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Highlands Today

Taming Feral Cat Problem

Jasmina Meyer, Highlands Today

Barabara Clark of the Highlands County Humane Society says they have neutered 18 feral cats on their property, and snipped one ear to tell them apart from those who still need to be neutered.

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: February 13, 2009

SEBRING - The Humane Society of Highlands County is launching a monthly low-cost spay-neuter clinic for feral cats.

The first clinic is set for Feb. 23.

A $40 fee will be charged for each cat.

People bringing in feral cats will have to e-mail a reservation, catch the wild cats in a humane trap the night before, bring them to the humane society in the trap on the day of the clinic, and then take them back in the cages for release that same day.

Barbara Clark, president of the humane society, said this new program is being launched because the persistent problem of large numbers of feral cats has exploded with the downturn of the economy.

"It has gotten horrible," Clark said.

"Since the beginning of last year," she added, "we've noticed a huge increase in dogs being surrendered or abandoned and more strays being picked up, and for cats it has gotten 100 times worse."

The humane society, a no-kill-for-space shelter, can only accept the surrender of pet dogs and cats, for which it has long waiting lists for space, and cannot take in feral cats.

"This is a community problem, and it's going to take the community to solve this problem," Clark said.

Clark said the catch-neuter-release program for feral cats will work only if individuals and rescue and neighborhood groups will humanely trap wild cats and pay $40 for their neutering, which the humane society will provide at the lowest possible cost.

"It's going to take people who care, and there are a lot of caring people out there, they call us all the time," she said.

Dr. Elton Gissendanner, a Lake Placid veterinarian, has been spaying and neutering all dogs and cats put up for adoption at the humane society since last April. He also will do the surgeries at no charge for the feral cat neutering program.

Clark said the $40 fee will cover medication, including a rabies shot given to each neutered feral cat. It will also cover the work of four paid staff who, with four volunteers, will assist Gissendanner in operating the low-cost spay-neuter clinic.

The humane society, which operates totally on donations, will keep about 4 percent of the fees to help fund its programs, Clark said.

Darryl Scott, director of Highlands County Animal Control, said he has some reservations about the trap-neuter-release program for feral cats, but called it a good intentioned effort to deal with a growing problem.

"We are trapping larger and larger numbers of feral cats all the time, and we have more and more people buying their own traps and bringing them to us," he said. "We're seeing numbers going through the roof for (impounded) cats, and it doesn't seem to be making a dent in the population out there in the county."

While the humane society cannot accept feral cats, Animal Control has to impound and then euthanize feral cats.

For fiscal year 2007-08, which ended Sept. 30, animal control took in 2,423 cats and kittens. Of those, 22 were claimed by owners and 17 were adopted. The overwhelming majority of the remaining cats were feral and had to be euthanized, Scott said.

"I'm not opposed to the spay and neuter (program of the humane society)," Scott said. "I just have to agree with the Florida Animal Control Association position, which is that the feeding of feral cats is not a good idea, because of the health threat it brings about by attracting other animals into an area."

Scott said he doesn't think the humane society's trap-neuter-release program will solve the feral cat problem, and neither will animal control's only legal response to the problem, trap and euthanize.

"I don't think it's the total answer," he said about the humane society's new program. "But then, I don't know what the total answer is ...

"Maybe by us doing our thing and them doing their thing, we can see a change."

Clark said the monthly low-cost, spay-neuter program - which can neuter up to 65 feral cats in a day - will have to be run for years to make a significant impact.

"This is not going to end the problem, it's not going to solve it overnight," she said. "I would say if we start now, in about five years you'll be able to see the difference, people will notice that there is a difference."

For more information on the feral cat sterilization program, visit the humane society's Web site, humanesocietyhc.org, or call 863-655-1522.

Highlands Today reporter Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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