Click on image to bigify. Info on the piece can be found Here.
Black is a 18-or-so-year-old formerly feral cat that lives in Hawaii with Pumpkin, Bebe and Tiger and a woofie named Benson. She's the only female feline in the household. Blackie is believed to have had two litters before she was caught and spayed. She's still very health for being such a senior citizen, and while she wants nothing to do with the boys, she still enjoys played with catnip toys and running sprints across the house. She also loves cat grass and always gets first grazing rights when a new batch comes in.
Usually you can find the grand ol' dame asleep on top of "her" cage. When she's awake, she blogs at Pumpkin's World.
Hey you guys, it’s Feline Friday!
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Find Weekend Cat Blogging #145 (Mar. 15-16) is being held at Cat Blogosphere.
Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos #36 (03-16-2008) with Pet & the Bengal Brats at Pet's Garden Blog.
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Given the bounty on feral cats in Randolph, Iowa, I wanted to share this article which appeared in the June 2007 issue of Cat Fancy Magazine. It was written Cimeron Morissey, a freelance writer and co-founder of Project Bay Cat, and explains why the killing of ferals does not work to reduce the population problems.
(KC notes that the Bounty Hunt is officially over.)
COMMON GROUND
For years, the sound of a gunshot meant one thing on Mare Island: Another homeless cat was shot by an exterminator hired to keep cats away from sensitive wildlife. The approach was controversial, not only because residents found it brutal and inhumane, but also because it was costly and ineffective. Today, the gun is silenced on the small island in Vallejo, California, thanks to a new effort to humanely control the cats while protecting the population of endangered California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mice that live there.
HUMANE COEXISTENCE
Wherever feral cats and wildlife mix, heated debates ensue about how to protect sensitive species, which often result in cat removal programs.
"Killing cats doesn't take care of the problem, since more just come and fill the space," says Vallejo city councilwoman, Stephanie Gomes. She notes that since the city's Predator Control Program was initiated in 1999, Vallejo has spent $245,000 in an unsuccessful effort to eradicate the homeless cats.
"There are humane ways for cats and wildlife to coexist peacefully. One species need not be eradicated in favor of another," says Jessica Frohman, program manager for Alley Cat Allies, which advocates non-lethal methods to reduce outdoor cat populations.
Nancy Peterson, feral cat program manager for The Humane Society of the United States, agrees. "Create buffer zones," she suggests. "Sterilize feral cats and establish feeding stations away from vulnerable wildlife to keep them separate."
HUMANE EFFORT
Volunteers from Solano County Friends of Animals launched a humane program in March 2007 on the campus of Touro University on Mare Island with hopes to expand to the rest of the island. The effort is being modeled after that of Foster City, California's, Project Bay Cat, which faced a similar challenge and solved it by spaying/neutering the feral cats to halt colony growth and keeping the cats away from environmentally sensitive areas.
"Project Bay Cat is working very well, and a lot of that is due to having a core group that has common goals and that works together to oversee the program," says Robin Smith, conservation committee chairperson for Sequoia Audubon Society, who collaborates on the program with the Homeless Cat Network and the City of Foster City.
"We can be creative to protect cats, birds and mice together - it doesn't have to be 'either/or'" says Gomes. "Feral cats are a part of our society, and they deserve our help. We're thrilled to launch our new humane program!"
3 comments:
Blackie is quite elegant... thanks for everything else, informative as always.
Oh wow, today's feechur is abowt ME! Waving paws at all mine fellow House Panthers!
KC said...
Ummm, the problems in Randolph are not over, sorry folks. I's gotted a noo post, check it out.
This was a furry good article heres, maybe tha mayor jus can't read???
O, don't gets me started...
Purrs, KC
pee ess: Blackie, you's so purrty. Beautiful eyes. Mine noo little brofur looks a lot like you.
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