the biggest feline threat to birds is a housecat that's allowed outdoors. pet cats have the luxury to stalk and kill birds for sport, while feral cats are looking for the easiest meal. you're more likely to find a feral cat rooting through your trash than wasting precious energy hunting something wild.

if you love birds - and cats - always keep your pet cats indoors.

+1 for TNR. Removing them doesn't work as more just move in. I also want to add that if you are feeding stray cats you are not doing your neighbors any favors. One of my neighbors feeds the strays and is motivated by the best of intentions. But what she does is draw more ferals to the neighborhood that then spill over into neighboring yards. They have terrorized my (indoor only) cats to the point that I had to put one of them on prozac. They have become fearful and agressive with me because of the ferals in my yard. I'm still trying to find all the ways they get over and under my fence to block their way. But I wish my neighbors would stop feeding them too. It would help so much.

i'd rather have stray cats around than rats or mice any day. look at it this way - at least they keep our rodent population down.

The Neighborhood Feral Cat Initiative is giving a TNR workshop today in JC. Call 201 884 9649 before 10am to register.

In response to this thread I quote Alley Cat Allies:

"Outdoor cats have existed alongside humans for 10,000 years. They are not a new phenomenon. In fact, it wasn?t until the 1940s?and the invention of cat litter?that "indoors only" for cats was even a concept.4 Feral cats don?t even belong indoors?they are not socialized to people, so they can?t be pets.

What people don?t understand about feral cats is that there will always be feral and stray cats living and thriving in every landscape, from the inner city to farmland. When people advocate for no more cats outdoors, they are actually supporting the failed policies for stray and feral cats currently in place, where cats are caught and killed.

As animal advocates, we want what?s in the best interest of all animals, including birds. That means taking a hard look at what the major threats to species are and evaluating what we as humans can do to save the environment and to change the way our choices impact our environment. It also means protecting animals?all animals?from being killed. "


http://www.alleycat.org/Page.aspx?pid=894

http://www.alleycat.org/Page.aspx?pid=324

http://www.alleycat.org/Page.aspx?pid=937

http://www.alleycat.org/Document.Doc?id=30


About 90 millions cats are living on the streets of the US. Only 2% are spayed or neutered. Do the math.

Our very own shelter here in Jersey City turns aways dozens of people each week who need to surrender their cats for one reason or another. Some of those cats will end up (not neutered or spayed) on our streets for people like me and others to remove and rehome or trap and release.

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Not just that, but we've eliminated most small predators from the original ecosystem, like foxes, bobcats and weasels. Only the raptors have made a comeback. Why pretend there was nothing eating songbirds before Felis Catus hit the beaches? Imagine the toll of eggs and nestlings when there was a number of species of arboreal weasels like fishers and martens everywhere. We have too many damn birds!!

My favorite video ever is a genius seagull in an Italian piazza that discovered pigeons weren't just competitors for garbage, they were tasty!

Thanks meowmix, I will follow up with your recommendations..
As far as these feral little beasts go, while I do find their presence aggravating, (seriously right now there's a four way going on on my porch), It's not their fault that they're wild and they act that way.
At some point in their family tree, they were domestic. Then one day, an irresponsible cat owner neglected to care for their pet, and alas we have an out of control feral cat population. Is it the cat's fault? No. Is it the fault of a human? Yes... So, be that as it may, I think it's my duty to act humanely.

As far as the argument over what belongs here and what doesn't, well that may have greater weight over in the Galapagos, but around these parts, there are very few species that are in fact native. Crap, even earthworms are an introduced species.

boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew

a friend of mine just saw me bitching about the stray cats on here and sent me this clip. Seems appropriate:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Sophie's Cats Vs. Birds Choice
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Toxoplasmosis is not rare at all. It is way more common than you think.

Do these symptoms sound familiar to you? Have you been around cat poop?

Enlarged lymph nodes in the head and neck
Headache
Mild illness with fever
Muscle pain
Sore throat

It starts off slow, but can do some serious damage in the long term. You should be tested.


But really, that's the least of my concerns. I simply find it inhumane to put a cat on the streets of Jersey City, both for the birds and the cats.

And I'm no fan of the starlings either. They jealously harass the most beautiful of the birds.

Sorry, I forgot about a locally rare disease that is also spread by birds. Do you not wash your vegetables? If there are birds around, they can give you encephalitis, salmonellosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, candidiasis, lice, bed bugs, mites etc.

Gotta say, most of the birds my cat kills are starlings, non-native. And the freakin birds just stripped my grapevines of unripe grapes in a matter of days! I wish my cats could climb chainlink.

Okay, I think we are partially talking about two different things.

You are right, domestic house cats that have lived with people absolutely do not belong on the street. These cats need to be picked up and found homes for. These cats are not feral and do not belong in colonies.

Obviously I do not support those who dump pets in the street.

A truly feral cat was born and grew up away from humans. They are not suitable pets.

The fact that cats are hunters and sometimes hunt birds is very unfortunate. I also love birds, and would never allow my cat outdoors for that (and many other) reasons.

While there is debate about what the proper way to deal with ferals is, the ASPCA advocates TNR as the best, most humane way. I encourage anyone who wants to learn more to do their own research and make their own decision.

As I said, there is not a perfect solution. This is the way I choose to deal with it. I think we will have to agree to disagree here.

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Sorry, I guess Toxoplasmosis is just a made up disease that is not transmitted to humans by the cat poop in my garden.

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When you remove them, other cats move in. It's an endless cycle of removing cats, killing them, having cats take their place, etc.


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It's hardly cats' fault that you have idiots driving down your block.

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Maybe if you took the time to get them fixed they wouldn't be so charged / in heat.

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From the ASPCA: "While feral cats do kill some birds, they prefer to kill rodents. Other issues, such as the decline of natural habitat and use of pesticides, have a greater negative impact on bird populations."

I am actually sorry about your rare bird. I like birds too. Perhaps the urban environment just isn't the right place for them.

Your claim that cats spread disease is nonsense, by the way.

I can tell you what I've seen with my own eyes. As an avid birder, I am always watching the nature around Jersey City and have personally seen 3 killings of birds by cats, one being a rare, Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher!

And I can tell you what I've heard, which is the near nightly, horrific fights between cats in the alley behind my house.

As for mayhem. Thats what I call it when a car driving down my street hits a "feral" cat, jamms on its brakes and slams into my neighbor's car. Jersey City streets are no place for cats!

Would you call it humane if a family abandons their cat on the street? Is it humane if an organization abandons large numbers of cats on the street? Just because they can't reproduce, does that make it any better?

You can read about the science right here and here.

You might not like killing cats, but I don't like seeing the birds I love, who were here first, and are truly struggling, get eaten alive my your all too effective predators.

Bottom line is that they are an unnatural addition to our environment. They should be removed.

Even with humane issues aside, when you remove cats from a location they are quickly replaced by other cats. TNR helps to create a stable situation where a colony can exist that is not producing endless kittens and tends to not let outside cats in.

Can you back your assertions up with facts? And, um, mayhem? Really?

TNR (Trap - Neuter - Release) is the only humane way I know of to deal with feral cats. After being neutered and vaccinated, the cats are healthier, roam less and fight rarely. The goal with TNR is to take adoptable kittens off the street and find homes. The adult cats are often too wild to make good pets, (especially when you consider that shelters are full of wonderful cats already) so if the situation is safe, they remain where they are and are cared for. Is it a perfect solution? Of course not. If you know of another humane solution (i.e. not euthanizing every feral) I would truly like to hear about it.

That feral cat program is sick. Crazy cat lady sick.

Jersey City streets are too rough and dangerous for cats. They kill each other, they kill native birds, they spread disease and cause mayhem.

Domesticated house cats are a non native species that have no place on the streets of Jersey City. They should only be removed and placed up for adoption or destroyed. If you care about cats, you should adopt them and keep them in your home. Period.

What's next, a feral pit bull program?

The Neighborhood Feral Cat initiative is a program in JC that can help: http://www.neighborhoodferalcat.org/

You can receive training on performing TNR, and info about low cost spay neuter programs.

Good luck, and thanks for doing the right thing!

Hi everyone,

I can't seem to find the information regarding a spay and release program for feral cats...It's getting out of control on my street--- my porch and front yard in particular. We've got two pregnant females and several non neutered males that need to be fixed. Any suggestions?