Submitted by Charm_city_love t3_zda9js in baltimore
Comments
instantcoffee69 t1_iz0h2dr wrote
> The ideal practice, said Balcom, would be cutting down on the fees associated with spaying, neutering and vaccinating cats to expedite and incentivize more TNR adoption. As it stands, a spay and neuter procedure could cost as much as $500 per feline in a private practice, she said.
Yea, the common sense answer is "make what we want people to do easy and cheap", but as a society we constantly done, so don't bet it will change here.
This may be more of a county this, but I don't see a ton of wild cats in the city. Other cities I've lived in had actually had many more cats.
damagecontrolparty t1_iz0ihsr wrote
I would think cats would keep the rodent population down.
(This may have been addressed in the article but I got blocked by the paywall.)
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz0pq0s wrote
Cats in all honesty are not the best at dealing with the rat population.
https://www.fox5ny.com/news/meet-the-rat-hunters-dogs-join-the-fight-against-nycs-rodent-problem.
omny.fm/shows/stuff-you-should-know-1/cats-invasive-species
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz0pv9g wrote
It's a common thought that you have but it's simply not true.
Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_iz0qei7 wrote
Id have thought the same thing too. But they’ve looked at it and they don’t. A lot of the rats they kill are already on deaths door.
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz0qpqk wrote
The fees associated with owning a pet come with the territory. As nice as it is to own a pet and it's wonderful to have their company and all but to give them the proper care costs money.
So at the end of the day, do you have the means to pay those expenses? If not then it's best to wait until you can
Confident_Bridge9811 t1_iz0tamb wrote
We recently moved to an area with a lot of feral cats. Its not easy, but the county will lend you a trap to catch them, then you take them to get fixed, then return them to the wild. It's unfortunate how many people in the area who feed the cats are not aware of TNR. So the population gets out of control quick.
Happy that I found a wonderful person who fosters near by, since the shelters are so full. Feel much better about getting kittens to foster.
I have two cats, rescued from feral life. I haven't been able to get an appointment on the BARCS website or whatever for neutering for over a year. And you can't make the appointment on the phone? The slots get filled up so quick I guess. Tax time, we will go through our vet, which is a lot more. But I can't keep waiting to get this
petfinder.com is great
I want to add, since so many people are talking about how cats don't kill rats, I'm happy to report that the feral cats have killed a few rats in my area that I know about. Usually after the county treats the apartments or whatever near by. They say rats are intelligent, but these baby rats were culled short.
It seems more that their PRESENCE can keep rats away, not that they hunt them necessarily. Now I've seen the cats and an opossum eating from the same bowl, but never a rat. A feral/community cat living under your porch won't let a rat or other creature live near them.
Also, 8 kittens saved from feral life this week!
Mossrocks t1_iz0w3aq wrote
They don’t have much impact on rat populations, but when it comes to migratory song birds, it’s a different story.
Expendable_Red_Shirt t1_iz10ceq wrote
Do we have a migratory song bird problem?
Animanialmanac t1_iz11475 wrote
Cat feces has a parasite that makes rats and mice more aggressive. Cats are only a good solution to a rodent problem when it’s a semi indoor cat like a barn cat that gets regular vet care. Otherwise feral cats make the rat problem worse. The rats in our neighborhood are getting exponentially more in number as the feral cat numbers increase.
bobcat7781 t1_iz13671 wrote
Yes, their populations have plummeted.
bobcat7781 t1_iz13di9 wrote
Consult Jonathan Swift.
Confident_Bridge9811 t1_iz13ew7 wrote
focus on the N, in tnr for men? /s
Loudermilk420 t1_iz14aqu wrote
Yea bmore sun sucks
TaterTotz8 t1_iz16nj5 wrote
Have you tried MDSPCA? Looks like they have spots for January: https://www.mdspca.org/veterinary-care/spay-neuter/
Vet staffing has been hit hard the last few years and seems like everywhere (across the country) is having trouble keeping up with all the pandemic pets and staff burn out.
Confident_Bridge9811 t1_iz17me2 wrote
I will try. And I get it.
People bringing their feral cats in to TNR while they have covid and getting staff sick doesn't help trying to get all these cats fixed!
I think I read we need to catch about 75% of the population to be able to keep population under control.
BJJBean t1_iz1g4f1 wrote
Cats suck at killing rats. All cats do is obliterate the local bird population which in effect messes with the rest of the ecosystem.
I get people wanting to be nice to animals but they are legit an invasive species. Spaying/Neutering feral cats is a nice sentiment but removal is the most humane option if overall wildlife conservation is your concern.
neutronicus t1_iz1g60e wrote
I definitely don't look at the rats I see around Mt Vernon and think "yeah, my cat could take that"
damagecontrolparty t1_iz1omd1 wrote
There are definitely some big rats around that are almost as big as a small cat.
noseltzie t1_iz1oshx wrote
I watched a stray cat and a rat share a bowl of kibble left out for the strays in Remmington last summer
No_name_Johnson t1_iz1t15w wrote
I think it depends where in the city you are. I'm in Upper Fells and until a year or so ago there was a colony of feral cats in the neighborhood. I still see the occasional stray but I think they moved on.
moderndukes t1_iz1tw14 wrote
This isn’t a Sun article
yeaughourdt t1_iz25aqk wrote
This article is super disappointing in that, despite the headline, they didn't manage to talk to a single person who isn't pro-TNR, or an ecologist, or anyone who has studied TNR scientifically.
TNR is becoming more popular not because it actually solves the problem with feral cats, but because it is easy and cheap for local governments and looks good to voters. Euthanasia programs are political suicide. But now with TNR, if you've got feral cats on your property, pooping toxoplasmosis into your vegetables, they are officially now your problem. SPCA/BARCS won't take them, they will only spay/neuter/vacc them and dump them back outside. And that's if you trap them and bring them in yourself.
TNR relies on volunteer labor, so of course it's going to fail, but even in studies of managed colonies it didn't result in population decline because there are too many cats roaming around and getting dumped. Allowing and tacitly encouraging feral cat colonies encourages shitheads to dump their cats because they can assume it will survive like all of the other ferals.
Euthanasia is more humane than TNR. TNR is catch->anaesthetize->neuter->dump immediately back into the world with minimal or no post-surgical care->die horribly (generally very young). Euthanasia is just trap->anaesthetize->euthanize. Less stress for the animal and much less stress on wildlife populations whose lives also need to be considered.
yeaughourdt t1_iz281yu wrote
This is also why "working cats" on farms, as encouraged by this article, are a fucking terrible idea. Not only do they attract toxo-infected rodents, the cats then poop toxoplasmosis cysts into the soil. This is why they tell pregnant people to not change litter boxes or eat undercooked meat - cows, goats, etc can pick up toxoplasmosis from the soil and pass it to you, where it will forever live in your brain and potentially deform your newborn. The only vector for toxoplasmosis reproduction is outdoor cats.
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz28ael wrote
Wow! I didn't know that their feces make rats more aggressive. That's really something!
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz28o2k wrote
What's really messed up is that the vast majority of people don't know this information.
Their focus is supposedly that it's bad for the cat to stay indoors and that they should be out to freely roam.
When you are dealing with people's emotions reasoning now takes a backseat
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz28prc wrote
Seriously?
BerdDad t1_iz2fptv wrote
Cats don't do much but cause rats to hide better (so we perceive them as being "gone"), but the rats they do kill may be infected with toxo as toxo causes rats to lose their fear of cats (they become attracted to cat urine).
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cats-are-surprisingly-ineffective-keeping-urban-rat-populations-check-180970428/
AmbyrPogo t1_iz2frgv wrote
If you miss the January slots, email them on the first of January. I managed an appt for my little girl. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get appts when you really need. There's a feral young tom I took over feeding but I can't rely on catching him in a trap a month or so from now to get him neutered. He's sweet and sociable, but no touch. He'd probably be a sweetiepie if someone took him in. But 8mo old black toms without house manners aren't popular.
Confident_Bridge9811 t1_iz2g4go wrote
are you in middle river? we have one we call midnight. so vocal, seems like someone may have abandoned him.
I want to get my own trap, so i can catch when possible; there are more slots on a day to day basis in the baldwin md TNR place.
I'm so glad I rescued the two males in my area, each about a year apart.... there would have been SOOOOO many more kittens....
AmbyrPogo t1_iz2iie6 wrote
No, Wilhelm Park. But it might be worth checking with them if they'll accept a "city" cat. Maybe my boss will be flexible for short notice. We call him KitKat...at least that's what he answers to.
Confident_Bridge9811 t1_iz2jlvs wrote
so many in so many places.... It's overwhelming at times.
[deleted] t1_iz3ccr3 wrote
[removed]
todareistobmore t1_iz3np49 wrote
> cows, goats, etc can pick up toxoplasmosis from the soil and pass it to you
Sure, but this is true in exactly the same way and exactly to the same extent as e. coli is spread.
todareistobmore t1_iz3nt67 wrote
Not more aggressive. Rats without toxo are scared of the smell of cat urine, rats with toxo are drawn to it.
CaptainObvious110 t1_iz3p4h7 wrote
So true. They hunt even when they aren't hungry. So while there is a strong attachment to cats they are absolute killing machines. They are not native to this area of the world so are invasive species that would do much better if people would keep in their homes or removed permanently altogether.
S-Kunst t1_iz4batv wrote
I have mixed feelings about feral and stray cats. For years, my coworkers and I, along with neighboring residents, maintained a colony of strays/feral cats. All in our colony were fixed and we had huts for them, and a steady food supply, but not over kill which would attract rodents. When one would get ill or old, we would take them to BARCS, hoping they would be put down. But BARCS was reluctant to do so, unless the animal was in very bad condition. Nor was BARCS helpful when most of us, who were care taking were leaving the area. When new cats would appear, about 50% were adopted by the extant population, which only added more problems.
The anti euthanasia community has scared all orphan pet organizations from putting down animals. But they have not been equally persistent in securing more funding for enlarged facilities nor banning people for not being required to dispose of their pet in a manner which is safe and humane. Simply abandoning pets is not a responsible solution.
yeaughourdt t1_iz4s4uq wrote
It's a bit different. Humans can contract toxo directly from contaminated soil or unwashed vegetables like e. coli, but when a meat animal is infected the parasite actually takes residence in its muscle tissue (where e coli only gets into meat via external contamination). Toxoplasmosis cysts are also very persistent in soil, remaining viable for over a year.
Also toxo's effect on the human body is longer and potentially more severe as the parasite lives on in your body and brain for the rest of your life with neurological consequences, and it's potentially fatal or disfiguring for fetuses if a mother is infected with toxoplasmosis while pregnant. Neurological consequences of toxoplasmosis infection aren't particularly well studied but may include mental illness and reduced motor response times. A study of vehicle accidents suggests that people with toxo in their brains are more likely to die in a car accident.
kosherkenny t1_iz5ujpd wrote
i just tried to make a spay apt yesterday for a cat that showed up in my yard a few months ago, and they emailed me back saying
>Unfortunately all of our female cat spots are completely booked at this time. Please email us again on January 1st when our February schedule is available. If you need other resources please see the link below.
best bet is to email january 1st i guess :/
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