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I was extremely upset a week ago when I read a letter to the editor. It was drastically against feral cats in the Myrtle Beach area. In the letter to the editor it called for their elimination completely.
Having rescued many feral cats in my home state of Pa. I know there is a better way. It seems this writer was against saving these cats in any form or all.
Can I just say that these cats are not all wild. Most have the ability to become house cats. I have seen this with my own eyes. Most like to pal up with dogs. I have also watched this unfold.
In my area it all started with a pregnant mother cat. She was hungry and in need of nourishment. Seeing her up by the wood line my heart took hold. We fed her and gave her water and milk. Over the years she would be around but she was one to stay a distance. She had been a stray for way too long.
We fixed her and the babies but not before finding a batch of kittens in the battery well of the motor boat.
Four more to deal with. We captured them all, and we captured others that came our way. Everyone was trapped and fixed. Each ear was clipped to let us know this occurred. They also had rabies shots.
In the winters when we would head south we hired a "Pet Nanny" to feed them and give them milk and water. There was a warm area for them to get into in the shed. One thing I could not do is starve a four legged animal.
As time went on many would befriend our small dog. I was able to get some frontline on them and one decided to be our best pal. That "feral" cat came into the house. Came up and sat by us and purred. I held it as I let it out that evening and it kept on purring. I thought then...What does feral mean?
These cats can have a life. They can be socialized and be like any other cat. In the least we were required to
set the cats free to the environment they came from. So that we did.
The article in the Sun News insisted that there was no use for feral cats. All I can suggest is that they
are trapped, fixed, given rabies shots and let back to the environment they came from. The writer worried about song birds. Well, the birds learn too to stay up and away. There is room for all our animals and birds on this earth.
I have watched these cats have fun playing with toys, laying in the sun, and cavorting with each other.
There is no reason to kill these animals. Not a good enough reason at all.
What are your thoughts?
Well, I'm not a full-time resident of MB, but I am a fellow cat lover and I agree with you 100%. Why should an animal be killed indiscriminately just because it has the misfortune of being homeless and having to forage for food outdoors?
We have two house cats, and if I could, I would have more. (I have a husband of 25 years who is not a cat person, to say the least, so I am blessed to have the two sweeties that I have and, BTW, took in as strays). IMHO, cats are the perfect pet. They are very clean animals if their environment is kept clean, which I am very particular about at our house. As long as they get regular vet care, Frontline to prevent parasites, the litter box is kept fresh and clean, and they have fresh food to eat out of clean bowls, you don't even know that there are cats in the house. They don't have to go outside to do their business, and they don't need to go to the groomer ($$$$). What's not to love? I just wish that more people felt this way and then maybe there would be less of a problem with outdoor cats who are simply trying to survive as best they can.
ETA: I love the songbird argument too. Cats can't fly. Birds quickly learn where to be and not be if there is a hungry cat around.
Last edited by canudigit; 02-15-2013 at 10:10 AM..
WOW the song bird argument birds will learn LOL . Is it only dumb birds that get caught by non native invasive species . Would it be safe to assume that when ever a cat brings its prize(dead bird) to its owner it must of been a stupid bird and should of know better. Hey those plovers nesting at the north end of Huntington must have very low IQ because they nest on the ground. BTW feral cats and foxes are having a negitive impact on plover populations on the whole coast . Non native invasive species are harmful to native wildlife. The choice is do you want one or the other as one will have a negitive affect on the other. The question at times is how much of an affect. One thing for sure is the local coyote population is putting the feral cats to good use.
The feral cat situation here is very sad...I am not sure in all of Myrtle Beach, but I have found that in my neighborhood, the so called "feral" cats are really not that "feral"..let me explain...I started seeing many cats a few years ago and decided to put clean water and food on my back porch...well I found a british shorthair, many calicos, norweign forest cat, and a few Maine coons....I am not an expert, but I just cannot imagine that these cats being so clean and beautiful were not at one time someone's cat? Yes, put out and now have to live in the wild....well, our HOA put a stop to me helping these innocent creatures...and NMB wasn't much help either...I volunteered to help trap them to be neutered or spayed...but they told me they do not have the resources....unfortunately, the HOA felt it best to have the city pick these beautiful babies up and have them killed....I cried for weeks....I stopped putting food and water out because the Animal Control would monitor my home and watch for them...I was putting them in more danger.....but it is still a sad subject for me.....I wish there was a good solution...I know a lady in Surfside Beach who runs a non-kill cat shelter....but you have to trap them yourself and bring them to her and give her a donation....but geez how many can she keep? Very admirable.....
I know my next line I am going to have the "regulars" jump all over me as usual!!! But, animals ARE thought of differently here than where I grew up....I, now, try hard to take one at a time and if I could make any outside animal I see....their life good and happy for just one meal or one day....I do....and thanks to all that take time to help these innocent souls!
They are very innocent souls. I am sure the grey mother cat was dropped off at the farm by someone. She had to have been quite young as she never quite took to joining in with the more friendly cats, she looked from a distance.
Back in PA there was an organization in Monroe Cty. that helped with neutering the cats. There were even some people who came with cages and taught me how to accomplish trapping. By luck a group opened up who took the vouchers to fix the ferals. So it was expensive for us but not that alarmingly expensive.
It is sad when a city doesn't realize that each cat has their own personality and each can be such a wonderful pet if worked with.
It was kind of you to try to care for the little charmers. So many don't understand. They can be socialized even after the six months time they suggest is the limit. The cat we called "Buddy" was very sweet to our dogs and to us. Albeit, frightened initially about a house and being indoors. Buddy only took a few visits to make himself at home.
We did have other cats arrive from time to time. We had them fixed also.
Its sad when a town doesn't care enough to help.
I know that in Stroudsburg, Pa the town worked with the rescuers and gave them time to relocate cats from areas that were going to be torn down.
We need not kill these remarkable and charming animals. Its best to relocate if need be. They need to live a full life just like the rest of us.
I am a bird lover also. But, there is room for both in this wide world of ours.
I am a bird lover also. But, there is room for both in this wide world of ours.
Exactly. God made birds, but He also made cats. Is one more important than the other? It is not their fault that they are turned loose and forced to try to subsist on what they can find in the environment, and it is doubly cruel when they have been domesticated and taught to depend on humans for their food and then turned abruptly outdoors to fend for themselves.
Seabass11, I see your point about the plovers, and to be honest, I wasn't thinking of ground nesting birds, I was thinking of songbird species that nest in trees and can fly away from danger on the ground. You made a good point, and I should have considered other species when I made that comment, my bad.
I know there is no perfect solution, but again, it's not the cats' faults that they are forced to survive by killing in the outdoors. Blame the people who get tired of them, or move and decide that they can't take them, and then turn them out. That is despicable.
As much as I loved the Towhees which were a ground feeding bird. I knew I had to help the cats.
I had never seen Towhees in NJ or at any other location we had lived or visited. I totally enjoyed their
color and uniqueness.
But, it was a necessity to help the cats survive. Even if other animals got to them. ( fox or coyotte)
There was no way I would starve them, certainly not a pregnant mother cat.
Just found this post about a local TNR program. Hope it helps and 'catches' on in our area. Have several colonies around my area and they have not 'grown' and do seem to protect their territory.
In Georgetown County from what I have been told the county will not trap cats at all. Much different from Horry for sure.
Just found this post about a local TNR program. Hope it helps and 'catches' on in our area. Have several colonies around my area and they have not 'grown' and do seem to protect their territory.
In Georgetown County from what I have been told the county will not trap cats at all. Much different from Horry for sure.
Murrells Inlet has a small newspaper that I read that in, except I read it after the meet up.
I don't know of feral cats in my area right now, however it was a big issue where I lived before.
It wasn't an easy job getting each and everyone fixed, but we did.
We were taught the process by two different ladies who helped in the area. One came up from an
entirely different county. Finally, we worked on our own until the job was finished.
Having the ear clipping let us know the job was done on each and every cat.
They are not just group of unwanted, furry, animals. Each and everyone had its own personality.
Some shy, some not. Some playful and others making friends with the dogs. Really, they are cute
and endearing. Although, it is very sad that most will never have a real home and family.
A windowsill in the sun to rest on, nor a fireplace to curl by.
It is still important to give them a fair chance at life, and that we should.
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I just wish that more people felt this way and then maybe there would be less of a problem with outdoor cats who are simply trying to survive as best they can.
