Post by Die Fledermaus on Apr 3, 2009 0:32:08 GMT -4
wcbstv.com/seenat11/feral.cats.nyc.2.974844.html
This was on the TV news an hour ago. A very positive story.
>>
NYC Initiative Tackles Feral Cat Population
Group Prevents Felines From Reproducing, But Encourages Their War Against Infamous City Rodents
Reporting
Kristine Johnson
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
They can provide a valuable service, but also terrorize neighborhoods.
We're talking about feral cats -- cats that roam free, and keep people awake with their screeching and howling.
But they don't have to be a problem -- as CBS 2 HD found out in one Manhattan neighborhood.
One cat we saw never knew what hit her. She was trapped and frightened.
She was a feral cat, one that lives in the open, one of 15 trapped Thursday by the Feral Cat Initiative -- a sort of S.W.A.T. team that helps neighborhoods get their cat problems under control.
"I really do feel like we're on the front lines, battling for these cats," Initiative member Susan Wright told CBS 2 HD.
The cats can be noisy and disruptive, but they can be valuable in neighborhoods -- like the one CBS 2 HD visited on the Lower East Side -- because they fight disease-carrying rodents.
"You do not want rats and mice in your neighborhood. It is very dangerous," Wright said. "It is extremely important. If you get rid of the cats you will have another rat explosion in New York City. It will be very bad."
But the cats themselves are reproducing at a rapid rate, creating a new and unwelcome problem for neighborhoods. So the next stop after trapping is the ASPCA mobile clinic, where they are spayed or neutered.
"This is a group effort, a community effort and I urge communities around the city to do the same thing. It is so rewarding," said Dr. Louise Murray of the ASPCA.
It takes a coordinated effort and hard work as local gallery owner and volunteer cat-catcher Kristine Woodward found out firsthand.
"I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. It's a lot of work, but its definitely for the good of the neighborhood and of the cats," Woodward said.
After the neutering, the cats are released back into the neighborhood. Their zeal to poach rats and mice persists, but the rest of their behavior is very different."
"So now you have fewer clean, quiet, docile cats, instead of tons and tons of noisy cats," Dr. Murray said.
What's happened in this neighborhood can happen anywhere there is the will.
"I think if we had more people do this even once on a block we would have a transformed city, just with a little bit of effort," Wright said.
For more information on how your neighborhood can deal with its cat problem, or how to get your animals spayed or neutered, please click here and here. <<
www.animalalliancenyc.org/nycfci/
aspca.org/
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* Mystery Of Big Black Cat Deepens In NY Suburb (4/2/2009)
* CAT IN A SAT: Feline Gets Stuck In CBS 2 Van Roof (4/2/2009)
* Ugly Cat Turning Heads At Veterinary Hospital (3/3/2009)
* Neb. Deputies Say Man Stuffed Cat Inside 'Bong' (3/3/2009)
* 'Princess Chunk' To Do NYC TV Talk Shows (7/31/2008)
This was on the TV news an hour ago. A very positive story.
>>
NYC Initiative Tackles Feral Cat Population
Group Prevents Felines From Reproducing, But Encourages Their War Against Infamous City Rodents
Reporting
Kristine Johnson
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
They can provide a valuable service, but also terrorize neighborhoods.
We're talking about feral cats -- cats that roam free, and keep people awake with their screeching and howling.
But they don't have to be a problem -- as CBS 2 HD found out in one Manhattan neighborhood.
One cat we saw never knew what hit her. She was trapped and frightened.
She was a feral cat, one that lives in the open, one of 15 trapped Thursday by the Feral Cat Initiative -- a sort of S.W.A.T. team that helps neighborhoods get their cat problems under control.
"I really do feel like we're on the front lines, battling for these cats," Initiative member Susan Wright told CBS 2 HD.
The cats can be noisy and disruptive, but they can be valuable in neighborhoods -- like the one CBS 2 HD visited on the Lower East Side -- because they fight disease-carrying rodents.
"You do not want rats and mice in your neighborhood. It is very dangerous," Wright said. "It is extremely important. If you get rid of the cats you will have another rat explosion in New York City. It will be very bad."
But the cats themselves are reproducing at a rapid rate, creating a new and unwelcome problem for neighborhoods. So the next stop after trapping is the ASPCA mobile clinic, where they are spayed or neutered.
"This is a group effort, a community effort and I urge communities around the city to do the same thing. It is so rewarding," said Dr. Louise Murray of the ASPCA.
It takes a coordinated effort and hard work as local gallery owner and volunteer cat-catcher Kristine Woodward found out firsthand.
"I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. It's a lot of work, but its definitely for the good of the neighborhood and of the cats," Woodward said.
After the neutering, the cats are released back into the neighborhood. Their zeal to poach rats and mice persists, but the rest of their behavior is very different."
"So now you have fewer clean, quiet, docile cats, instead of tons and tons of noisy cats," Dr. Murray said.
What's happened in this neighborhood can happen anywhere there is the will.
"I think if we had more people do this even once on a block we would have a transformed city, just with a little bit of effort," Wright said.
For more information on how your neighborhood can deal with its cat problem, or how to get your animals spayed or neutered, please click here and here. <<
www.animalalliancenyc.org/nycfci/
aspca.org/
Related Stories
* Mystery Of Big Black Cat Deepens In NY Suburb (4/2/2009)
* CAT IN A SAT: Feline Gets Stuck In CBS 2 Van Roof (4/2/2009)
* Ugly Cat Turning Heads At Veterinary Hospital (3/3/2009)
* Neb. Deputies Say Man Stuffed Cat Inside 'Bong' (3/3/2009)
* 'Princess Chunk' To Do NYC TV Talk Shows (7/31/2008)