Program tackles problem of feral cats
Group seeks help in rescuing strays
Some people leave stray cats saucers of milk and Friskies on the porch.
Others try to get rid of them—as a nuisance and neighborhood infestation.
Neither is the solution to feral cats, said Edie Offhaus, co-founder of Feral Cats Focus, an advocacy group established to dissolve some misunderstandings about the cats.
“We can save the lives of these animals,” Offhaus said. “They have as much right to be there as the deer and the people that live in the community. It’s not about feeding or killing these cats. It’s about doing the right thing: trapping them and bringing them in to get spayed or neutered.”
This is the organization’s’ proposal to reduce the ever-growing population of strays in the state—estimated at 100,000 and growing. The group has treated and released about 2,000 feral cats since its start in 2003.
Offhaus said more volunteers are needed to seek out feral cats.
“It is the humane . . . way of handling street cats,” Offhaus said. “We’re willing to assist anyone, and to lend them the traps. Once trapped, they need to bring the cats into the clinic.”
Feral Cats Focus is partnering with Operation PETS, a veterinary clinic at 3443 S. Park Ave., Lackawanna.
Operation PETS has documented treating 3,255 cats since late July — 622 of them feral. About 60 percent of feral cats brought to Operation PETS are pregnant, according to a recent survey of Feral Cats Focus.
“This is the time of the year when feral cats are giving birth,” said Karen Ogiela, a Second Chance Shelter representative. “We can’t be everywhere. That’s why we’ve made 150 traps available for use. Come in. Get a trap. And bring it back with a cat.”
Barbara Carr, Erie County SPCA executive director, said not all feral cats are strays — some are domesticated but became homeless. Carr said the SPCA has reunited about 95 domesticated cats with owners last year. In contrast, the SPCA brought in 2,768 cats in total in 2008. This works in the favor of some feral cats. While most are re-released back into the streets, others become available for adoption.
The SPCA reopened its doors at Walden Galleria June 1, allowing passers-by to adopt kittens and cats. Carr said the mall is a heavy-traffic location and gets the cats a home quicker than other locations.
“Cats are probably the most important species in existence for mankind. We never could have gone from hunter-gatherers to an agricultural society without them,” Carr said. “Imagine life without cats out there killing all of the mice and rats. It would be awful,” They give us a higher quality of life, and we owe them something for that,” Carr said.
Operation PETS accepts ferals twice a month, “Freaky Feral Fridays,” a daylong program where trapped ferals can be brought in to be spayed, neutered and tagged. The next days are Sunday and July 3.
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