January 1, 2010Comments are closed.cats
One of the arguments used by groups who resist TNR programs, is that managed colonies will not get smaller over time – the irony being that doing nothing about these colonies guarantees cat numbers will stay constant.
Demonstrating the effectiveness of a well managed TNR program, is news of the sad passing of “Zorro”, the last remaining cat of the Newburyport waterfront colony in Massachusetts.
Around 300 cats lived along the Merrimack River. An exterminator was brought in to remove a group of 30 after compliants from restauranteurs in the tourist hub, but within two years they had been replaced by 30 more. It was only when Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society started a TNR program in 1992, that the numbers began to decline.
Free-roaming cats were trapped, vaccinated, and desexed before being returned to the streets. Volunteers of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Societ set up eight feeding stations and became care takers of the cats. Ten years into the project, the original colony cats were aged between 11 and 14 years, challenging the notion that colony cats can’t be kept healthy and safe.
Empowered to take action
… individuals from all walks of life are getting involved in TNVR efforts. “People were ready for it,” asserts Becky Robinson, director of Alley Cat Allies, a leading TNVR advocacy group. “There are so many programs, we can’t keep track of them all.” Often things start small, with someone feeding the cats, then trapping them, treating them, putting them back out, and providing food and shelter. Subsequent arrivals are dealt with in similar fashion, although often the cats in an established colony keep newcomers away. And the endeavor spreads from there.
From Pet Connection blog talking about the project in early 2008:
We have twelve feral cats living on the waterfront right now that are fed out of four feeding stations by thirty-five devoted volunteers who are there twice a day feeding and caring for the kitties. The volunteers are all between twelve to fifteen years of age.
Newburyport’s “feral cat problem” transformed itself into a popular and humane program that became a role model for other neighbourhoods struggling with homeless cat populations. And now with the passing of the last cat of the colony, the power of a community solution is apparent.
Individuals of all ages can save and improve the lives less-than-domestic community cats. Motivated grassroots activists can care for the cat groups in their communities, and in turn push for reform of council animal management policies and procedures.
Amazing accomplishments are at our fingertips – we’ve just got to start trusting in compassion and empowering animal lovers to help us,
Read more on the history of the colony here (pdf here)
