cat Killer(?) in puna

[Hotzcatz]

I'd suspect the answer depends on the cat. There may not be just one answer to this.

For some feral cats where they are living somewhere and being fed, being trapped, neutered and realeased would keep the person feeding the cats happy as well as the cats themselves. After the TNR, they aren't multiplying and as long as they are being fed, they aren't preying on other wildlife. For cats which are truly feral, it would seem that they should be considered in the same classification as mongooses.

[mella l]

Gee Oink that is too bad about the pride of cats in the barn there, and chasing off your birds.

Here we live in the middle of orange groves. We have California Quail, wild turkeys (too skinny for Thursdays feast!) and wild pheasants! My 11 year old spayed calico, Cleocatra must have some brass ones as she only brings me mice and gopher, her specialty. She must really desire a challenge, and doesn't seem to worry the birds at all. Oh we also have hummingbirds, Oregon jenko, wild mountain blue birds, blue jays, geese and lots of others.

Our next door neighbor has a pride of 6 ferals. She has trapped and neutered them all and takes good care of them.

Oh my 3 cats wear collars with their names address and phone number, as well as a bell! Guess adding a license wouldn't cause them any worry or harm! When they were little they were halter trained also! Pretty eccentric I know.

Is there a bounty for mongoose? Aloha Mella

mella l

[oink]

A bit of research indicates that the feral cats are particularly hard on ground nesting birds, like quail (and some native Hawaiian birds).

http://biology.usgs.gov/pierc/Fact_Sheets/Feral_cats.pdf
http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/states/california_managed.htm
http://www.holisticbirds.com/hbn03/spring03/pages/feralcats2.htm

The last link is a very balanced view that most should consider reasonable. It's a more moderate view than my own.

S. FL Islander to be

[Beachboy]

I love pets as much as the nest person. But feral cats should either be taken in, or be put down. Some years back I lived in Puerto Vallharta for a little over a year(worked production on TV show). I use to take in wild, abandoned cats. Take them home clean them up and have them fixxed. When I left Mexico, the cats I couldn't find homes for. I had a vet put them down.

AS for the two ladies who decide to take "feline justice" into their own hands. I'd have no problem smearing "cat shit"on their faces if I ever came across them..

[Carey]

Mella, The Tribune-Herald had an article earlier this year on the cats at one of the Bayfront Hotels, may have been UB. The resort has made a special effort to trap, neuter, release & maintain a population of cats. This was mainly because of a few concerns:
The sickly ferals that had been around the resort were a guest turn-off.
Trapping & removing ferals from the resort property seemed to have no effect on the # of ferals, more just filled the space of those removed.
The "resort cats" offer the employees & guests with a positive experience, employees even volunteered food & cat duties.
I am a lover of all animals. I do see the starving sickly ferals all over. They are at the tranfer stations & dump, the university, behind the stores at the mall & downtown, at our bayfront cleanups. These cats can also fall prey to some horrible treatment.
It would be wonderful if there was one solution to this problem. On a few reserve islands, all feral animals of all species have been removed. There is a big difference in the biota on these islands. There is no way to do this on most islands.
I have also been out away from human developement & seen feral cats & some of the effects. Feral cats do eat endangered turtle eggs. I have seen nests dug up by cat paws (this was out in VNP, far from any domestic cats). They do kill & eat birds.
The fact is that any animal that was not here for 100's of thousands of years will impact and change this environment. This island chain is the extinction capital of the world, and in the U.S., with California as the mainland U.S. extinction capital. The important fact is everyone must make efforts to reduce the impact we make on these islands.
Aloha, Carey




Edited by - Carey on 11/29/2006 07:26:12

[John S. Rabi]

Carey, there are several resorts on the West side doing the same with the help of advoCATS. The program works and I hope everybody supports this organization. When we got married we told our guests not to give us gifts but donate money to advoCATS instead.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
75-5870 Walua Road, Suite 101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(808)327-3185

[Kapohocat]

Good choice John!

Also the Keaau Humane Society only has a few traps - donations specifically for more traps might be an idea. We had to wait about 6 weeks to get one... by then we felt bad because we were feeding these cats.

[John S. Rabi]

Cat, tell them to sell that HPP lot that I donated to them eight years ago. They are just holding it instead of selling it and use the money.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
75-5870 Walua Road, Suite 101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(808)327-3185

[Rob Tucker]

If anyone chooses to use the Humane Society traps:

Advice: The Humane Society will come to your home and pick up the animal for $5. Very good price. We didn't know about that the first time and ended up with a car thoroughly pee'd on by tom cat. That smell does not go away easily. Pay the $5 (and donate more too!).

I bought my own trap for about $30. But I live near a cat factory.

[mella l]

Thanks everyone for all the good information here. Yes I believe there is no one answer, but with the help and education of people some progress should be possible.

I for one hate to see animals without a home, food and shelter. Heck I can barely handle seeing a squirrel laying in the road dead.

To me if I ran the humane society, I would charge theoretically, haven't a clue on these prices, but would charge say $80 for a new pet dog or cat. When the animal is returned to the Humane Society for neutering, and vacinations, I would refund $40 of the initial charge! There are vets that would do this service for a lesser charge, or purhaps some of that Ag Department monies say from their travel budgets (haha), could be given to the vets or humane society as a subsidy. THAT would help the ferals, cats or dogs, and be a benefit to the birds.

Of course you still have the mongoose and pig problems that don't seem to be addressed at all, and they are HUGE problems in themselves.

Thanks to all for their input here. Now if I could just get my cats permitted into Hawaii, I too could help out with this as I am passionate about it. Hey I even offered to post a bond with the state to bring my old spayed and neutered cats in, no go!

mella l

PS It would be interesting for someone to call the humane society and ask why they haven't sold the lot John donated to them! Very Interesting no?

Edited by - mella l on 11/29/2006 16:35:22