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Worried that city officials would authorize the elimination of a feral cat colony in Independence, a group of homeless pet advocates are working with the city to come to an amicable resolution.
Gail Longstaff, president of No More Homeless Pets KC, said the city wanted to eliminate the cat colony, but after the group talked intensively with Council Member Jim Page, Page asked city staff to sit down with the organization to see what could be done to ensure the stability of the cat colony near U.S. 40 in southern Independence.
“This issue has been brought to our attention and I would like for Mr. (deputy city manager John) Pinch to take this to staff so that we can bring it back in the future, so that we may have more information on how to move forward,” Page said during a City Council meeting Monday where several people were scheduled to speak out against eliminating the colony.
Longstaff said a caregiver at the colony has been caring for 40-45 feral, or wild, cats there and that the organization has been offering to trap and neuter the cats, adding they are being kept healthy and have received up to date shots.
“As they are being neutered, the colony is actually decreasing naturally,” Longstaff said.
Longstaff said No More Homeless Pets’ argument is that if the city goes in and eliminates the colony, it will just create a void that will soon be filled by other cats that have been dumped in the area.
“When cats are trapped and removed from a location, this creates a vacuum effect,” Longstaff said. “New cats will migrate into the territory to take over the available food and shelter resources so the cycle just starts over again.”
Longstaff said traditionally, cities have used a trap, remove and kill program that on a national level averages about $100 per cat to have city personnel trap a cat, take it to a shelter, house the cat for a short time, then euthanize and dispose of it.
“(No More Homeless Pets KC) feels that a program of trap, neuter and return is a better option,” she said. “With the program, the cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies and then returned to their habitat.”
According to Longstaff, a trap, neuter and return program would typically cost about a third to half as much as a trap, remove and kill program and it is more effective. To trap, neuter and return a cat to its habitat, the cost on average is about $35, Longstaff said.
Worried that city officials would authorize the elimination of a feral cat colony in Independence, a group of homeless pet advocates are working with the city to come to an amicable resolution.
Gail Longstaff, president of No More Homeless Pets KC, said the city wanted to eliminate the cat colony, but after the group talked intensively with Council Member Jim Page, Page asked city staff to sit down with the organization to see what could be done to ensure the stability of the cat colony near U.S. 40 in southern Independence.
“This issue has been brought to our attention and I would like for Mr. (deputy city manager John) Pinch to take this to staff so that we can bring it back in the future, so that we may have more information on how to move forward,” Page said during a City Council meeting Monday where several people were scheduled to speak out against eliminating the colony.
Longstaff said a caregiver at the colony has been caring for 40-45 feral, or wild, cats there and that the organization has been offering to trap and neuter the cats, adding they are being kept healthy and have received up to date shots.
“As they are being neutered, the colony is actually decreasing naturally,” Longstaff said.
Longstaff said No More Homeless Pets’ argument is that if the city goes in and eliminates the colony, it will just create a void that will soon be filled by other cats that have been dumped in the area.
“When cats are trapped and removed from a location, this creates a vacuum effect,” Longstaff said. “New cats will migrate into the territory to take over the available food and shelter resources so the cycle just starts over again.”
Longstaff said traditionally, cities have used a trap, remove and kill program that on a national level averages about $100 per cat to have city personnel trap a cat, take it to a shelter, house the cat for a short time, then euthanize and dispose of it.
“(No More Homeless Pets KC) feels that a program of trap, neuter and return is a better option,” she said. “With the program, the cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies and then returned to their habitat.”
According to Longstaff, a trap, neuter and return program would typically cost about a third to half as much as a trap, remove and kill program and it is more effective. To trap, neuter and return a cat to its habitat, the cost on average is about $35, Longstaff said.
“Cats are very territorial and they will protect their area from other cats moving in.” Longstaff said.
“If you get all the cats in a colony fixed so no new kittens are born into that group, the size of the group will stabilize and over time will go down through natural attrition.”
Longstaff said a study commissioned by Ally Cat Allies, a national feral cat advocate group, found 81 percent of Americans would prefer to see feral cats trapped, neutered and returned to their habitat rather than to be killed.
“When cities can enlist their citizens to help with efforts they care about, that helps the community stretch their resources that much further and at a lower cost,” Longstaff said.
