• Waterloo Region suffering from Feral cat overpopulation
    37 replies, posted
[quote]It’s a cat-astrophe of epic proportions. Feral cats — felines living in the wild — are overrunning communities across Ontario and creating cat colonies in abandoned buildings, farms, forests and parks. “There is a cat overpopulation crisis,” said Amy Gruber, community relations manager for the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society. And with the weather warming up, it’s only going to get worse. Cat copulation increases in the spring and summer as pet owners let animals outside for some fresh air. The numbers are staggering. [B]Two feral cats who mate and whose offspring are never spayed or neutered will collectively produce up to 80 million cats over a 10-year span[/B], according to numbers from the K-W Humane Society. [B]“Isn’t that insane?”[/B] said Gruber. “There is a big problem.” Feral cat colonies exist across Waterloo Region. Right now, two local neighbourhoods have been identified as hot spots — the area around Colby Drive in Waterloo and near Mooregate Crescent in Kitchener. “People unfortunately, think less of cats than dogs for example,” said Kevin Strooband, executive director of the Lincoln County Humane Society in St. Catharines. “They seem to be more ‘disposable’ and for that reason people tend to dump them. They think that they’re doing them a favour by letting them go in the wild, that they can live on their own.” Instead, once domesticated cats are often killed by predators, other feral cats or start their own colony. The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association says that tens of thousands of cats are euthanized each year due to overpopulation. The K-W Humane Society has 119 cats on any given day at its shelter compared to 62 dogs. “That shows you the amount of cats that can come in,” said Gruber. But there is a solution to curbing overpopulation. Get your cat spayed or neutered. “It’s all about responsible pet ownership,” said Gruber. “Even if you have an indoor cat, spay or neuter your cat. If he or she gets out, spring is in the air, things can happen.” The association’s Melissa Carlaw says problems can arise when feral cats mix with pets. “It’s an issue because so few people take their cats to be vaccinated or even to the veterinarian at all,” she said. “If an indoor cat comes into contact with a feral cat they can pick up all sorts of things and die.” A trap, neuter and return program has helped. Roundups are done regularly by private groups. Lincoln County is expected to be the first humane society to take part in the program. “Rather than euthanize them, you capture them and they get spayed or neutered and then they put them back where they found them,” said Carlaw. “It’s a long-term solution. It’s not like next year we’re going to see it cut in half.” The average cost to get your cat fixed is about $250. That cost is absorbed for any animal adopted at the K-W Humane Society. Deworming, a health exam and microchip are also included in the adoption price. Euthanizing animals is a drain on resources and emotions. “It’s a compassion thing too,” said Carlaw. “The people who work at these shelters are really tired of euthanizing these cats. It’s a horrible thing to have to do.”[/quote] [url=http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/article/512691--feral-cat-overpopulation-gives-region-pause]**Hey! the home town newspaper is the source!**[/url] I have seen the issue first hand with a barn near my grandfather's old place. The place was packed with cats.
Make a cat zoo.
Clearly the solution is to introduce a large population of feral German Shepherds to deal with the cats.
Show them lolcat pictures. They'll become so afraid of becoming some themselves that they'll kill themselves.
[QUOTE=An Armed Bear;29009982]Show them [b]lolcat[/b] pictures. They'll become so afraid of becoming some themselves that they'll kill themselves.[/QUOTE] [img]http://netlit.swinmc.net/memorial/images/51b.gif[/img]
Dwarf Fortress IRL.
lets go hunt some pussy boyse
Cats can be good for keeping population control of mice, and rodents, but in order to lower their population what would be the best solution would be to spread them across the region instead of keeping them together so close.
[QUOTE=Implosions;29009931]Make a cat zoo.[/QUOTE] I wonder who you are an alt of...
Or just kill feral cats.
[QUOTE=Zeke129;29010219]I wonder who you are an alt of...[/QUOTE] ...is it....Oh I can't keep the joke going. I'll shut up.
[QUOTE=Aman V;29010234]Or just kill feral cats.[/QUOTE] What we need is a strong conservative government to deal with this problem right
I did my job. I respec'd my feral cat to resto. [img]http://images.wikia.com/wowwiki/images/3/31/Treant.png[/img]
watch, if people start shooting them to reduce the population, the animal right activist going to bitch about it.
[QUOTE=darkedone02;29010399]watch, if people start shooting them to reduce the population, the animal right activist going to bitch about it.[/QUOTE] I'd bitch to. These cats can be put up for adoption or sent to other countries.
[QUOTE=Blanketspace;29009953]Clearly the solution is to introduce a large population of feral German Shepherds to deal with the cats.[/QUOTE] You're making Godwin really twitchy. Do you also bring in an Austrian dog to lead them?
Welp, I guess there's only one solution. Cat Gun. As in, a gun that fires cats.
Fuck having feral cats around. There's clearly too many to fix and give up to adoption. Infact they should just start handing out heavy boots for cat stompin.
I'll take 'em.
How about making it a crime for pet owners to set there cats outside to roam?
[i]Warriors[/i] anyone?
[QUOTE=Zeddy;29010428]You're making Godwin really twitchy. Do you also bring in an Austrian dog to lead them?[/QUOTE] The point was that you'd now have a feral German Shepherd infestation instead of a feral cat infestation, which could actually be dangerous, not anything Godwin related.
I live in Waterloo.. [editline]6th April 2011[/editline] I can escape in a couple of weeks though. Must. survive. cats.
Feral spec, you say?
[QUOTE=JakeIsWin;29011799]Feral spec, you say?[/QUOTE] TinEye unable to find gigantic ass.
[QUOTE=Aman V;29010234]Or just kill feral cats.[/QUOTE] One would think that would be common sense. Seeing as we do that for other animal overpopulation.
Send in Napoleon. He can handle those pussies at Waterloo.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY-qxa4rMGc[/media]
Open up a branch of Chinese restaurants :v:
[QUOTE=Zeke129;29010261]What we need is a strong conservative government to deal with this problem right[/QUOTE] are you kidding me? stop bringing this shit everywhere you go, it is in every single damn thread
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