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Independence, MO —
Gail Longstaff’s unofficial title as “the resident crazy cat lady” on staff at Great Plains SPCA is one she takes seriously.
Before about 50 residents Monday night at Stone Church, Longstaff, vice president of the Merriam, Kan.-based SPCA organization that serves all of the Kansas City area, detailed a two-year initiative to trap, neuter and return cats in the 64050 ZIP code of Independence.
The effort, expected to impact about 2,400 cats over two years, is possible because of a $100,000 grant the SPCA received from PetSmart Charities. The program might also be able to touch the 64055 and 64052 ZIP codes in its second year, but for now, the effort is concentrated in 64050.
In 2011, the Independence Animal Shelter took in 2,022 cats, and more than half of the cats met the definition of being “free-roaming,” Longstaff said, which includes being either stray or feral.
“You have them in your community,” she said. “Sometimes, they aggravate the dickens out of you from nuisance behaviors, whether it’s using your flowers as their litter box, or it’s yowling behavior from the breeding at night, or the tomcats that come along and decide to spray all over your grill cover.”
Longstaff described the differences between stray and feral cats. Stray cats might walk and move like house cats and likely live alone. These cats are visible primarily during the daytime, and they might approach people, houses, porches or cars.
“A stray cat is a cat that, at one time, knew people,” Longstaff said. “They act just like a pet cat would, and they act very normal.”
Conversely, feral cats are born in the wild and have lived in the wild their entire lives. Feral cats likely live in colonies and are nocturnal. Feral cats are healthy and are usually clean in appearance.
They are unlikely to make eye contact with humans. They cannot be touched, even by their caretakers, and feral cats aren’t adoption candidates, Longstaff said.
“All it knows is the outdoor environment as its home,” she said. “... Feral cats are not cats that can be taken in, turned around and made as pets. It would be like trying to tame a raccoon or a ’possum or a fox or any other animal that lives in the wild.”
Three options exist for handling the feral cat problem, Longstaff said: Do nothing; trap the cats and remove them from their environment; or implement a comprehensive population control and management strategy.
Gail Longstaff’s unofficial title as “the resident crazy cat lady” on staff at Great Plains SPCA is one she takes seriously.
Before about 50 residents Monday night at Stone Church, Longstaff, vice president of the Merriam, Kan.-based SPCA organization that serves all of the Kansas City area, detailed a two-year initiative to trap, neuter and return cats in the 64050 ZIP code of Independence.
The effort, expected to impact about 2,400 cats over two years, is possible because of a $100,000 grant the SPCA received from PetSmart Charities. The program might also be able to touch the 64055 and 64052 ZIP codes in its second year, but for now, the effort is concentrated in 64050.
In 2011, the Independence Animal Shelter took in 2,022 cats, and more than half of the cats met the definition of being “free-roaming,” Longstaff said, which includes being either stray or feral.
“You have them in your community,” she said. “Sometimes, they aggravate the dickens out of you from nuisance behaviors, whether it’s using your flowers as their litter box, or it’s yowling behavior from the breeding at night, or the tomcats that come along and decide to spray all over your grill cover.”
Longstaff described the differences between stray and feral cats. Stray cats might walk and move like house cats and likely live alone. These cats are visible primarily during the daytime, and they might approach people, houses, porches or cars.
“A stray cat is a cat that, at one time, knew people,” Longstaff said. “They act just like a pet cat would, and they act very normal.”
Conversely, feral cats are born in the wild and have lived in the wild their entire lives. Feral cats likely live in colonies and are nocturnal. Feral cats are healthy and are usually clean in appearance.
They are unlikely to make eye contact with humans. They cannot be touched, even by their caretakers, and feral cats aren’t adoption candidates, Longstaff said.
“All it knows is the outdoor environment as its home,” she said. “... Feral cats are not cats that can be taken in, turned around and made as pets. It would be like trying to tame a raccoon or a ’possum or a fox or any other animal that lives in the wild.”
Three options exist for handling the feral cat problem, Longstaff said: Do nothing; trap the cats and remove them from their environment; or implement a comprehensive population control and management strategy.
When nothing is done, Longstaff said, the population of free-roaming cats continues to grow. Complaints will continue, kittens will continue being born “and will flood the shelter every spring and summer, and too many are going to end up in shelters, where they will ultimately be killed,” she said.
In trapping and removing cats from their natural environment, no “magical sanctuary” or place exists to relocate the animal, Longstaff said. Relocation also has a poor success rate because cats are territorial, and when cats are removed from their territory, they try to migrate back to where they came from, Longstaff said. This method is ongoing and never-ending.
“It’s very costly, it’s not publicly popular, and it’s not an effective solution due to the vacuum effect,” Longstaff said. “Trap and remove has been the methodology that animal control agencies across this country have used for the 40 years, and we have still have thousands and thousands and thousands of cats, in all of our communities.”
Half of those in attendance Monday night raised their hands when Longstaff asked who would be interested in volunteering or who already volunteer in a TNR effort. This is the most cost-effective among the three options, she said, because people are willing to volunteer their time in support of a humane solution.
Here’s how it works: A colony of cats is identified based on tips provided by area residents. They are humanely trapped after they are fed routinely for several days or weeks. The cats are then transported to Merriam, Kan., to the Great Plains SPCA site where they are spayed or neutered and are vaccinated for rabies.
Strays or young kittens that have socialization potential are removed for adoption. The adult feral cats also are ear-tipped, which is a universal symbol of a sterilized, outdoor cat, Longstaff said.
Those in ZIP code 64050 who are interested in helping should call 913-742-7311 and provide the location, approximate number of cats and whether the cats – feral or free-roaming – are on a feeding schedule. The Great Plains SPCA will not enter someone’s private property without the owner’s permission first, Longstaff said.
“‘But we just want them gone’ – I hear that a lot,” Longstaff said. “And the first question I ask is, ‘Is it really the cat that you want gone, or is it the nuisance behavior that you’re dealing with?’”
