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twitterShe’d ‘legalize’ feral cats to save them
Commissioner proposes code to help groups record, sterilize, vaccinate felines
Steve Marcus
A cat designated “feral” looks out of a cage at the Lied Animal Shelter in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Lied euthanized 11,065 cats in the first seven months of this year.
Published Wed, Aug 13, 2008 (2 a.m.)
Updated Wed, Aug 13, 2008 (10:24 a.m.)
Reader poll
Chris Giunchigliani
Nan Harrison, left, looks on as her friend Louise Gagliardi decides on a cat to adopt at the Lied Animal Shelter on Tuesday. The shelter euthanized more than 11,000 cats in the first seven months of 2008, out of more than 14,000 taken in. Fully domesticated cats like the one Gagliardi chose are more adoptable.
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Because the yowling ranks of feral felines are growing as financially strapped people abandon their pets, a self-described “dog person” on the Clark County Commission is pushing for a code change to stop stray cats from overrunning neighborhoods.
“We have to do something,” Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. “The biggest problem is, with foreclosures, people are abandoning their pets, which is not only endangering the pets but adding to the overpopulation problem.”
When the cats left behind to fend for themselves on the streets aren’t spayed or neutered, they not only become the feral cats of today, they soon breed the “ferals of tomorrow,” Karen Layne, Las Vegas Humane Society president, said.
“We’re doing what we can, but it’s really as bad or worse as it has always been,” Layne said.
The valley’s population of stray cats is estimated at 200,000 and is growing exponentially. So Giunchigliani wants the county to consider adding a new chapter to its code to “legalize” feral cats and help groups or individuals who get them vaccinated and sterilized.
She is banking on private foundations to fund her proposal, “so there would be no taxpayer dollars going into this,” she said.
Right now, many of the people who feed feral cats can’t afford to have many of them vaccinated and sterilized. At the same time, they won’t contact Animal Control because they fear that notification would result in the capture and euthanization of the cats.
Under Giunchigliani’s ordinance, these people would be deemed “colony caretakers” and be required to keep careful records on the animals while seeking money to pay for sterilizations.
A public hearing on the proposal is slated for the Tuesday, Aug. 19 commission meeting.
Under the current system, Animal Control officers provide traps for residents to capture feral cats and pick up cats that are confined. The animals go to the Lied Animal Shelter, where they are euthanized if unclaimed after a couple of days.
Chapter 10.6 of the proposed Clark County Code, “Managed Care of Feral Cats,” includes a provision that allows colony caretakers to “trap, sterilize, vaccinate and ear tip each feral cat in (a) colony and to monitor for new feral cats that join the colony.”
Money to complete that work, Giunchigliani said, would come from grants from organizations like Maddie’s Fund, a foundation established in 1999 by the billionaire founder of PeopleSoft, Dave Duffield, and his wife, Cheryl. The fund started with $200 million and has since grown to $300 million, said Rich Avanzino, president of the fund.
Since 1999, Maddie’s Fund has provided grants of $60 million for adoptions and sterilization. Of that, $13 million has gone to sterilize about 250,000 feral cats in California through 2007.
When asked what kind of impact the sterilizations have had on feral cat populations, Avanzino said because early monitoring was “not very good,” the impact remains undetermined.
That lack of monitoring, however, is why anyone who applies for Maddie’s Fund dollars must first provide the organization with numbers: the size of feral cat populations; human population in the area; names of shelters in the area, and the number of intakes, adoptions and redemptions at those shelters.
“We don’t give money until we get statistics first,” Avanzino said, adding that Maddie’s Fund does give “starter” grants of $20,000 to $40,000 to agencies to help them gather statistics.
“We are trying to stop the killing at animal shelters, so if they ... take in litters, and they can demonstrate how many (feral cats) are coming from litters and what area of the county or ZIP code is contributing to a large death number, then we would fund up to $200,000 a year to help spay and neuter those pets that are causing that impact on shelter deaths.”
James Seitz, acting director of Lied Animal Shelter, said the shelter will open a spay and neuter clinic soon, offering spayings and vaccines for $85 and neuterings with vaccines for $50.
In the first seven months of the year, he added, Lied took in 29,466 animals and euthanized 11,065 cats, up from 10,385 cats during the same period in 2008. Also euthanized this year were 4,953 dogs, down from 5,024 in 2007, and 519 other animals, down from 544. The number of animals euthanized this year represents about 56 percent of all animals taken in at Lied.
Lied euthanized 3,077 cats identified as feral in the first seven months of 2008, down slightly from 3,253 in same period of 2007.
Harold Vosko, founder of the no-kill Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary in Las Vegas, said he hasn’t seen the ordinance, so he can’t say whether he is for or against it. “I’m for feral cats, of course,” he added.
But, he said, the only long-term solution is probably a mandatory sterilization law.
North Las Vegas, in fact, enacted an ordinance in January that makes it a misdemeanor to own an animal that is not spayed or neutered without permission. To give residents time to comply with the law, the city did not put it into effect until May. A spokeswoman at the North Las Vegas Animal Control Division said “very few” citations have been issued, with the city preferring to educate rather than penalize.
The law, however, is one that Giunchigliani would like to copy. Next month, she plans to introduce a county ordinance for mandatory spaying and neutering of most dogs and cats.
(Editor's note: This story has been corrected. An earlier version had the wrong date for the public hearing on the feral cat ordinance.)
Discussion: 23 comments so far…
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This is a gross mistake on the part of Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.
Feral cats are a danger to the public and need to be eliminated. Not only do they harm the indigionous bird population, they are a clear heath care risk and trespass on private property. A neighbors dog does not have the right to enter my property any more than the neighbors cat. But here we are talking about a Feral cat, that by definition simply lives by its wits and who is a clear and present danger to child and adult alike.
Shame on you Ms. Giunchigliani, you need to learn what your purpose and what the limits of your authority is to be a Commissioner. This feel good do-gooder brain-fart of yours (please excuse the euphimism) has unintended consequences, as I had outlined above.
lemahj suggests that feral cats are a "clear and present danger" to children and adults. When was the last time we read in the paper about anyone being attacked and savaged by a feral cat or a pack of feral cats? The danger from feral (and non-feral) pets comes from dogs; not cats.
And as far as harm to the "indigionous [sic] bird population", feral cats are more likely to subsist on lizards, mice and other rodents which are easier to catch and which we'd like to be rid of near our homes.
Iroff, your comment deserves a reply.
A cat will often use a child's sand box to do his business, and a child can get sick.
I am surprised that you are not aware that domestic feral cats, and are a known predator of song birds. Thank you for adding lizards to the list.
People do have a right as to what domesticated animals enter their property, and a cat certainly fits that description.
And, more than one person has been attacked by a cat that has become territorial, or was cornered . . . this in not a problem that occurs only with dogs.
Feral cat colonies have been trapped, sterilized and vaccinated and are under the management of a caretaker. They can easily be made to go potty where you choose. And it is humankind that is killing the birds with their pesticides and phone towers. Feral cats by definition are wild animals and we simply do not kill animals because they are wild. I lived in the mountains and we had racoons to deal with. No one proposed killing them all. Wild cats and animals can be managed. It is a community problem and the community must be educated about how to deal with these cats. Misguided cat lovers feed cats without snuedering and that only leads to more cats. When legalized we can educate the public about how to manage and live with the feral cats who benefit the community as non-toxic, self sustaining rodent control. Las Angeles Police Stations use colonies in all their facilities to keep the rats out. There are over 5000 managed colonies in Clark County. I commend the Commissioner for her intelligence, research and humanity.
Hey, I lived in the mountains too, and we never had a feral cat problem - the coyotes took care of that! If sterilization were more affordable, perhaps more pet owners would spay/neuter their pets. Oh, wait, I forget, this is Las Vegas where it seems nobody cares about responsibility....
I called my vet today & it costs at least $200 to neuter a small dog! It's nice to know the shelter is going to offer a low-cost clinic for this - especially since they are euthanizing (at taxpayer's expense, I assume) on average over 52 cats per day, why save the feral cats? Put them down!
Yes, places like California that have coyotes have less problems with feral cats and rats but when was the last time you saw a coyote in Las Vegas. And don't say euthanize. It means, "good death" and is reserved for those injured or ill. We taxpayers are paying for the slaughter of healthy useful animals. The problem is here and now and responsible people are dealing with it in a humane manner. Feral cat colonies rid plant nurseries of rodents and are in many local warehouses. Yes, people can't afford vet care or the dentist for that matter. Not the cat's fault. Try not to think negatively. There are many responsible people in Clark County that love cats. By the way, it is already legal in the city of Las Vegas, curtesy of an enlightened Mayor.
First of all, I'm not from California and yes I saw a coyote just last winter in my NW LV neighborhood. Feral cats are wild & breed at will & carry disease which spreads to other cats so therefore they need to be put down, as they shouldn't have been allowed to run loose & breed initially. Just have a look at all the domestic cats that have been locked up at the Lied Animal Shelter (aka the animal foundation). I've visited that place after my cat got out & my neighbor called animal control who took my cat and NOBODY called me - even though he had I.D. tags. It's a sad, sad, place. If there aren't enough people to take care of domestic cats, what makes you think there are enough people to "manage" feral cats? What a crock!
P.S. Maybe we just need a pond with "naturally occurring nitrates", nearby, which will conveniently take care of the problem - for free! If you don't know what I'm referring to, then check out what happened to the wild horses up north.
We have over 5000 people caring for managed colonies in Clark County and they are given all their immunizations and do not carry disease. Some colonies have existed for 13 years. Gee, kill everything that is running free, like it's the cat's fault that their owners dump them when the owners lose their home. Very Humane. Yes, Lieds is a dismal place, my cat had a microchip and they didn't even read it. But the same movement that cares for feral cats wants the cats out of the shelters period to permit the cat rescue societies to handle them. The shelters were established in the 30s for dogs and cats don't belong there. Funny that you feel sad for the tame cats but not the ferals. Most cat lovers care for both. But you do sound bitter. Shiloh Horse Rescue in Sandy Valley has a colony in it's stables to keep the rats away. But no matter how bad or sad it gets, better to light one candle then to curse the darkness.
These Vetinary Clinics charge SOOOOOOOOO much for a simple office visit - if these Vets really got into the business because of their love of animals why not donate some of their time/services and sterilize these animals so they don't have to be put down. The cost involved could probably be construed as some kind of tax write-off anyway. It's always about making the almighty dollar - heaven forbid they should do a good deed for free.
Feral cats have been, and will always exist. They are on all continents, urbal and rural. The protocols of controlling and decreasing feral cat populations of Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) have been proven in many communities in this country. Feral cats are descendents of domestic cats that were allowed outside to live and fend on their own. Humanely trapping, sterilizing and vaccinating them, and returning to an organized colony with colony caretakers, is the only responsibe, moral way to manage and decrease their populations. National data exist that demonstrate they do not carry or promote disease, nor any of the other negative things those that are un-informed claim. There has been, and will always be, a balance in nature with birds, cats, and all living things. Get educated people, the facts are there. I applaud those that recognize it is time for Las Vegas to do the responsible thing of funding, and organizing these efforts.
Lemahj - cover the sandbox - pretty simple solution. It will keep out bugs as well.
Reno is doing TNR with great success and the ones that come in to the shelter are not killed but are adopted into barns for their natural mousing abilities (a win/ win).
Trap, neuter, release is the ONLY way to naturally bring down the population. Catching and killing is an endless cycle as other cats move in and continue breeding. It's a game of whack a mole that isn't working if we're up to 200,000 cats at this point! Time for something new.
*Stanford college went the TNR route in 80's. They have less than 120 cats left. Georgetown went the trap and kill route in the 80's. They still have the same amount of feral cats at this point.
Desexing is the only real management solution.
The Sun is a member of the Greenspun Media Group.
Janie Greenspun-Gale is the Co-Chairwoman of the Board along with Dale Wynn for the Animal Foundation/ Lied Shelter.
Chance that I believe any statistics on Lied's euth. rates in this article = ZERO. Oh and I'll be holding my breath for that spay/ neuter clinic as well.
This is idiotic.
Feral cats are the main vector for TOXOPLASMOSIS. And that disease can spread to humans, and it is lifelong and leads to bizarre changes in behavior. (DO a search for toxoplasmosis if you don't believe me.)
TNR is a waste of time. There are no "studies" that prove it works. It doesn't, because it assumes that if you euthanize cats, some other cats will step in. Well, that is true, save for the fact that you have X less cats.
Toxoplasmosis is killing wildlife across the country, particularly wild otter populations on the California coast.
Feral cats kills endangered birds in the millions. They are an introduced, apex predator. They should be euthanized.
Feral cats have been directly implicated in the extinction of a number of birds, particularly on islands. Some birds nest ON THE GROUND and display "injured" behavior to lure predators (cats) away from their young.
Yes, you can trace it all back to humans. (Humans introduced feral cats after all.) But we have to work with the pieces we have. And when you have an introduced apex predator wiping out huge swaths of native mammals and birds, AND serving as a major disease vector, well... you tell me what to do. Get rid of the cats. It's that simple.
(Incidentally, there is quite a lot of evidence that these crazy "cat people" are carries of toxoplasmosis themselves... seriously. The changes in behavior after infection are bizarre, and lead to the many "crazy cat ladies" locked in their house with hundreds of cats and their feces. Just like it drives rats to cat feces (true), it seems to have similar effect on some humans. Search for toxoplasmosis on Google.)
I guess im one of those ladies with all those cats,13 to be exact.........Every one of them are s/n,very well kept thank you.So all of you cat haters out there have no clue where your hearts are.Thats ok tho the good Lord Does!....S/N is the answer,then let them live in peace,They deserve that much. they have it hard enough with the eliments and people who just want them killed.A feral cats life span is short enough,.....SO LET THEM LIVE PEOPLE!
Feral cats are not wild animals. Wild cats are bobcats and panthers. Feral, stray, owned, whatever, they are ALL domestic cats. And how interesting that the TNR folks want to have their cake and eat it too. So, if a feral cat by definition is a wild animal, then why do we not have open season for them? Aahh... see this is when they back pedal and say, no! They are NOT wild animals. And, btw, I am not suggesting shooting feral cats - I AM pointing out that many TNR people will say whatever and do whatever just to keep the cat alive.
Cats are not 'non-toxic' rodent control. They kill a bunch more wildlife than just rodents. And they are the only species to shed toxoplasma gondii.
Pesticides, wind mills and cat predation are ALL serious causes of wildlife death. You let a cat loose? You degraded habitat. There is no ecological balance between a non-native invasive predator and native wildlife. The reason we do NOT need to trap and euthanize all those raccoons is cause their numbers don't come anywhere near that of cats.
The out of control population of the domestic cat vastly outnumbers all native predators put together.
Pix 21 - lets see this national data. Give a reference. Just a visit to the CDC website will show you just a sampling of the many diseases cats carry and transmit.
TNR has never been proven to work and is not so humane IMO.
Lokiloki, thanks for injecting some sanity here. By the way, cats are mesopredators - not apex.
Ferals can live, but they should be contained and away from wildlife. Wildlife has it hard enough - cats will never go extinct - lots of wildlife is endangered, threatened or under special concern status. They need all the help they can get and should not have the additional stress of the presence of free-roaming cats.
I'm an animal control officer in New Jersey and have been one for over 32 years. I have seen TNR tried several times and it has always failed because the number of cats has gotten out of hand and created problems for the neighbors. The reason TNR will not work on a large scale is due to the number of feral cats vs. the number of volunteers and money available. Using the numbers quoted in the article, if you have 200,000 feral cats in the area, and it costs an average of $67.50 to TNR a cat ( the average of $85 and $50) than you would need $13,500,000 to TNR all the cats. Thats 13.5 MILLION dollars! The possible grant available is only $200,000. You would be $13.3 million dollars short. And then you would need volunteers to feed and care for 200,000 cats each day. If it only costs a nickel to feed a cat for a day, you would need and additional $10,000 a day for food, or $3,650,000 a year. You will never come up with the money nor volunteers to control the feral cat population using TNR, so the problem will continue to grow. Goverments support TNR by volunteers because it doesn't cost them any money, it shuts up the animal rights people, and when it doesn't work, they can blame the cat advocates. Except by then, it will be someone elses problem because they will have moved on to bigger and better things.
I have personal experience with implementing TNR in a colony and have been in contact with others who have also done so. One colony was reduced from 200 cats down to 14 over a period of three years. This was done by three volunteers utilizing local low cost spay/neuter clinics. It can work, it does work. No, the entire valley can't be done all at once. The problem has taken years to develop. Cat by cat, volunteer by volunteer, it can be done.
Domestic cats are not an apex predator. They are a mid level preditor. They have preditory habits but the high birth rate of a prey animal. Since we have removed them from the environment where the population is controlled naturally we need to step in and take that roll. TNR is an effective tool to manage the cat population.
keithw
KILL ALL FERAL CATS! For all of you who think cats are doing a service, YOU'RE WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! How stupid does it get?!!! This is a city. We have no problems with coyotes coming into town, and it's not because of cats. IT'S BECAUSE OF PEOPLE! Cats defecate everywhere, and ruin plants and spread disease. They crawl into small spaces and die. Do any of you know what that smells like? Are there any of you feral cat lovers that can tell me how to get a dead rotting cat out of the wall of my house that got in there god knows how. Can any of you cat lovers tell me what it's like to start your car and shred a cat that was sleeping in the motor? Can you tell me what it smells like a week later in 100 degree weather? Better yet can you explain the process for removing the carcass from the engine? And another one, are there any of you that enjoy picking up cat placentas and cannibalized kitten parts off your sidewalk? Oh and don't forget the maggots that feast on all the dead cats and then become flies which continue to spread more disease. It's all nice and good to love animals. Try living with these filthy animals before you speak. Feral cats are a nuisance and a health hazard. They are no different than rats or pigeons and should be exterminated just the same. Shame on all of you self-righteous do gooders. You're not helping cats, you're doing this to feel better about yourselves, and that's pathetic.
Dave - which is ? over 50 years or 32 years ?
Are you starting to get confused ?
Did you take your Geritol today ?
Where am I ?
What's my name ?
I will come over & feed you applesauce and wipe your mouth as it spews out if you need me to !
I'm here for you baby...
MZ - where do you live ?
In the ghetto ?
Bang on your car before you start it, hire a contractor to rip down the wall in your house or cardboard box that you live in & remove the dead animal - it's probably not a cat idiot - maybe it's you ? Do you shower ?
Just a sprinkle a day...
I say SAVE THE FERAL'S!
Many of you people make me shiver in my skin reading your posts, or maybe I should sit here cracking up laughing because you people act so concerned about how filthy, disease producing and dangerous the feral cat is, oh and lets not forget trespassing. Hey put a sign up,"TO ALL Farel's,wash feet, you are entering holy ground." The one that lets their child play in dirt, but worried about cat fecal. Now that's a good one! I've worked in the medical, spa and beauty field and seeing all the things I've seen I'd rather bath with a feral than most humans. The human race is the most dangerous, filthiest, disease producing, cruelest, thieves, taking life with out any regards to life, self righteous, arrogance and so on animals that ever was on the face of the earth, if any, we are the ones that need to be exterminated. Many of these posts proves my point! All you people, why not do something good for the world, beside getting rid of yourself, how about donating a can of cat or dog food, litter, those towels or blankets your thinking about throwing away, a dollar bill what ever it may be or taking a day and volunteering down at one of these animal shelters? They need your help, not your posts of self righteous Bullsh_T to kill because you live in fear of a germ that already has entered your nose by you picking it due to the scratching you did previously, and only God knows where. SHAME ON YOU! Educate your children, and you should know better, not only to keep things out of their mouths, going potty in public pools or all over the pubic toilet seats and floor, well that can go for many adults as well, to NOT get close to strange animals. They are only scared, and for good reason, afraid of you!
GROW A HEART AND SLEEP WELL YOU WON'T WANT TO SLAUGHTER ANY ANIMALS TO DAY!