WANTED: world spay day participation!

Cat cafes. Depending on where you may be in the world, those two words mean different things. Both "definitions" are basically good.

In Japan, cat cafes allow cat lovers (many who can't have cats where they live) to interact with felines who are there for that purpose. Closer to home in St. Thomas, cat cafes are decorative feeding and watering stations for feral cats on the island.

Who could argue with either kind when cats are well-treated at both? (Please visit www.nj.com/pets for details on both types, with an emphasis on the Caribbean version.)

Here in New Jersey right now, we're on the cusp of kitten season -- a time when feral cats, already getting enough negative attention, have litters of kittens, which means still more cats living outdoors.

Of course, the overall answer continues to be T-N-R, or trap, neuter, return. If adult feral cats are sterilized, they can't procreate. They can live out their lives, often in a colony, until the colony gradually dies off.

The challenge to T-N-R is . . . T-N-R: quite simply, not enough people have bought into the T-N-R concept; not enough people are involved in trapping, neutering and returning feral cats, with the result that there will be more kittens this spring and more adult feral cats next year, and so on and so on.

Next week is World Spay Day, an annual event when the Humane Society of the US and other organizations promote T-N-R even more strongly. (Click on HSUS in the box at right for more details.)

Spay Day events are planned all over (the HSUS site includes a map), though none show for the Trenton area -- yet. There's still time to pull something together and get numbers of cats sterilized; every neutered cat helps!
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Iguanas, feral cats & St. Thomas

Just back from a visit to "Technicolorland," aka St. Thomas, USVI, and sorry to report that for feral cats on that beautiful island, all is not well. Or at least, all is not united.

And while the status of iguanas on St. Thomas is still looking good -- we saw and enjoyed them in all their usual haunts -- it's very bad news for iguanas on Puerto Rico. There, officials have decided to kill off island iguanas and sell their meat.

Details on this cruel "solution" to what people there see as an iguana problem can be found at my 2nd blog -- www.nj.com/pets.

Now back to St. Thomas cats . . . Last February after returning from vacation, I wrote a number of posts here about the woman who had founded the "cat cafe" program, Dellia Holodenschi. At the time, she was working with the Humane Society of St. Thomas.

Since then, a lot has happened, including a rupture between the two, with Dellia starting her own foundation to continue with the cat cafes (and their Trap-Neuter-Return component.) The HS operations manager was unavailable to meet with me -- a great disappointment because of course I’m there only once a year.

That, plus the fact that their new facility should be opening any time now, and I didn’t get to see either the current site or it. So as far as cats are concerned, then, this was nearly a feline-free vacation, except for the few feral cats at MorningStar, where we stayed. They were usually in the vicinity of the cat café near the restaurant.
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St. Thomas no ‘paradise’ for resident cats

A few closing words on feral cats and spay/neuter on St. Thomas (a.k.a. “America’s paradise”). In a recent note, Dellia indicated the island vets want to raise their prices for this procedure. This pricing situation keeps getting worse.

Even with a spay/neuter van on the island, the process still requires veterinarians’ cooperation. Last fall, a vet from Texas visited, and in two days, more than 100 cats were spayed or neutered in that van. It can be done!

In fact, Dellia points to cat colonies at both the Marriott resort and Magen’s Bay that are 100% “done.” However, that figure holds up only till more people dump their cats at those sites knowing they’ll be fed at the cat cafes. Unless such newcomers have been neutered, the result will be more and more kittens.

Overriding every other problem is that of food. What Dellia says is most needed is a source of wholesale cat food. Right now, she buys it and/or uses whatever is donated – a system that probably can’t go on indefinitely.

All in all, while at first I was delighted to hear about the cat cafes and TNR on St. Thomas, I’ve learned that the picture is not as rosy as I first thought, or wanted to believe. Numerous obstacles exist, including the very people who would be expected to want to save cats’ lives, instead of putting them down.

“America’s paradise” – that may be true for people, but definitely not for cats.
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About an advoCAT (and TNR)

Cats, especially ferals, need all the friends they can get. The link here leads to a story in NewJerseyNewsroom.com about a major friend of cats who has been respectfully nicknamed "AdvoCAT."

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/style/feral-cat-concerns-trap-neuter-return-tnr-is-this-advocates-answer
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Toasting a TNR star

What turns a person into an animal advocate, focusing on one key cause connected with cats? When that person has significant professional responsibilities, a family and friends – all things that for others could be excuses for not doing much -- what makes her spend all kinds of time and her own money in abundance to help feral cats?

It’s hard to tell for sure, although Joyce Arciniaco says she grew up in a family of animal lovers, with cats and dogs. She also saw homeless cats and kittens and was aware of animal abuse in her neighborhood.

As she came to know about feral cat colonies, she noted that people who fed them often were unable to pay for neutering. Besides, in many cases, the cats were wild and couldn’t be handled easily.

Arciniaco had long recognized trap, neuter, release (TNR) as the best way to deal with ferals, letting them stay in place while preventing reproduction. “You need to get to the root of the problem, and that’s where it is,” she says.

So she started in Chambersburg, learning how to trap wild cats then transport them to a vet. At first, there was no discount for the number of procedures. These days, Arciniaco knows clinics where high volume, low cost neutering is the rule. That helps, of course, though she still pays out of pocket for the ferals she involves in TNR.

The “ear tip” – when the pointed tip of a cat’s ear has a small scallop out of it – means a feral cat’s already been neutered, had immunizations and was turned back outside. “They want to go back to where they were, their roots,” she says, explaining the importance of the “return” part of TNR. That, and their food source too: even when people can’t afford to neuter them, they feed ferals.

Arciniaco’s efforts have also extended to area shelters, Ewing in particular this year. She was a compelling speaker on behalf of the shelter animals at a Ewing council meeting last fall, and she has done the paperwork and paid for neutering many cats there.

She believes federal legislation could mandate spay-neuter for cats; drug companies should be charged to come up with feline contraceptives; and veterinarian schools should require students to do spay-neuter procedures as a community service.

A new year’s toast to Joyce Arciniaco: Here’s to the great work she does! May she continue helping cats and succeed at building support for TNR.
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Activism ops

I. If you believe “The most responsible way to help outdoor cats is to ensure that no kittens are born,” and that “Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the only effective, humane way to control the outdoor, feral cat population” -- and if you want to help feral cats in your own area -- consider attending the Trap-Neuter-Return Workshop Saturday, November 21, at the Ewing Branch Library (61 Scotch Road, Ewing).

Sponsored by the Animal Protection League of NJ (formerly NJ Animal Rights Alliance), the workshop will run from 1-4 pm. A registration fee of $10 covers bound reference materials and light refreshments.

To reserve ahead as required, phone 732-446-6808 or write to Sandra.Obi@aplnj.org. For more information on TNR, visit http://www.projecttnr.com/.
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II. Think again about getting involved in the anti-fur movement. Think about how fur coats and fur trim and fur boots happen. It’s gruesome and barbaric. And it’s unnecessary – no one in today’s world needs fur to keep warm – except the animals who originally wear it.

The following paragraph comes from a reminder about a demonstration this weekend. Julie, the writer, is a school teacher and mother of twins, besides everything else. Yet for years now, she has also been a prime mover behind this anti-fur effort. You can tell from her message how committed she is.

***** Please join me this Sat. Nov. 14th - I don't cancel for rain. Only check website for cancellation if it is downpouring, which it is not supposed to be. Being out in sometimes lousy weather shows people that we are dedicated to the cause of helping animals. These foxes, mink, and chinchillas are kept outside in wire mesh cages in all weather. It's theleast I can do to bring attention to their suffering for an hour and a half. Please help me speak out for them. – Julie *****

The fur trade is very ugly. Check Julie’s website, http://www.caafgroup.com/, for info on other demonstrations, including the big one in NYC on “Fur-free Friday.”
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National feral cat day

This Friday, October 16, is National Feral Cat Day, brought to us by Alley Cat Allies, “the cats’ leading advocate.”

One place that really should not need feral cat-advocacy at this point, yet clearly does, is nearby Ewing Township. For months, the animal shelter there has been the focus of attention and dissention via newspaper coverage and activists’ energy directed against the mayor and town council. Of course, the animals involved, who can’t speak for themselves, are caught in the middle, helpless.

It recently became even more upsetting because a number of trapped feral cats at the shelter were threatened with death. It’s not known right now whether they were euthanized today, as threatened.

Ewing officials seem to have no idea of what feral cats are all about. One council member has reportedly described them as a “health hazard,” when in fact Ewing officials themselves seem to constitute the worst possible health hazard for cats.

Trapping feral cats is only step one of the three-part program called “Trap, Neuter, Release (sometimes “Return”),” or TNR. Widely known and practiced, although not in Ewing, the program builds on the reality that feral cats are wild cats who live in colonies. They will keep reproducing (and increasing colony size) unless they are neutered or spayed.

After being sterilized, feral cats should be returned to their colony. By definition, feral cats aren’t looking for a home; they don’t want to cuddle on our couches, as Alley Cat Allies’ website warns. They’ve learned to live outdoors, and that’s the place they prefer. Once an entire colony is neutered or spayed, they can’t reproduce, and over time, they die out. (Note: feral kittens sometimes can be socialized and adopted.)

For reasons unknown, Ewing has not accepted the idea of TNR. In fact, Ewing seems to lack any coherent plan for what to do with animals at large in the township as well as animals in the so-called “shelter” there.

Alley Cat Allies urges people to “get informed.” What better time to do this than on or before National Feral Cat Day, this Friday? Here’s the link to basic info on ferals:
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=434
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Cats in trouble -- part 1

Feral cats are in trouble in Ewing Township, where there are also problems with the staff and volunteers, as well as the inhabitants, at the animal shelter. Sketchy newspaper coverage makes it hard to talk about the issues with authority, but the situation has been festering all summer, with no word of a peaceful solution.

The problems – many of which seem to come down to poor communications and indistinct lines of authority – include (1) what to do about feral cats; (2) should (and could) the operating philosophy of the animal shelter be "no-kill"; and then immediately (3) how is that term defined.

For instance, “no-kill” can mean different things to different people with different interests. What about incurably sick animals? What about vicious ones? What about animals for which there is simply no room? And then, how’s a word like “vicious” defined and proven? Who must vouch for “incurable”? And so on.

Meanwhile, of course, the animals are in the middle. That’s not a good place to be when emotional, partial and often politicized information is being traded without ground rules for civility, accuracy or timeliness. At some point, people can become their dearest cause’s worst enemies, and impartial mediation seems to be the only way out.
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A needy family

Sometimes generalizations become vividly clear and easy to understand. This month, according to PETA, is adopt-a-cat month. The most casual reader among us knows that shelters are filled with cats and in some areas, feral cats can be targets for elimination, rather than TNR (trap, neuter, release).

OK: a zillion cats need care and homes. Knowing such things, some of us probably look at our own companion cats, know we’re doing our best and conclude, “I can’t do anything more.”

But then, we see an unexpected sight that tears at our hearts. A garden tour in Trenton’s Mill Hill section yesterday provided that sight. And it sticks in the mind.

Rounding a corner while looking for the next sign signaling a back yard ready for visitors, we saw a shuttered house with furniture and junk filling the yard. Standing (briefly!) on top of a high point was a fuzzy little gray kitten: bright eyes, ears perked. Then s/he was gone.

Seconds later, two gray kittens appeared in a different spot of the littered yard. Then, along the inside rail of the fence walked a black, long-haired and green-eyed cat – maybe “mom.” And who knew how many other feline family members watched from under cover.

The sight of cats without a home – and maybe food too – stopped me in my tracks. I understood. I felt the urgency. Then, regretfully, I realized there was nothing I could do.

Sure, maybe I could figure out a person or an agency to contact, but I’m betting (1) these cats have been reported already and/or (2) they’re un-catchable, un-trappable. If in fact that was the mother, obviously she hasn’t been spayed, and before long any kits will prove they weren’t neutered either.

What to do? Except keep thinking about that family, and feeling lousy at being unable to help.
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Cowardly, at least

It’s easy to agree with a letter writer in today’s Times of Trenton. Reporting that someone had fatally poisoned a feral cat colony located in a Trenton cemetery, he closed with this: “I hope karma exists, because whoever did this deserves to be smacked by fate.”

How restrained the letter writer was! How easy it would be to bitterly rant against the “depraved individual” who fed the cats poisoned food. Cowardly comes to mind. Pathological too. Shall we add “sociopathic”? Where does such a person stop?

Why do humans seem so often to choose violence over reason, research, investigation, negotiation – whatever other ways would be appropriate to deal with a situation? In this case, alert an animal rescue group? look into TNR if “trap, neuter, release” had not already occurred?

But poisoning. That’s just dastardly. Hurry up, karma!