Straying from the Issue - the Feral Cat Problem in Pinellas County

On January 20, 2008 Howard Troxler of the St. Pete Times had this to say about the current status of feral cats in the Tampa Bay area. After reading the article and the comment made by Pinellas County Animal Services, I am concerned that nothing is going to be done in Pinellas County.

Like most birds, I am not in favor of a cat, a domesticated animal, being turned loose into the wild to fend for itself. It's a cruel, harsh world out there. But that said, they are already out there in incredible numbers, aren't they? And those numbers are growing at rates that are unimaginable. For example, have you called an animal shelter lately and asked if you could bring in that cute, adorable litter of kittens that you just found? What was the answer? Probably, "sorry, we're full".

So what do we do? Nothing? What happens to the ecosystem that "we care about, too". I mean, if there are twenty cats in a colony, they are going to catch and kill so many birds, rabbits and squirrels. But if that number increases to thirty or forty, which will happen quickly, won't even more birds, bunnies and squirrels die? Won't that hurt the ecosystem even more?

The fact is...we can't adopt our way out of this. There simply aren't enough homes out there. Besides, the large percentage of these cats aren't adoptable anyway. So how does mass euthanasia sound to you? Can you imagine approaching someone who has been feeding feral cats on their property for years and ask, "can we trap your cats so we can put them all to sleep"? Honk if you think that will go over well. Even though these folks may not be able to hold these cats or pet them for that matter, they still feel a bond.

And, yes, it is illegal to "harbor" these ferals in Pinellas County, but how is it going so far on the enforcement side? Is anything positive going on when it relates to the feral cat problem in Pinellas? I don't think so! In fact, it's a growing problem. My guess, about six litters have been born to feral cats since you started reading this. Seven, if you read slow.

They are out there and they are out there in record numbers. It's taken many years to get this bad so there's no quick "fix". In fact, there's no great answer. But you sitting on your hands and me sitting on my wings is only going to make matters worse. Oh no, another litter has been born.

Goose me, if you've heard this before but we know it's illegal to trap, neuter and release in Pinellas County. So how's this plan working so far?

I'm George and I'm just a Goose. Let me know what you think.