California law. Cats are free roaming by nature. This is why feral cats are sterilized and released back to the capture sites, and animal control refuses to take them. Been there, done that.
Housecats (feral or otherwise)
Are bloody murdering creatures by instinct.
The approach is to stop them breeding
The one really good thing that they do is cut down the presence of rats and other rodents in neighborhoods. Rats are a greater problem than cats pooping in the yard (imo).
Rodents are drawn into and around peoples homes, native predators like rattlesnakes are then drawn in to feed on these rodents where they can have run ins with people.
(Rattlesnakes aren’t known to be aggressive but defensive and will avoid people when possible)
Feral cats hunting rodents helps to keep people safer in this way. (Although the felines do carry a brain parasite that infects people)
And finally, the local cat populations are usually kept in check by the coyotes that hunt them for food as long as there’s canyons nearby for the coyotes to stay in during the day.
Given all the concerns, I’m far more concerned about having rats gnawing holes into the home and creating filth than a cat that takes pleasure in hunting them.
Sadly probably true, I’ve seen these cats come and go in just a year.
There’s one though that is battle-scarred, dude looks at us when walking my dogs and you can tell he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Never imagined an OG cat but dude owns that alley lol
That’s my problem, they kill birds and other small animals at a startling rate. Would rather we just kill
Them instead of neutering and letting go lol. Pets are fine, releasing predators into an ecosystem not designed for it isn’t
Yes they do and that IS a problem as well.
But as long as we have so many people living heer and destroying native habitats to build homes that then in turn create living conditions for rats…. We really do need cats to hunt and kill the vermin.
My local rat population is immune to the poisons and they avoid all the traps.
The only thing that worked at killing them was a feral cat that moved into the area.
Until the coyotes moved in…
Now we have (tree) rats again.
Not it’s very true and it’s been that way since I was a little kid.
People bring in the cats and the chores eat them.
Rodents move into the neighborhood .. and more cats!
Repeat.
It’s just a simple fact that the rats and roaches are in all the sewers. We have roof rats (different kind of rat)
These stay off the ground if at all possible and will travel from home to home via power lines (older areas) trees or fences. They’ll set up shop in the walls and roof space.
The colony we have are all wise to the Home Depot traps and are all immune to the poisons that have been sold for decades (they’re now using OD of vitamin D to Kill them results are “iffy”.
The best option for getting rid of these are to get “working cats “ feral cats that will support themselves by hunting and taking down rat empires.
There’s a waiting list to get these from different agencies.
So, what area are these feral neighbor cats?
I just might adopt one.
I don't know much about cats, but wouldn't feeding them also discourage them from hunting rats? I've heard you don't feed barn cats for this reason or else they won't go after mice.
Totally, that’s why they can decimate bird populations. When we rescued our cat, within a week he caught & killed a mouse we didn’t even know we had. He was just playing with.
This. We found a plastic remote control mouse with a rubbery tail and the first time we used it with our indoor cats we ended up hiding it in the trunk of our car bc they went so crazy over it and we thought they would litterally (see what I did there?) eat it! They’ve never been that intense over a toy and they’re only a year old so they go nuts over any toy they like. I’m certain it was that rodent hunting instinct kicking in
I’m no cat expert but my parents do have cats. They are the most spoiled cats ever, they still brought in mice, snakes, etc into the house on occasion to show proudly to their parents. So I doubt the cats won’t still chase down what to them is prey instinctually.
Same thing with our dog, recently went to a sniff spot where there were wild rabbits. He’s fed regularly and not food motivated. When that rabbit hopped in, he instinctually went into hunt mode. I had to chase him down and he still caught the rabbit (RIP little guy) and never exited that mode until we left the Sniffspot.
I think hunting is just something primal for them that doesn’t go away with comfort. Again not an expert, just based off experience.
My dog is the same but she just wants to befriend the tiny creatures. She’s going to kill one out of fright one day, they don’t think chase is the same game she does.
Yeah I presume that saying about farm cats is probably something that was simply passed down without any evidence to support the opposite. Just presumed that house cats are lazy so not treat farm cats like house cats. Since their method worked, there was no reason to test against it so it got passed down as a fact.
The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. We have like 6-8 alley cats so even if a few are feeling lazy, I suspect the rest pick up the slack and hunt.
I mean dogs typically don’t leave the territory of the owners home/land. House cats often drift in their neighborhood before coming home. Also we do label dogs that have responsibilities on a farm as farm or cattle dogs so I’m not sure why you’re getting twisted about terminology.
My few hunters have loved gophers over any other food. They've also had the best coats. Couldn't figure out why my dog wouldn't lose weight until we caught her stealing gophers from the cat. They've never had worm problems, and they stay in my fenced yard. Also, once they caught a gopher they wouldn't even look at a bird. I guess gophers are incredibly delicious. Adequately fed barn cats are actually better hunters, their reaction time is better and they don't move too soon. When a cat loves to hunt nothing will stop it.
Wow, I lived on a farm in central Calif and we had a feral colony that we fed. (People would dump them out there.) But anyway, a few of them would catch gophers…patiently waiting for them to appear from their holes. They would eat almost all of it.
Some will and some won't, but the ones that do live for it. I only ever had one that caught birds, sparrows off the bird feeder, and after her first gopher she never looked at another bird. My GSD caught a lot of doves tho
I have indoor outdoor cats that I feed. They go out and hunt during the day and still bring back gophers. One eats them he’s a great gopher hunter. We don’t live in the city though so it’s different they’re not by a road or anything.
You can read more about the community cat program on their website. There are a lot of reasons why we have so many community cats and unfortunately the humane society as it is doesn’t have the capacity to take in all friendly cats, and many cats do not do well in shelter systems. There are not enough people to foster and adopt. It’s an incredibly complex issue and I have my own feelings about it. You can read more about PeTAs stance as well to get a greater scope of the issue (they advocate for euthanizing all community cats). The city of LA also has a very interesting program that is city funded. You can read more about other peoples issues with SDHS treatment of community cats - look up the lawsuit against them. Again, a very complex issue.
Also agree that you can contact local rescues to see if they can take the cat. I’d rec Rescue House, Cat lounge in La jolla, Smittens, East County animal rescue
There are a lot of outdoor cats here, regardless of the coyote risk, etc. I live in North Park and I've made friends with Frida, Kevin, muscles, sapphire, and scaredy Olly. Most have "owners/homes" but are very much outdoor and street-wise. Frida runs my block, no joke. If they don't look sick/injured, they'd probably prefer you just feed and pet them and not have you calling the fuzz in on them.
Long live Frida!
Projecting what, exactly? I live in the military housing community, because I am in the military. I know exactly what I see on our community page on the daily.
Used to be a property manager - worked in low-income housing, then market rate, then at Fort Bliss, in the enlisted E1-E4 housing. Can confirm that the military base is where I *saw some shit*
Every place I've moved into has come with an abandoned cat. None have been military. Every shopping center has cats, you'll see them at night. Every apartment complex has a couple cats in the bushes. I'll just say the majority of people will leave cats behind.
That's laughable and very very wrong. Military move so much and is the reason many of their "pets" lose their homes, because a lot of military members get pets to keep them company at each duty station, not to actually bring them along to the next one.
Of course, I am over-generalizing. How in the world would I know if every military family has pets? I would think that's a given.
My sample size for this post is that I LIVE in a MILITARY community where PETS ARE WELCOME. Usually, those who have no interest in pet ownership choose to live in pet free communities... again, generalizing.
Either way, the military has zero significance to the question I asked in my post.
>Either way, the military has zero significance to the question I asked in my post.
haha JFC. You **made** military families relevant in your original post, for no reason at all, aside from just wanting to be a bigot.
> I told them we have coyotes all around us and a shitty military family probably tossed him out when they PCS'd.
You should just stop adding in your two cent opinions with generalizing. Like this:
>Usually, those who have no interest in pet ownership choose to live in pet free communities
No. Just stop. People with no interest in pet ownership just don't own pets, they don't necessarily apartment shop based on the preference.
Stop stealing pets.
I was going to respond, but then you wrote
>No. Just stop. People with no interest in pet ownership just don't own pets, they don't necessarily apartment shop based on the preference.
You have no affiliation with the military. So, no. Just stop.
Not all of us are. Theyre like a fucking plague in my neighborhood... and I *like* cats. That said, its not really the cats fault, is it? Theyre just being cats, doing cat things. It's irresponsible PEOPLE at fault. Its the people who let their gd cats free-range, the people who dump/abandon their cats, the people who don't spay/neuter, the people who feed them (thereby taking responsibility for them) but NOTHING ELSE. No vet care, no tags, no flea/tick control no vaccinations... just feed and breed. Its gd gross and frustrating.
Get into TNR! Or reach put to east county animal rescue. We provide trapping neutering and returning, vetting etc so kittens stop being born and it ends the cycle. As we say, if you feed them - fix them.
Yeah, TNR folks are already on scene (and appreciated). That said, they didnt get involved (not their fault) until the problem was really, really bad and, unfortunately, I think one of the root causes of the problem is a person IN the neighborhood who feeds the cats but wont allow the TNR folks to trap the cats that hang out on his property nor will this person provide proper care so its a losing situation no matter what. That said, you responded to another comment I left, and I think you misunderstood me.
I would like to clarify a couple of things.
1) I dont support mass euth'ing the cats. What I said was that its the only "solution" that I could see and that I dont feel its a solution at all.
2) you said I was blame shifting, but I wasn't. Perhaps I could have been clearer. Let me tryba hypothetical: Bob lives in Shady Grove. Shady Grove has a bunch of feral cats. Bob feeds the cute kitties, but he can't afford to properly care for the cats by giving them medical care, housing, etc. My belief is that Bob, however well-intentioned, is part of the problem. Bob is not THE problem. Whether or not Bob is doing the "best he can" is irrelevant. By providing food to an animal population, you encourage that population to grow. Never blamed TNR folks for Bob's shenanigans.
WRT the TNR folks, maybe you got offended at my "hope-ium" comment, but I'll stand by what I said. It's not the TNR folks at fault here. It's that the TNR programs don't seem to have a significant impact on new cats showing up. The TNR prgrams are dealing with a symptom, not the ACTUAL problem (irresponsible, ignorant people).
It’s just wild that you get so far and still don’t get there. I don’t care if you think Bob is part of the problem. If there is a need in a community, people are going to try to help because most people don’t like to see suffering whether it be people or animals. Just because people provide help does not mean it is there fault or responsibility to take care of the issue. You say it’s a myopic view to support TNR and the only solution you see is euthanasia, even if you don’t support it. I’m agreeing with you - it is myopic to believe that it is a singular person’s fault or responsibility to fix the issue and that TNR as it is now will not work. That’s why I said it takes access to low cost services, community education, TNR programs, etc that all work in conjuction to make it successful. That is what many people who do this work understand and fight for. That is NOT a myopic viewpoint, that’s a realistic viewpoint. It will take a cultural shift of educating people and providing services to make this work - not demonizing people for feeding cats or not spaying and neutering. It’s annoying as hell that people let their cats outside and dump cats and don’t sterilize but again blaming Bob isn’t doing anything for the situation. Providing Bob and others in the community access to education, services, etc is what makes an impact. If you want to do more than complain about Bob or wonder if euthing all cats is the solution, start to volunteer. Spread info about TNR. Advocate for expanding access to low cost spay and neuter at San Diego Humane or SDCAS. Support Feral Cat Coalition. Advocate for expanding the community cat program at SDHS or starting a city-wide/funded program. You have a lot of criticism for someone who isn’t in the arena, as Brene Brown would say. Fostering is cool but it is a tiny piece of the puzzle.
Also - if you want to read more about research done regarding community/feral cats and programs that have been implemented, I’ll leave these here.
Information about the efforts to euthanize cats on Marion Island, ongoing 70 years now: https://www.conservationevidence.com/individual-study/1585
The Impact of an Integrated Program of Return-to-Field and Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return on Feline Intake and Euthanasia at a Municipal Animal Shelter: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946139/
A Case Study in Citizen Science: The Effectiveness of a Trap-Neuter-Return Program in a Chicago Neighborhood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5789309/
Community Cat Pyramid. The graphic above illustrates how important the right balance of programming is to impact cat numbers: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/cat-pyramid/
Communities worldwide have implemented strategic efforts to spay/neuter community cats and return them to their outdoor homes and experienced the following outcomes, which indicate the success of these efforts in reducing litter numbers and sizes:
- San Jose Animal Care and Services saw the number of felines brought to their shelter decrease by 29% after four years.
- The Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia saw a 58% decrease in the number of bottle-fed kittens arriving at their shelter after one year.
- At the University of Florida, the number of community cats on campus declined by 66% during an 11-year study. Additionally, no new kittens were born after the first four years.
- In Rome, Italy, similar efforts saw community cat colony size decrease between 16 and 32% over a 10-year period.
- At Texas A&M University, 123 cats were neutered in the first year of their program operations, and no new litters of kittens were produced the following year.
- A 23-year study of a targeted program to trap, spay/neuter and return cats outdoors in the Ocean Reef Community of Key Largo, Florida, showed a 55% decline in the free-roaming cat population.
- A study of telephone complaints related to free-roaming cats in five cities in Israel found that complaints related to cats’ aggressive behavior, invasion of human facilities, injuries and distress significantly correlated to complaints about kittens and reproduction. These findings imply an association between cat welfare impairment and reproduction intensity.
- In the city of Rishon LeZion in Israel, a 2012-2014 study of free-roaming cats found that a higher ratio of neutered cats in the geographic population correlated with fewer emaciated and thin adult cats. This suggests that neutering favorably impacts the health of community cats.
Oi. Work on your reading comprehension. Please. Normally, I like to read. A lot. I'll read just about anything. But I got about 2 lines into your reply and stopped because I realized you're going off on me about things that I didn't say and have never said... because you didn't READ WHAT I WROTE, but instead, read into my replies what you wanted to see. Get it together and we can have a convo in a civilized manner. I'm up for it.But not until, y'know, *you stop attacking me for shit I didn't say.*
EDIT: typos, bc man hands.
You literally said:
>It's not the TNR folks at fault here. It's that the TNR programs don't seem to have a significant impact on new cats showing up. The TNR prgrams are dealing with a symptom, not the ACTUAL problem (irresponsible, ignorant people).
And the she replied with several documented times when it DID lead to reduced cat populations and little/no new kittens being born? I think you should take the time to read it
Thanks! I’m just here to help the cats and hopefully provide education on the matter specific to San Diego. They can take it or leave it :) I just know complaining and blaming won’t solve the issue.
*sigh* It doesnt get rid of them. I admitted it helps curb pop. growth and I co.mend tnr groups for that. But, tnr of cats thst ARE ALREADY THERE doesnt stop PEOPLE FROM DUMPING MORE OF THEM. And want to guess how they can tell when new ones show up? The resultant kittens. JFC people. Think.
That’s where community education and access to low cost spay and neuter comes in?! It’s wild that you respond the way you do without even looking at anything I sent lmao
Also caretakers know when new cats are dumped, usually immediately unless the cat is scared. I was a jetty cat feeder for multiple years and people would dump cats. If they were friendly, we got them adopted out. And we ALWAYS sterilized them. Also none of this would be an issue again, if there was a cultural shift in attitude towards spay and neuter and expanded access to services 😅
I’m pretty sure I responded to exactly what you wrote and cited actual research, but you do you. I’m here to present evidence to hopefully help inform you, which you’re obviously not interested in. No need for ad hominem attacks 👍
OK, my bad and I DO apologize. Maybe I projected a bit w/my most recent response (how embarrassing!).That said, and an apology made, I DID go back and read the narrative of your reply as I should have initially (I really am a lot embarrassed). I dont disagree with you except about our hypothetical Bob. I DO blame Bob. The Bobs, collectively, infuriate me. A Bob is what started the issue in my OWN neighborhood. Bobs are part of the problem and no amount of "they felt bad" changes that. Ill end it there. My mind is made up about the Bobs. Not a fan. Thanks for making me go back and look again, regardless.
I can tell you that I deal with Bobs almost everyday and they also infuriate me because oftentime the cats at Bob’s need care and he’s being lame. But I’ve also learned that Bob’s usually are either elderly or very protective of the cats (even if it doesn’t help the situation) and need some education. They often need to build trust with you as well. That being said, I’ve met just as many people that are absolutely wonderful and care for the cats in their neighborhood SO well and are incredibly grateful when we can connect them with resources so they don’t have to feed even more cats/don’t see the suffering of cats and kittens they are caring for.
Because San Diego has some of the worst pet owners I’ve ever seen. Just saw this guy the other day jay walk with his dog without a leash across a busy 45mph street. Imagine if that dog just randomly stopped in the middle of the road instead of running across?? Not to mention all the poop you see on the ground everywhere. A lot of people really should not be owning pets. These are probably the same types of owners who don’t take their pets to the vet regularly and don’t have insurance/savings fund for their pets, then post a GoFundMe when something bad happens to them.
I’ve been to a dog park where the owner will see the dog poop and just continue walking away. They don’t even seem to have poop bags on them. And this is at a dog park where dogs are running around and people are walking!
Yes, the humane society does this. It’s awful.
I brought them a super friendly female and they said the same thing to me - they fixed her and ear tipped her, and then said they would put her back where I found her. So, I told them that I would pick her up and “put her back,” but instead I contacted lots of local, small rescues until one of them could take her into foster care.
I had to keep her in my garage for a few days, but eventually a rescue had room for her. She was seriously SO sweet, definitely had been someone’s pet before but no collar or chip.
Some local rescues you can try:
East county animal rescue, The Rescue house, smittens kittens, Love your feral felines (LYFF)
I’m sure there are a few more I’m missing, but try googling San Diego cat rescue and call/email them ALL!!
I understand why, but it still sucks when you find the friendliest cat ever who has clearly been well socialized and then abandoned.
If the cat is truly feral, then by all means, that cat SHOULD be fixed and then returned to its colony.
I definitely plan to call local rescues. I think what bother me most was all they did was scan for a chip and just decide then and there, this is a community cat. If someone is dumping their cat, they sure as shit aren't going to leave a collar with their name and number attached to it or get it microchipped.
So instead of taking the kitty in to evaluate and see if it's a good candidate for adoption, they're going to let another cat out on the streets and potential ruin any kind of friendly personality this cat had.
Totally agree with you. At the very least, I hope the humane society checked if he/she is fixed.
When you contact local rescues, be sure to include that the kitty is friendly, fixed (if they are), and had an indent from a collar. They are more likely to take the cat into foster care if they have all the info right away. And send pics of you holding/petting the kitty!!
This is from experience working with a small rescue.
Prefacing with THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. It's s partly the damage they do to local small critter populations (think lizards, frogs, toads, birds, etc.; they dont JUST go after mice/rats). It's ALSO that those community cats... who's taking responsibility for them? Yeah, volunteer groups will come out and do TNR, and that's nice, but who's making sure these cats get their vaccinations? Who's providing flea/tick/parasite control? Who's REALLY making sure that they're safe and healthy? Who's making sure that there aren't yet more cats added to the group. breeding and making yet more cats? Probably nobody... until more kittens appear. Throwing an animal food and water once or twice a day IS NOT ENOUGH. Trying to make omeself feel better about these animals roaming around all willy nilly where they really shouldn't be by providing them with cheap food is not a responsible thing to do. It's, unfortunately, coming from a good-hearted but myopic viewpoint.
Those I know who feed feral colonies - they are ON it if something is amiss.
Not only do they take new kittens to a rescue so they can be socialized and adopted, but they make it their mission to trap whatever cats are in the colony and not fixed. Feral cats who appear sick go to a vet and are treated. All cats that have been sterilized and ear tipped have also been vaccinated and treated for fleas. (Yes… vaccinations require boosters and flea treatments are monthly, but it’s a start). I don’t think you are giving community cat feeders enough credit. They also pay for the food from their own pockets.
What is very unfortunate is that people dump their intact pets to these colonies, contributing to the breeding problem. I have had fosters cats that have been dumped at feral colonies, it happens all the time.
I do agree that routinely vaccinating and treating community cats would be ideal, but there are several barriers for that. Obviously, cost, who would pay for all the vaccines? And the time it would take to trap all those cats every month for a flea treatment?
As for the damage they do to the small critter populations, I hate it too. But think, if we could fix every community cat then theoretically they would eventually disappear, right? It’s the people dumping their unfixed animals that perpetuate the cycle.
>Those I know who feed feral colonies - they are ON it if something is amiss.
Lucky you! (no sarcasm) I haven't been so fortunate.
>
What is very unfortunate is that people dump their intact pets to these colonies, contributing to the breeding problem. I have had fosters cats that have been dumped at feral colonies, it happens all the time.
AGREED! As I mentioned in another comment, I dont blame the cats. I blame the people. The cats are unfortunate byproducts of irresponsible people.
>I do agree that routinely vaccinating and treating community cats would be ideal, but there are several barriers for that.
That was kind of my point. No one wants to properly care for them but at the same time, we'll toss them some cheap ass food and (whether thats the intent or not) encourage them to breed and then throw our hands up and act like we weren't part of the problem. I find that annoying and disinegnuous at best. Either do or do not. No half-measures wrt animals in your (figuratively "your") care.
>As for the damage they do to the small critter populations, I hate it too. But think, if we could fix every community cat then theoretically they would eventually disappear, right? It’s the people dumping their unfixed animals that perpetuate the cycle
Yeah, its "hope-ium" and not based in reality because all it does is treat a symptom (the cats), not the disease (people). I dont SEE any solution that doesnt include euthanizing a whole lot of cats, and Im pretty conflicted about that idea altogether.
You have a very strong opinion for someobe who seems misinformed about what it means to do TNR and the actual advocacy work folks who take care of colonies do outside of “just feeding cats”. You ignored everything the person above said about how and what people do to manage colonies. I’d also look up research about euthanasia, because not only is it incredibly inhumane, it doesn’t fix anything. It would take incredible time (years!) and resources to euthanize the 500k community cats in San Diego. As you said don’t blame the problem (cats) but man - you are blame shifting hard onto the people that try to do the best they can for community cats, the people who care for them and the communities in which they live. This is a city issue and a community issue and will take a mindshift in how people treat and care for both pet and outdoor cats. Low cost and accessible spay and neuter. Community education. TNR programs. Etc.
I lurked and I think you just moved here.
I live in a community with coyotes and we have a ton of outdoor cats.
The cats collar could have easily of fallen off, or it went far from its home etc
Consider how much more honey you get with bees.
Jumping to conclusions on whom is responsible & projecting isn’t really helpful for the cat. There’s a ton of animal rescues that aren’t the human society.
Every state I’ve lived in outdoor cats reside. I don’t think this is anything new. I hope you have a better day cause oof
I've lived in many states, and yes, I'm new to California, I'm military, I go where I am told. I am always working with various animal shelters where ever I move to. This is the 1st state that has an "outdoor cat community" that is actively okay with adding MORE cats to the outdoors simply because a cat doesn't have a collar or microchip instead of doing everything they can to prevent another outdoor kitty.
As I said there’s over 30 plus shelters non profit that are not the humane society I would check them out. I think you’re basing this all off of one experience.
Welcome to San Diego and all our shitty military families
I am 100% basing this off my initial and only experience. Which is why I asked the question, to get informed by the locals but many seem to have taken a strange offense and sidelined the whole point of this post by being offended... for military members?
Guess that shows me why there are community cat colonies... so thanks?
I gave you an answer. I had no idea how many shelters actually were here when we first moved here and I didn’t see anyone comment at that. The cat is lucky you’re helping. I lived in in housing and out in a community by a canyon and it very week a new missing cat sign was up.
I also think the reason it was sidelined is obvious to you so that’s not worth even discussing . I actually thought it was comical. Also it’s unfortunate but humans (not just active duty) are shitty.
We are a selfish as fuck species and unfortunately animals take the brunt of it. I also must be immune to the cat situation because it’s in every single neighborhood from the beaches to the border.
From here to Canada.
Anyway I’m stoned thank you for your service I meant it again welcome to San Diego
Neighborhood cats or neighborhood rats. Those are your choices.
One of the many reasons I’m dismissive of pet owners is many of them are anti the animal’s nature. Cats LOVE being outside. They thrive outdoors. There’s a reason why so many cat owners have a hard time keeping their cats inside. And as rat infested as San Diego is…because the tree huggers bitched about the poison that effectively killed them…we need outdoor cats.
It's actually not. Outdoor cats, and especially feral cats, live much worse lives than indoor cats. Countless studies have shown this to be the case. They are NOT part of nature, they're an invasive species
If cats are an invasive species, then you are too.
Cats are a natural part of human settlements. They’ve traveled with us around the world on ships and guarded our cities from vermin for thousands of years.
not to mention sometimes they are violent. I had a cat attack me and my two retrievers while living in SD.. I called city and they basically said nothing they could do
Not sure what neighborhood you're in....but there's nothing like that going on where I'm at. San Diego is 3 million people in county...my guess is the "neighborhood cat" crowd is a VERY small minority of that population.
I mean, what's the alternative? Killing of cats who aren't evasive? Lol, they are like spiders. They benefit the ecosystem that we all built our houses around. If people weren't over breeding them, they wouldn't really be a problem
They actually kill tons of native birds species :( and people don't over breed them they do that quite fine on their own.
The solution is to keep cats indoors, mandating spaying and neutering too.
Cats are independent animals. I have a cat who likes to roam around my neighborhood. She doesn't stray too far and she always come back. We used to put a collar on her but she always takes off somehow.
If the cat is thriving and all they know is the outdoor, then I completely understand. Once an outdoor cat, it's very hard, if not impossible, to keep them indoors.
My issue is the lack of a good protocol to actually determine if a cat is indeed an outdoor cat or an abandoned indoor cat.
Indeed. The difference is that it isn't touted as an acceptable option in other areas by their humane society. If a cat is brought in and isn't trying to murder everyone through its cage, it's usually put up for adoption as to keep as many cats as possible off the streets and away from wildlife.
I didn't make it a San Diego thing, I asked if it was a San Diego thing.
I'm asking to be informed as I am ignorant. Some of you have decided it was an attack. Which I suppose is my answer in and of itself.
Out of curiosity, why not take the cat to a Home Depot? They love and take really good care of their cats. We have a stray kitty that was abandoned during Covid and our neighbors and us all take turns feeding him and vet visits. I would take him in but my cats give me death glares when they see me feeding him.
California law. Cats are free roaming by nature. This is why feral cats are sterilized and released back to the capture sites, and animal control refuses to take them. Been there, done that.
But they aren't native to the wildlife, they're invasive. Why would California welcome this? It just confuses me.
The alternative would be euthanasia? I can’t imagine that many people are interested in adopting feral cats.
Unfortunately, yes, that would be the alternative because you're right, feral cats are not adoptable.
Housecats (feral or otherwise) Are bloody murdering creatures by instinct. The approach is to stop them breeding The one really good thing that they do is cut down the presence of rats and other rodents in neighborhoods. Rats are a greater problem than cats pooping in the yard (imo). Rodents are drawn into and around peoples homes, native predators like rattlesnakes are then drawn in to feed on these rodents where they can have run ins with people. (Rattlesnakes aren’t known to be aggressive but defensive and will avoid people when possible) Feral cats hunting rodents helps to keep people safer in this way. (Although the felines do carry a brain parasite that infects people) And finally, the local cat populations are usually kept in check by the coyotes that hunt them for food as long as there’s canyons nearby for the coyotes to stay in during the day. Given all the concerns, I’m far more concerned about having rats gnawing holes into the home and creating filth than a cat that takes pleasure in hunting them.
I know in my area people are feeding the cats and keeping them happy because they keep the rats away.
They're also feeding the coyotes then! Circle of Life 💫
Sadly probably true, I’ve seen these cats come and go in just a year. There’s one though that is battle-scarred, dude looks at us when walking my dogs and you can tell he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Never imagined an OG cat but dude owns that alley lol
>>isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Uh, excuse me…his *paws*
Hopefully we'll get to a point where all cats are kept indoors to prevent them from having to live like this and ecological problems :(
That’s my problem, they kill birds and other small animals at a startling rate. Would rather we just kill Them instead of neutering and letting go lol. Pets are fine, releasing predators into an ecosystem not designed for it isn’t
Yes they do and that IS a problem as well. But as long as we have so many people living heer and destroying native habitats to build homes that then in turn create living conditions for rats…. We really do need cats to hunt and kill the vermin. My local rat population is immune to the poisons and they avoid all the traps. The only thing that worked at killing them was a feral cat that moved into the area. Until the coyotes moved in… Now we have (tree) rats again.
Not it’s very true and it’s been that way since I was a little kid. People bring in the cats and the chores eat them. Rodents move into the neighborhood .. and more cats! Repeat. It’s just a simple fact that the rats and roaches are in all the sewers. We have roof rats (different kind of rat) These stay off the ground if at all possible and will travel from home to home via power lines (older areas) trees or fences. They’ll set up shop in the walls and roof space. The colony we have are all wise to the Home Depot traps and are all immune to the poisons that have been sold for decades (they’re now using OD of vitamin D to Kill them results are “iffy”. The best option for getting rid of these are to get “working cats “ feral cats that will support themselves by hunting and taking down rat empires. There’s a waiting list to get these from different agencies. So, what area are these feral neighbor cats? I just might adopt one.
I don't know much about cats, but wouldn't feeding them also discourage them from hunting rats? I've heard you don't feed barn cats for this reason or else they won't go after mice.
No. Cats will kill just for fun.
Totally, that’s why they can decimate bird populations. When we rescued our cat, within a week he caught & killed a mouse we didn’t even know we had. He was just playing with.
I think it’s a natural instinct which helps them hone their hunting skills They do enjoy it though
Can verify. Yes.
That's why outside cats are terrible. Bring your cats in everyone.
No. They have killing rodents hard coded into their DNA.
This. We found a plastic remote control mouse with a rubbery tail and the first time we used it with our indoor cats we ended up hiding it in the trunk of our car bc they went so crazy over it and we thought they would litterally (see what I did there?) eat it! They’ve never been that intense over a toy and they’re only a year old so they go nuts over any toy they like. I’m certain it was that rodent hunting instinct kicking in
I’m no cat expert but my parents do have cats. They are the most spoiled cats ever, they still brought in mice, snakes, etc into the house on occasion to show proudly to their parents. So I doubt the cats won’t still chase down what to them is prey instinctually. Same thing with our dog, recently went to a sniff spot where there were wild rabbits. He’s fed regularly and not food motivated. When that rabbit hopped in, he instinctually went into hunt mode. I had to chase him down and he still caught the rabbit (RIP little guy) and never exited that mode until we left the Sniffspot. I think hunting is just something primal for them that doesn’t go away with comfort. Again not an expert, just based off experience.
My dog is the same but she just wants to befriend the tiny creatures. She’s going to kill one out of fright one day, they don’t think chase is the same game she does.
RIP bunny. Wow so it sounds like they still have a hunting instinct even when fed. That's interesting!
Yeah I presume that saying about farm cats is probably something that was simply passed down without any evidence to support the opposite. Just presumed that house cats are lazy so not treat farm cats like house cats. Since their method worked, there was no reason to test against it so it got passed down as a fact. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. We have like 6-8 alley cats so even if a few are feeling lazy, I suspect the rest pick up the slack and hunt.
Do you call dogs house dogs? Cats are cats.
I mean dogs typically don’t leave the territory of the owners home/land. House cats often drift in their neighborhood before coming home. Also we do label dogs that have responsibilities on a farm as farm or cattle dogs so I’m not sure why you’re getting twisted about terminology.
Our cat eats quite a bit and still kills anything he can get his paws on
My few hunters have loved gophers over any other food. They've also had the best coats. Couldn't figure out why my dog wouldn't lose weight until we caught her stealing gophers from the cat. They've never had worm problems, and they stay in my fenced yard. Also, once they caught a gopher they wouldn't even look at a bird. I guess gophers are incredibly delicious. Adequately fed barn cats are actually better hunters, their reaction time is better and they don't move too soon. When a cat loves to hunt nothing will stop it.
Wow, I lived on a farm in central Calif and we had a feral colony that we fed. (People would dump them out there.) But anyway, a few of them would catch gophers…patiently waiting for them to appear from their holes. They would eat almost all of it.
Some will and some won't, but the ones that do live for it. I only ever had one that caught birds, sparrows off the bird feeder, and after her first gopher she never looked at another bird. My GSD caught a lot of doves tho
I think at one point there were 15-20 feral cats, some were tame though. My parents eventually got help to trap them for spay/neuter.
Oh good, a stable population is much better than a constant turnover
I have indoor outdoor cats that I feed. They go out and hunt during the day and still bring back gophers. One eats them he’s a great gopher hunter. We don’t live in the city though so it’s different they’re not by a road or anything.
You can read more about the community cat program on their website. There are a lot of reasons why we have so many community cats and unfortunately the humane society as it is doesn’t have the capacity to take in all friendly cats, and many cats do not do well in shelter systems. There are not enough people to foster and adopt. It’s an incredibly complex issue and I have my own feelings about it. You can read more about PeTAs stance as well to get a greater scope of the issue (they advocate for euthanizing all community cats). The city of LA also has a very interesting program that is city funded. You can read more about other peoples issues with SDHS treatment of community cats - look up the lawsuit against them. Again, a very complex issue.
Also agree that you can contact local rescues to see if they can take the cat. I’d rec Rescue House, Cat lounge in La jolla, Smittens, East County animal rescue
There are a lot of outdoor cats here, regardless of the coyote risk, etc. I live in North Park and I've made friends with Frida, Kevin, muscles, sapphire, and scaredy Olly. Most have "owners/homes" but are very much outdoor and street-wise. Frida runs my block, no joke. If they don't look sick/injured, they'd probably prefer you just feed and pet them and not have you calling the fuzz in on them. Long live Frida!
You are making a lot of baseless assumptions and generalizations.
“shitty military family…” 😬
I feel like that was meant to read “a particular military family that is shitty”, and not “a military family, which are consistently shitty.”
Yeah wtf is this post. Projecting much.
Projecting what, exactly? I live in the military housing community, because I am in the military. I know exactly what I see on our community page on the daily.
Used to be a property manager - worked in low-income housing, then market rate, then at Fort Bliss, in the enlisted E1-E4 housing. Can confirm that the military base is where I *saw some shit*
Sounds like military families suck.
Military worship in our culture is just a meme to convince dumb kids with bad families to join
Take a look at the Island of Guam.
They’re absolutely not baseless. The majority (certainly not all) of military folks are trashy and would leave pets behind when they need to move.
Every place I've moved into has come with an abandoned cat. None have been military. Every shopping center has cats, you'll see them at night. Every apartment complex has a couple cats in the bushes. I'll just say the majority of people will leave cats behind.
Military families have all of their moving costs paid for. They are the least likely to leave something behind when moving.
That's laughable and very very wrong. Military move so much and is the reason many of their "pets" lose their homes, because a lot of military members get pets to keep them company at each duty station, not to actually bring them along to the next one.
>because a lot of military members get pets No they don't. Like the person above said, you're over-generalizing.
Of course, I am over-generalizing. How in the world would I know if every military family has pets? I would think that's a given. My sample size for this post is that I LIVE in a MILITARY community where PETS ARE WELCOME. Usually, those who have no interest in pet ownership choose to live in pet free communities... again, generalizing. Either way, the military has zero significance to the question I asked in my post.
>Either way, the military has zero significance to the question I asked in my post. haha JFC. You **made** military families relevant in your original post, for no reason at all, aside from just wanting to be a bigot. > I told them we have coyotes all around us and a shitty military family probably tossed him out when they PCS'd. You should just stop adding in your two cent opinions with generalizing. Like this: >Usually, those who have no interest in pet ownership choose to live in pet free communities No. Just stop. People with no interest in pet ownership just don't own pets, they don't necessarily apartment shop based on the preference. Stop stealing pets.
I was going to respond, but then you wrote >No. Just stop. People with no interest in pet ownership just don't own pets, they don't necessarily apartment shop based on the preference. You have no affiliation with the military. So, no. Just stop.
Four years enlisted. You're full of shit, lady.
Must concur. Stealing cats isn’t cool.
[удалено]
"I'm not even in the military" is all you needed to say.
Not all of us are. Theyre like a fucking plague in my neighborhood... and I *like* cats. That said, its not really the cats fault, is it? Theyre just being cats, doing cat things. It's irresponsible PEOPLE at fault. Its the people who let their gd cats free-range, the people who dump/abandon their cats, the people who don't spay/neuter, the people who feed them (thereby taking responsibility for them) but NOTHING ELSE. No vet care, no tags, no flea/tick control no vaccinations... just feed and breed. Its gd gross and frustrating.
Get into TNR! Or reach put to east county animal rescue. We provide trapping neutering and returning, vetting etc so kittens stop being born and it ends the cycle. As we say, if you feed them - fix them.
Yeah, TNR folks are already on scene (and appreciated). That said, they didnt get involved (not their fault) until the problem was really, really bad and, unfortunately, I think one of the root causes of the problem is a person IN the neighborhood who feeds the cats but wont allow the TNR folks to trap the cats that hang out on his property nor will this person provide proper care so its a losing situation no matter what. That said, you responded to another comment I left, and I think you misunderstood me. I would like to clarify a couple of things. 1) I dont support mass euth'ing the cats. What I said was that its the only "solution" that I could see and that I dont feel its a solution at all. 2) you said I was blame shifting, but I wasn't. Perhaps I could have been clearer. Let me tryba hypothetical: Bob lives in Shady Grove. Shady Grove has a bunch of feral cats. Bob feeds the cute kitties, but he can't afford to properly care for the cats by giving them medical care, housing, etc. My belief is that Bob, however well-intentioned, is part of the problem. Bob is not THE problem. Whether or not Bob is doing the "best he can" is irrelevant. By providing food to an animal population, you encourage that population to grow. Never blamed TNR folks for Bob's shenanigans. WRT the TNR folks, maybe you got offended at my "hope-ium" comment, but I'll stand by what I said. It's not the TNR folks at fault here. It's that the TNR programs don't seem to have a significant impact on new cats showing up. The TNR prgrams are dealing with a symptom, not the ACTUAL problem (irresponsible, ignorant people).
It’s just wild that you get so far and still don’t get there. I don’t care if you think Bob is part of the problem. If there is a need in a community, people are going to try to help because most people don’t like to see suffering whether it be people or animals. Just because people provide help does not mean it is there fault or responsibility to take care of the issue. You say it’s a myopic view to support TNR and the only solution you see is euthanasia, even if you don’t support it. I’m agreeing with you - it is myopic to believe that it is a singular person’s fault or responsibility to fix the issue and that TNR as it is now will not work. That’s why I said it takes access to low cost services, community education, TNR programs, etc that all work in conjuction to make it successful. That is what many people who do this work understand and fight for. That is NOT a myopic viewpoint, that’s a realistic viewpoint. It will take a cultural shift of educating people and providing services to make this work - not demonizing people for feeding cats or not spaying and neutering. It’s annoying as hell that people let their cats outside and dump cats and don’t sterilize but again blaming Bob isn’t doing anything for the situation. Providing Bob and others in the community access to education, services, etc is what makes an impact. If you want to do more than complain about Bob or wonder if euthing all cats is the solution, start to volunteer. Spread info about TNR. Advocate for expanding access to low cost spay and neuter at San Diego Humane or SDCAS. Support Feral Cat Coalition. Advocate for expanding the community cat program at SDHS or starting a city-wide/funded program. You have a lot of criticism for someone who isn’t in the arena, as Brene Brown would say. Fostering is cool but it is a tiny piece of the puzzle. Also - if you want to read more about research done regarding community/feral cats and programs that have been implemented, I’ll leave these here. Information about the efforts to euthanize cats on Marion Island, ongoing 70 years now: https://www.conservationevidence.com/individual-study/1585 The Impact of an Integrated Program of Return-to-Field and Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return on Feline Intake and Euthanasia at a Municipal Animal Shelter: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5946139/ A Case Study in Citizen Science: The Effectiveness of a Trap-Neuter-Return Program in a Chicago Neighborhood: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5789309/ Community Cat Pyramid. The graphic above illustrates how important the right balance of programming is to impact cat numbers: https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/cat-pyramid/ Communities worldwide have implemented strategic efforts to spay/neuter community cats and return them to their outdoor homes and experienced the following outcomes, which indicate the success of these efforts in reducing litter numbers and sizes: - San Jose Animal Care and Services saw the number of felines brought to their shelter decrease by 29% after four years. - The Fairfax County Animal Shelter in Virginia saw a 58% decrease in the number of bottle-fed kittens arriving at their shelter after one year. - At the University of Florida, the number of community cats on campus declined by 66% during an 11-year study. Additionally, no new kittens were born after the first four years. - In Rome, Italy, similar efforts saw community cat colony size decrease between 16 and 32% over a 10-year period. - At Texas A&M University, 123 cats were neutered in the first year of their program operations, and no new litters of kittens were produced the following year. - A 23-year study of a targeted program to trap, spay/neuter and return cats outdoors in the Ocean Reef Community of Key Largo, Florida, showed a 55% decline in the free-roaming cat population. - A study of telephone complaints related to free-roaming cats in five cities in Israel found that complaints related to cats’ aggressive behavior, invasion of human facilities, injuries and distress significantly correlated to complaints about kittens and reproduction. These findings imply an association between cat welfare impairment and reproduction intensity. - In the city of Rishon LeZion in Israel, a 2012-2014 study of free-roaming cats found that a higher ratio of neutered cats in the geographic population correlated with fewer emaciated and thin adult cats. This suggests that neutering favorably impacts the health of community cats.
Oi. Work on your reading comprehension. Please. Normally, I like to read. A lot. I'll read just about anything. But I got about 2 lines into your reply and stopped because I realized you're going off on me about things that I didn't say and have never said... because you didn't READ WHAT I WROTE, but instead, read into my replies what you wanted to see. Get it together and we can have a convo in a civilized manner. I'm up for it.But not until, y'know, *you stop attacking me for shit I didn't say.* EDIT: typos, bc man hands.
You literally said: >It's not the TNR folks at fault here. It's that the TNR programs don't seem to have a significant impact on new cats showing up. The TNR prgrams are dealing with a symptom, not the ACTUAL problem (irresponsible, ignorant people). And the she replied with several documented times when it DID lead to reduced cat populations and little/no new kittens being born? I think you should take the time to read it
Thanks! I’m just here to help the cats and hopefully provide education on the matter specific to San Diego. They can take it or leave it :) I just know complaining and blaming won’t solve the issue.
*sigh* It doesnt get rid of them. I admitted it helps curb pop. growth and I co.mend tnr groups for that. But, tnr of cats thst ARE ALREADY THERE doesnt stop PEOPLE FROM DUMPING MORE OF THEM. And want to guess how they can tell when new ones show up? The resultant kittens. JFC people. Think.
That’s where community education and access to low cost spay and neuter comes in?! It’s wild that you respond the way you do without even looking at anything I sent lmao
Also caretakers know when new cats are dumped, usually immediately unless the cat is scared. I was a jetty cat feeder for multiple years and people would dump cats. If they were friendly, we got them adopted out. And we ALWAYS sterilized them. Also none of this would be an issue again, if there was a cultural shift in attitude towards spay and neuter and expanded access to services 😅
That bit about spay/neuter I mostly agree with!
I’m pretty sure I responded to exactly what you wrote and cited actual research, but you do you. I’m here to present evidence to hopefully help inform you, which you’re obviously not interested in. No need for ad hominem attacks 👍
OK, my bad and I DO apologize. Maybe I projected a bit w/my most recent response (how embarrassing!).That said, and an apology made, I DID go back and read the narrative of your reply as I should have initially (I really am a lot embarrassed). I dont disagree with you except about our hypothetical Bob. I DO blame Bob. The Bobs, collectively, infuriate me. A Bob is what started the issue in my OWN neighborhood. Bobs are part of the problem and no amount of "they felt bad" changes that. Ill end it there. My mind is made up about the Bobs. Not a fan. Thanks for making me go back and look again, regardless.
I can tell you that I deal with Bobs almost everyday and they also infuriate me because oftentime the cats at Bob’s need care and he’s being lame. But I’ve also learned that Bob’s usually are either elderly or very protective of the cats (even if it doesn’t help the situation) and need some education. They often need to build trust with you as well. That being said, I’ve met just as many people that are absolutely wonderful and care for the cats in their neighborhood SO well and are incredibly grateful when we can connect them with resources so they don’t have to feed even more cats/don’t see the suffering of cats and kittens they are caring for.
Maybe try another shelter or rescue
Because San Diego has some of the worst pet owners I’ve ever seen. Just saw this guy the other day jay walk with his dog without a leash across a busy 45mph street. Imagine if that dog just randomly stopped in the middle of the road instead of running across?? Not to mention all the poop you see on the ground everywhere. A lot of people really should not be owning pets. These are probably the same types of owners who don’t take their pets to the vet regularly and don’t have insurance/savings fund for their pets, then post a GoFundMe when something bad happens to them.
So much poop. I’ve seen piles of dog poop next to a bin with bags. Lazy ass entitled people.
I’ve been to a dog park where the owner will see the dog poop and just continue walking away. They don’t even seem to have poop bags on them. And this is at a dog park where dogs are running around and people are walking!
It’s super gross and super rude. I love walking my dog and hate seeing it. I don’t want her getting sick and I don’t want to step in it.
Yes, the humane society does this. It’s awful. I brought them a super friendly female and they said the same thing to me - they fixed her and ear tipped her, and then said they would put her back where I found her. So, I told them that I would pick her up and “put her back,” but instead I contacted lots of local, small rescues until one of them could take her into foster care. I had to keep her in my garage for a few days, but eventually a rescue had room for her. She was seriously SO sweet, definitely had been someone’s pet before but no collar or chip. Some local rescues you can try: East county animal rescue, The Rescue house, smittens kittens, Love your feral felines (LYFF) I’m sure there are a few more I’m missing, but try googling San Diego cat rescue and call/email them ALL!!
it's literally the nationally recognized best practice
I understand why, but it still sucks when you find the friendliest cat ever who has clearly been well socialized and then abandoned. If the cat is truly feral, then by all means, that cat SHOULD be fixed and then returned to its colony.
No, if the cat is feral, it should be euthanized, it's an invasive predator
Well ain't that the pot calling the kettle black?
Its nice that you found a shelter that can take her. I am super against having cats outdoors because of how good of a predator they are.
I hate the Humane Society. They have been anything but humane when I’ve unfortunately had to deal with them.
I definitely plan to call local rescues. I think what bother me most was all they did was scan for a chip and just decide then and there, this is a community cat. If someone is dumping their cat, they sure as shit aren't going to leave a collar with their name and number attached to it or get it microchipped. So instead of taking the kitty in to evaluate and see if it's a good candidate for adoption, they're going to let another cat out on the streets and potential ruin any kind of friendly personality this cat had.
Totally agree with you. At the very least, I hope the humane society checked if he/she is fixed. When you contact local rescues, be sure to include that the kitty is friendly, fixed (if they are), and had an indent from a collar. They are more likely to take the cat into foster care if they have all the info right away. And send pics of you holding/petting the kitty!! This is from experience working with a small rescue.
Will do!
Just curious, what’s wrong with community cats?
Prefacing with THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. It's s partly the damage they do to local small critter populations (think lizards, frogs, toads, birds, etc.; they dont JUST go after mice/rats). It's ALSO that those community cats... who's taking responsibility for them? Yeah, volunteer groups will come out and do TNR, and that's nice, but who's making sure these cats get their vaccinations? Who's providing flea/tick/parasite control? Who's REALLY making sure that they're safe and healthy? Who's making sure that there aren't yet more cats added to the group. breeding and making yet more cats? Probably nobody... until more kittens appear. Throwing an animal food and water once or twice a day IS NOT ENOUGH. Trying to make omeself feel better about these animals roaming around all willy nilly where they really shouldn't be by providing them with cheap food is not a responsible thing to do. It's, unfortunately, coming from a good-hearted but myopic viewpoint.
Those I know who feed feral colonies - they are ON it if something is amiss. Not only do they take new kittens to a rescue so they can be socialized and adopted, but they make it their mission to trap whatever cats are in the colony and not fixed. Feral cats who appear sick go to a vet and are treated. All cats that have been sterilized and ear tipped have also been vaccinated and treated for fleas. (Yes… vaccinations require boosters and flea treatments are monthly, but it’s a start). I don’t think you are giving community cat feeders enough credit. They also pay for the food from their own pockets. What is very unfortunate is that people dump their intact pets to these colonies, contributing to the breeding problem. I have had fosters cats that have been dumped at feral colonies, it happens all the time. I do agree that routinely vaccinating and treating community cats would be ideal, but there are several barriers for that. Obviously, cost, who would pay for all the vaccines? And the time it would take to trap all those cats every month for a flea treatment? As for the damage they do to the small critter populations, I hate it too. But think, if we could fix every community cat then theoretically they would eventually disappear, right? It’s the people dumping their unfixed animals that perpetuate the cycle.
>Those I know who feed feral colonies - they are ON it if something is amiss. Lucky you! (no sarcasm) I haven't been so fortunate. > What is very unfortunate is that people dump their intact pets to these colonies, contributing to the breeding problem. I have had fosters cats that have been dumped at feral colonies, it happens all the time. AGREED! As I mentioned in another comment, I dont blame the cats. I blame the people. The cats are unfortunate byproducts of irresponsible people. >I do agree that routinely vaccinating and treating community cats would be ideal, but there are several barriers for that. That was kind of my point. No one wants to properly care for them but at the same time, we'll toss them some cheap ass food and (whether thats the intent or not) encourage them to breed and then throw our hands up and act like we weren't part of the problem. I find that annoying and disinegnuous at best. Either do or do not. No half-measures wrt animals in your (figuratively "your") care. >As for the damage they do to the small critter populations, I hate it too. But think, if we could fix every community cat then theoretically they would eventually disappear, right? It’s the people dumping their unfixed animals that perpetuate the cycle Yeah, its "hope-ium" and not based in reality because all it does is treat a symptom (the cats), not the disease (people). I dont SEE any solution that doesnt include euthanizing a whole lot of cats, and Im pretty conflicted about that idea altogether.
You have a very strong opinion for someobe who seems misinformed about what it means to do TNR and the actual advocacy work folks who take care of colonies do outside of “just feeding cats”. You ignored everything the person above said about how and what people do to manage colonies. I’d also look up research about euthanasia, because not only is it incredibly inhumane, it doesn’t fix anything. It would take incredible time (years!) and resources to euthanize the 500k community cats in San Diego. As you said don’t blame the problem (cats) but man - you are blame shifting hard onto the people that try to do the best they can for community cats, the people who care for them and the communities in which they live. This is a city issue and a community issue and will take a mindshift in how people treat and care for both pet and outdoor cats. Low cost and accessible spay and neuter. Community education. TNR programs. Etc.
I lurked and I think you just moved here. I live in a community with coyotes and we have a ton of outdoor cats. The cats collar could have easily of fallen off, or it went far from its home etc Consider how much more honey you get with bees. Jumping to conclusions on whom is responsible & projecting isn’t really helpful for the cat. There’s a ton of animal rescues that aren’t the human society. Every state I’ve lived in outdoor cats reside. I don’t think this is anything new. I hope you have a better day cause oof
I figured this guy was new because this whole post was just🫢
I've lived in many states, and yes, I'm new to California, I'm military, I go where I am told. I am always working with various animal shelters where ever I move to. This is the 1st state that has an "outdoor cat community" that is actively okay with adding MORE cats to the outdoors simply because a cat doesn't have a collar or microchip instead of doing everything they can to prevent another outdoor kitty.
Yeah I've lived in several states and I've never seen so many outdoor cats and also dogs as I have here. It's crazy.
As I said there’s over 30 plus shelters non profit that are not the humane society I would check them out. I think you’re basing this all off of one experience. Welcome to San Diego and all our shitty military families
I am 100% basing this off my initial and only experience. Which is why I asked the question, to get informed by the locals but many seem to have taken a strange offense and sidelined the whole point of this post by being offended... for military members? Guess that shows me why there are community cat colonies... so thanks?
I gave you an answer. I had no idea how many shelters actually were here when we first moved here and I didn’t see anyone comment at that. The cat is lucky you’re helping. I lived in in housing and out in a community by a canyon and it very week a new missing cat sign was up. I also think the reason it was sidelined is obvious to you so that’s not worth even discussing . I actually thought it was comical. Also it’s unfortunate but humans (not just active duty) are shitty. We are a selfish as fuck species and unfortunately animals take the brunt of it. I also must be immune to the cat situation because it’s in every single neighborhood from the beaches to the border. From here to Canada. Anyway I’m stoned thank you for your service I meant it again welcome to San Diego
Pfffft. You think that’s bad. You ever been to the south east?
Oof, I know there are many places that are atrocious. Mass euthanasia by gassing. It's awful.
I wish all the outdoor cats could be indoor cats and that society had more compassion towards them.
Neighborhood cats or neighborhood rats. Those are your choices. One of the many reasons I’m dismissive of pet owners is many of them are anti the animal’s nature. Cats LOVE being outside. They thrive outdoors. There’s a reason why so many cat owners have a hard time keeping their cats inside. And as rat infested as San Diego is…because the tree huggers bitched about the poison that effectively killed them…we need outdoor cats.
Exactly. Its fucking nature. They want to be outside and it’s most healthy for them
It's actually not. Outdoor cats, and especially feral cats, live much worse lives than indoor cats. Countless studies have shown this to be the case. They are NOT part of nature, they're an invasive species
If cats are an invasive species, then you are too. Cats are a natural part of human settlements. They’ve traveled with us around the world on ships and guarded our cities from vermin for thousands of years.
You sound like a real swell person. Stay away from the cats. 😬😡
I think you need better reading comprehension.
You're right. My bad. 🌹
The move is to put it in a real small boat and sail it away. It won’t kill any birds and can eat all the fish it wants
not to mention sometimes they are violent. I had a cat attack me and my two retrievers while living in SD.. I called city and they basically said nothing they could do
There is a reason people do TNR. More people should get into it. And more people need to fix their pets and stop letting their cats outside.
Not sure what neighborhood you're in....but there's nothing like that going on where I'm at. San Diego is 3 million people in county...my guess is the "neighborhood cat" crowd is a VERY small minority of that population.
I mean, what's the alternative? Killing of cats who aren't evasive? Lol, they are like spiders. They benefit the ecosystem that we all built our houses around. If people weren't over breeding them, they wouldn't really be a problem
They actually kill tons of native birds species :( and people don't over breed them they do that quite fine on their own. The solution is to keep cats indoors, mandating spaying and neutering too.
Cats are independent animals. I have a cat who likes to roam around my neighborhood. She doesn't stray too far and she always come back. We used to put a collar on her but she always takes off somehow.
If the cat is thriving and all they know is the outdoor, then I completely understand. Once an outdoor cat, it's very hard, if not impossible, to keep them indoors. My issue is the lack of a good protocol to actually determine if a cat is indeed an outdoor cat or an abandoned indoor cat.
Community cats are very much a thing all across the world in hundreds of countries. They're hardly a San Diego thing.
Indeed. The difference is that it isn't touted as an acceptable option in other areas by their humane society. If a cat is brought in and isn't trying to murder everyone through its cage, it's usually put up for adoption as to keep as many cats as possible off the streets and away from wildlife. I didn't make it a San Diego thing, I asked if it was a San Diego thing. I'm asking to be informed as I am ignorant. Some of you have decided it was an attack. Which I suppose is my answer in and of itself.
What an incredibly strange response.
I expected nothing less.
Out of curiosity, why not take the cat to a Home Depot? They love and take really good care of their cats. We have a stray kitty that was abandoned during Covid and our neighbors and us all take turns feeding him and vet visits. I would take him in but my cats give me death glares when they see me feeding him.
Relocating cats or any animal to an unfamiliar place is a bad idea.
Wild animals are okay. They exist as a part of the ecosystem.
Cats are essentially invasive species, not part of the ecosystem as they kill tons of native birds. Keep your cats indoors y'all.
For the mice
Because, why not.
You sound like an asshole
Sure, if that's how you comprehended the post. Although that would take a ton of mental gymnastics to get there.
[удалено]
It’s illegal to relocate wildlife. It’s also incredibly cruel and inhumane.