Feral Marina Cats

[barnakiel]

I would not kill them. Maybe there are some pills one can add to their food so that they are not fertile? I mean there are such pills for humans, why not for cats?

I am against killing. Cats, humans, whatever.

b.

[JPA Cate]

Barnakiel,

They're feral cats. They won't eat something that smells of humans--YUCK!

Re-read Saucy Sailoress' post: Trap, Neuter, and Release is what works for feral cat populations...the voice of experience.

Ann

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by boden36

cat multiplication chart

Courtesy of Forgotten Felines of Sonoma
Two uncontrolled breeding cats can create the following:

Two litters a year ... at a survival rate of 2.8 kittens per litter with continued breeding...

• 12 cats the first year
• 66 cats the second year
• 2,201 cats in the third year
• 3,822 cats in the fourth year
• 12,680 cats in the fifth year, and so on ...
• Multiplying to a staggering 80,399,780 cats in the tenth year!!!

I think that math is off more than a little. The progression doesn't calculate out anything like the numbers that are posted.

[Teknav]

This chart is more likely for WABBITS propagation without safe sex. Have a cawwot!

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

[/LIST] I think that math is off more than a little. The progression doesn't calculate out anything like the numbers that are posted.

The math may not be perfectly accurate, but the principle is -- biological organisms multiply geometrically unless something stops that from happening -- like the Plague ...

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

(...) They won't eat something that smells of humans--YUCK! (...)

So what do they eat? Air?

The ones here (and we have a huge population) do so well only because there are those (mostly retired) people who will feed them.

b.

[JPA Cate]

Barnakiel,

Your inference that these feral cats may be being fed is certainly possible. I guess it really depends on whether they are feral in the sense barn cats are, sort of semi-feral, or more feral. Barn cats come to be lightly fed at milking time, and tolerate the presence of humans within about 5 ft. for the braver ones. However, really feral cats will not allow a human within about 100 ft. (a guess, I'm poor at estimating distances) They slink off without a sound.

If trap, neuter, and release is the most effective method of dealing with a problem population of them, then I think that is the way that should be used, if possible. Third generation and beyond feral cats can be a huge problem.

They kill and eat whatever they can get, from rodents of many sizes through birds. Bird lovers usually HATE them. Farmers like their barns relatively rodent-free: the two populations, cats and rodents make a fairly homeostatic system.

Ann

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

(...) They kill and eat whatever they can get, from rodents of many sizes through birds.(...)

Now when they eat whatever they could catch, will they continue to multiply or rather the population will become stable? I mean no food, no population growth, same like any other species including our own!

Frankly, I disregard cats and find them overrated as pets. I have a bunch of plush animals and believe me or not: they are more affectionate, more communicative than any cat.

This much said, my heart softens when I find a half finished kitten. Then I will, off course, do anything I can to see it do better: feed it, get it medicine, look for an adoptive home.

Bloody cats. And their horrible stench. But I am glad they are there.

b.

[s/v Beth]

Ann and Barni,out here in the Rocky Mountains I would have to disagree with your homeostasis conclusion. I have had a ranch and I know a number of people who have ranches, one of which was my great aunt, who fed any cat that would show up at her door.
Feral cats are quite good predators, they quickly multiply past their food supply and expand. If we do not limit the population, then Bears, Cougars and other large predators get into the act. Also disease becomes rampant and infects not only the cats, but livestock and tame animals that you depend on at the ranch. Apparently cats are good enough tasting that some bears in Wyoming ( where we had our ranch) would selectively eat only cats, and would come out of the mountains, going barn to barn, just eating the cats. This happens only when the population gets above a certain level, but it did happen to our valley while I was there. The bear ends up euthanized, the animals that are under our care end up traumatized and are sometimes never the same. Try riding a horse whose barn was recently visited by a bear and they couldn't get out of the stable!
No, as long as man keeps animals under his care (which is another topic for another discussion) we have the responsibility to manage their population. Cats do not have the control devices that were there when they were wild, we have to control them. Neuter and release fine, shooting may be necessary in other circumstances. But letting them breed to their food stores run out invites disaster and disease.

[JPA Cate]

Hi, Newt,

Great post. Perhaps the bears would eventually lower the cat population to a homeostatic level, perhaps not. That concept was first introduced to me relative to the Canada Lynx and the snow hare population, so long ago that i couldn't begin to say whether there were actually studies to back up the allegation.

From your example, I can see how one'd need to do anything at all to trim their numbers. I can easily imagine the trauma to the horses, too.

What Saucy Sailoress wrote was that trap, neuter, and release, was what worked. Perhaps it was an erroneous conclusion relative to Wyoming? Maybe I shouldn't have taken it as shown. Short of "genocidal war" on them, it seems as if TNR would work, though. Do you have any references on the issue to share? Possibly different solutions are required for different environments? Intuitively, that might be the case.

Ann

[boden36]

I guess the feral cat issue and its solution varies from place to place. My experience is on an island 5 miles by 3 . As the island is a bird rookery we are definitely genocidal in intent.
I wouldn't be happy with trap neuter and release because live cats still eat birds.
Luckily where I live, I trap my valley, someone else traps theirs and so on around the island.
Hopefully we will eventually get to the point that the only cats around are a few neutered domestic cats.
I can see that this approach would not work in other less confined areas where there is not a cooperative control effort.
Actually, I really like cats, and have enjoyed them as pets, but I like wild birds more.
It is really sad to come upon a group of Tropic Bird nests ( They nest on the ground, usually at the base of a pine) completely decimated by one feral cat.

Regards,
Richard.

[boatman61]

In my opinion they should be treated the same as stray dogs... trapped and held for 14 days... if not claimed in that time they should be put down. the damage they cause to local wildlife far outweighs their occasional rat catching.
But then some folk think I'm somewhere Left of Hitler being pro Birth Control and Abortion...

[Gadagirl]

Originally Posted by boatman61

In my opinion they should be treated the same as stray dogs... trapped and held for 14 days... if not claimed in that time they should be put down. the damage they cause to local wildlife far outweighs their occasional rat catching.
But then some folk think I'm somewhere Left of Hitler being pro Birth Control and Abortion...

Same as you'd treat a Somali pirate! LOL I think the feral
cats are a true menace as well.

[s/v Beth]

Dear Ann ( and others who have weighed in on this issue) I am not above any passive or active management of feral cats. The key is that we manage them. Just like feral pigs, these animals have survived of the interaction of mankind so long that they cannot just be left out on their own devices. In some areas ( South Pacific for example) they would decimate the wildlife. In other areas, they would be wiped out by large predators which would cause further problems. These animals have been civilized for too long, and we are obligated to take care of them. TNR is fine for population control. Hunting and wiping out is more appropriate for places in which they hurt the indigenous animals. But just feeding them will not solve the problem. Back to Gadagirl, I am thinking she may want a small pit bull. They are definitely anti-cat. It may be best to let the marina manage the problem in a total area approach.