Colonie officials said at a Thursday, July 29, Town Board meeting that the town has made progress in cracking down on its feral cat population.
It’s already on our list, said Supervisor Paula Mahan when asked for an update on the issue by resident Jeanine McCarten.
Mahan said the town had a meeting earlier in the week with a small group of veterinarians to discuss what could be done to minimize the problem of feral cats in the town. At the meeting were Samantha Mullen, chairwoman of the Legislation Committee for the New York State Humane Association; Valery Lang, a professor of Animal Rights Law at the Hudson Valley Community College; and Holly Cheever of the Animal Hospital in Slingerlands. All are members of the NYS Humane Association.
Town Attorney Michael Magguilli said town officials are trying to work closely with residents and local veterinary clinics to set up a trap, neuter and release program (TNR) and begin loaning out traps to residents.
`The town’s part would include education,` Magguilli said.
He said information about the program would be included in the town’s quarterly publication.
`We’re also looking to set up a form of payment cooperation with local veterinarians for reduced rates to spay and neuter these cats,` he said.
McCarten said she was pleased with the town’s response.
`That’s great. I am so heartened by your response,` she said. `This means so much to us.`
Cheever, however, said she has some strong reservations to adopting the program, saying she would side with humanely euthanizing feral cats before creating a TNR colony.
`TNR is too often simply passing the buck, of getting rid or euthanizing cats, to human nature,` she said. `They are killed by such things as coyotes, foxes, juvenile delinquents, cars and vicious cold winters.`
Cats have evolved over the years to become domesticated, said Cheever, meaning a feral cat is not necessarily a wild animal and added that the normal life expectancy of a feral feline is three to four years. Some of the dangers Cheever fears in participating in a TNR program for feral cats is the risk of having their rabies shots wear off after a year without anyone to check up on them to get them a new one. She said this poses health risks to the cat, humans and outside wildlife.
She also said that when a female cat is spayed, in which the operation is done abdominally; the cat is released the next day back into the TNR colony where there is the possibility of her stitches reopening, which could result in her dragging her intestines before dying.
Endangered wildlife are also put at risk with feral cats on the loose, she said, with studies showing that even well-fed cats `practice predation extensively.`
`Of all small wild animals that get brought in to us, three-fourths of them come in from cat predation,` she said, `Releasing feral cats decimates populations of songbirds, small mammals and small reptiles.`
The best solution, in her opinion, would be a combination of euthanizing a select number of cats, minimal TNR and setting up a shelter for some of the cats.
`The bottom line is, there is no good solution,` she said. `TNR is not a panacea; it is a tiny solution to a tiny percentage of a huge problem.`
While the suggestion for licensing cats was put on the table, Magguilli said licensing does not support the actual cost for the program, essentially making it another town expense.
`There isn’t going to be any sort of licensing,` he said. `It just doesn’t work.`
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