explain that the size of the average litter is 7 kits. So, for each cat they feed, they should plan on feeding 7 times that many in 3-12 months. And 49 times that 6 months later, then 343 times that in another 6 months, and so on.It's important to realize that the stray cat population is limited primarily by the food source. So, no matter how much you feed, cats are such successful breeders that the population will always swell to borderline starvation. So, people who feed without neutering FIRST are simply multiplying the misery. Do the math! If you cannot afford to neuter, then you DEFINITELY cannot afford to feed a stray! The best way to combat this is with a low-cost spay neuter program and a team of volunteers who can trap an entire colony for alteration. Check out the projects Neighborhood Cats has accomplished in NYC: http://www.neighborhoodcats.org If we all speak up, perhaps we will eventually be heard. Otherwise, the folks who feed stray cats are no better than those who feed rats or pigeons or squirrels or other creatures who are problems for people when their numbers rise beyond what nature intended. Many of those strays are, unfortunately, throw-away pets or the offspring of the same. Please support legislation to make spay/neuter mandatory for companion animals in yoru area! -- posted by nycsiamese
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