Cats and squirrels...grrrrrr

A neighbor a few houses down has several outdoors cats that have been using my garden as their litter box. Talking to them about it will do nothing...they peed on another neighbor's cloth Jeep top, and they just claimed that it wasn't their cats. Another problem are the squirrels who are digging up my containers. I'm getting really irritated! What can I do? I just bought a bulk container of cayenne pepper powder from Sam's Club. Will it work as a repellent? How much do I need to apply? Tamara

Their are little spiky things you can buy to put in your garden or in your containers to keep cats out (might work on the squirrels too)
http://www.gardeners.com/Safe-Cat-Deterrent/default/31-954.prd

If you want a cheaper approach to keep the squirrels from digging in the pots, I bought some plastic mesh netting (like the stuff they sell to put around berry bushes to keep the birds out) and put that over the top of the soil.

Call your local animal control about the cats. They may loan you a live trap for a while. I invested in my own Havahart live trap and animal control picks up any cats that I catch. I don't even have to take them in. You are doing wildlife a favor, along with your garden and the cats, which sound like they are not getting vet and other care that they need. They are probably reproducing, as well.

Live traps work well with squirrels and cats. Good advice. Sardines are great for cats, peanut butter for the squirrels.

Thanks everyone! Tamara

The stole my idea! I use those small about 10 inches long wooden bamboo kabob skewers. I just poke them in the ground pointy side up.

X

Awesome, X! THAT'S what I'm going to do! (3 neighbors have outdoor cats--I could just see catching them all and having the neighbors finding out...they'd probably find a way to kidnap my dogs in retaliation...hehe) Tamara

Free roaming cats are fair game. If you allow your dogs to run they can be sent to the pound. All of my neighbors know that I trap cats and if one of their cats goes missing they can find it at the pound where they can get it back for $45.00 (if they get there within ten days).

Trapping cats and squirrles may make you happy but unpopular with the ni eghborhood!

If somebody's cat gets in my trap, on my land, it becomes the property of animal control. This is perfectly legal and is the best thing to do for wildlife and the cat. Cat owners who allow their cats to roam are being irresponsible and doing harm to native animals. They are also putting their cat in danger. Not to mention that their domesticated cat does not belong on my property. I'll enjoy my wildlife and my irresponsible neighbors can consider me as unpopular as they want to. I don't want to waste my time with people who have no concern for their pets and nature.

I do not trap squirrels. I live in a rural area. We have squirrel seasons and I have a small game license. This is also perfectly legal. We have fragmented natural habitat. We have destroyed natural habitat. We have removed most predators that kept squirrel numbers in check. Now I do it. They make a nice stew. Mepps will even buy the tails to make fishing spinners out of. Hardly any is wasted.

To each his own!

A dog with an electric pet fence would solve all the problems. : )

I have a dog for the first time in years, so I put an electric fence up around the yard and around my garden. But the little varmits dont know that she cant get into the garden. She keeps the bunnies, squirrels, moles and mainly the DEER out of my gardens! (She's going to be introduced to the Chip Munks for the first time this year. )

All my years with gardening, in the country and the subs, dog is the answer for almost all pest.

Maybe my dog just isn't very scary, but he's certainly never kept the critter population down for me. At my old house I had cats, squirrels, raccoons, and skunks and a gopher (I think there was only one since he didn't really do much damage), and at the new house there are cats, squirrels, and lots of gophers (haven't seen raccoons or skunks yet, but I don't think it has anything to do with the dog!) He obviously chases things away when he sees them, but his presence doesn't really seem to deter any of them from coming in the yard in the first place.

OK this is the solutions to the squirrels.

This is my site but not my video.
This is not my doing but thought it was funny!

Media Player:
http://www.leargraphicdesign.com/SmallSquirrel.wmv

I broke down and bought a Havahart trap. I am having buyers remorse, but I don't think I can return it since I bought it on ebay. I really don't want to be on the outs with my neighbor since she is nice, but she also won't keep her cats inside. The day before yesterday, one of the cats got in my neighbor's garage and walked all over and inside of her husband's prized Camaro. He had to pay to have it detailed...thank God the cat didn't pee in it, or I could guarantee he'd have served up a nice dish of what he calls "night-night" medicine. I called City Hall who told me to call the cops who told me to call Humane Society. They advised me that there are no leash laws for cats, but that I am in my legal rights to capture a cat that has come on my property and take it to the Humane Society, provided that they have room. Should I give my neighbor advance warning? I just don't know how to broach this with her without sounding confrontational.
:-( Tamara

So sorry Tamara! What you might do is inform your neighbor you bought some live traps for squirrels, trap one of their cats on your property and take the cat in the trap to your neighbors and let them know the next time the kitty won't be coming home. Do it in a nice way such as "We have a problem, your cats are using my garden as their litter box and in doing so digging up my plants. Do you have any suggestions on how we can fix this situation?" If you come across as reasonable and not confrontationable they might want to help fix the problem.

X

My neighbor has been using the rolls of bird mesh for years and she says it works great,.

I've been catching oppossums on and off in my trap and relocating them. Periodically I find a cat in the trap. I have no idea who the owner(s) are -- they don't belong to my immediate neighbors so I think they are from the town houses behind me. Anyway, before I release the cat I completely douse it with water. They hate water --- it doesn't harm them. One of them actually looked back at me with such a "who do you think you are" look - it was funny. During the past 11 months I guess I've caught 4 different cats. They never come back and I haven't seen one in ages. Maybe I've taken care of the ones in my immediate vicinity.

So, you promote and assist in allowing feral and/or free roaming cats. That’s too bad.

Relocating wild animals is illegal and wrong.

Tamara,

Your land is your land. Tell the neighbor and trap the cat. The neighbor will just go out and get a free kitten because they are irresponsible and don't care about their cat.

I let the cats go because they obviously belong to someone -- but I don't know who. They have all looked well fed -- they are not feral. But I do agree that they are a nuisance because they are obviously out hunting for baby birds.

I didn't want to take them to the shelter -- just in case. I've known people calling the shelter to ask about a missing pet only to be told the dog wasn't there. Yet it was; and was only hours before being put down when the people actually went to the shelter to look. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that. Relocating wild animals is wrong ? I wouldn't attempt to relocate a raccoon - that is illegal and you have to call Animal Control when you've trapped one; but I don't think it's even illegal here to relocate 'possums. And while we're on the subject; what about squirrels; is that illegal and wrong too ?

I feed the squirrles shelled peanuts and the leave my plants alone. I have gardened and have had cats for more years
than I want to admit and in all those years I' never had any serious damage to my garden.I have 3 nursing mother squirrles coming to eat and drink from my pond. they chase my viciouse bp siamese and my dl persian stray.Great entertainment for an old lady!

I must add that I learned the peanut trick from the white house. The y keep peanut feeders out at all times for god's
li
ttle creatures. There is a colony of feral cats that are curently fed on parl hill in Ottawa. Their gardens are much nicer than mine.

From the Florida Fish and Widlife Conservation Commission:

"Who can I go to for trapping this troublesome animal?

First you should see if the animal can be controlled before trapping. Often cleaning up debris, maintaining a tight trash lid, or removing food (for example for pets) can control the animal. Relocating wildlife is seldom biologically sound, the animal often does not survive. The Commission maintains a list of licensed trappers by region, that may be hired to trap nuisance animals. In some counties and municipalities, animal control officers are licensed to remove nuisance critters. The Commission, through the regional offices, also issues depredation permits to people who have problems with wildlife destroying agricultural crops. In some cases private individuals can purchase or rent live traps. Care should be taken in handling wild animals, as there may pose a threat due to rabies or other diseases. All fish and wildlife, including their nests, eggs and young, are protected from wanton destruction. And, the poisoning of wildlife is illegal because of its nondiscriminatory method of killing. However, these restrictions don't prohibit individuals from killing certain wildlife (exceptions include but are not limited to deer, bear and those listed as endangered, threatened or species of special concern), on their property in the immediate vicinity of the damage. Nuisance wildlife cannot, however, be killed by gun and light, steel traps, or poison. In addition, there are federal, state and municipal laws regarding control measures against wildlife and transportation of wildlife. Just to be sure, always check with local code enforcement officials and the Commission's regional office to determine legal methods."

Link:
http://myfwc.com/critters/faq.htm#6

We feed a lot of cats in our yard and squirrels too. I never thought about the feeding helping to eliminate other problems, I just thought it was the nice thing to do. LOL

I would consider the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service a fairly unbiased source of education on feral and free roaming cats. In the following link they discuss the BILLIONS of animals and MILLIONS of birds killed by these cats every year. They also discuss the danger that cat owners put their cats in by allowing them to roam. You are doing cats and wild animals favor by trapping cats and sending them to animal control. The American Humane Society, American Bird Conservancy and the Humane Society of the United States agree that cats should not be allowed outdoors.

Link:
http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/7148.htm

And if everyone did this, do you know what would happen to the rat, mole, mouse, etc population?

15 years down the line all would change their tune once babies were being knawed on in the middle of the night, rats were taking over the buses and people were getting bit by varmints in their yard on a daily basis.

People have had outdoor and barn cats since the beggining of time. I will accept that info over anyone's opinion trying to state thousands of years of outdoor cats are the wrong thing to do.

Please.

"I do not trap squirrels. I live in a rural area. We have squirrel seasons and I have a small game license. This is also perfectly legal. We have fragmented natural habitat. We have destroyed natural habitat. We have removed most predators that kept squirrel numbers in check. Now I do it. They make a nice stew. Mepps will even buy the tails to make fishing spinners out of. Hardly any is wasted."

Wow, talk about riding both sides of the fence.

thanks Giddymoon. I agree withyou. I wish that people would worry more about the homeless and hungry children yhan about the piddle little trouble these creatures cause!

Europeans (along with their cats and rats) arrived in North America a few hundred years ago, not thousands of years. The domestic cat hasn't even been in Britain for thousands of years. I guess that you ignored the link that I provided. History is an interesting subject to study. The domestic cat was not in North America before the arrival of Europeans. There are dozens of mechanical mouse and rat traps. There is mouse and rat poison available. Glue traps are available and work . . . Native Americans were not chewed to death by roaming herds of rats and mice before Europeans brought the domesticated cat. Go ahead and ignore the Audubon Society and every other major birding and wildlife organization that says you are wrong. Ignore the fact that unless you have some local regulations that allow free roaming cats that you are breaking the law. Ignore the fact that cats kill MILLIONS of birds each year and many more reptiles and amphibians. Ignore the fact that some of these animals being killed are threatened or endangered. Ignore the fact that cats are only second to habitat destruction in the cause of extinction of animals on this planet. Ignore everything except your opinion, which you have not backed up with anything.

There is nothing wrong with legally hunting any animal. Trapping cats is legal and my local animal control agents thank me for doing so, because they are educated in the consequences of allowing cats to roam. When squirrels over populate they develop diseases, cause property damage and raid bird nests for eggs. They are tree dwelling rodents (or rats with fuzzy tails). They aren't just cute things that eat seeds in your yard. The hunting season for them is allowed to keep their population in check. I am on one side of the fence. I don't load a shotgun and shoot everything that moves. That's what allowing cats to roam is equivalent to.

I work with our DNR. I have studied Peregrine Falcons for a decade in the city where I work. I have an organization devoted to saving a species of special concern (Purple Martins) in Michigan. I joined many outdoor groups and our DNR to work on the Michigan Wildlife Action Plan. I manage a Purple Martin colony and Bluebird trail. I host Swallows, wild ducks, owls, Bluebirds and many other cavity nesting birds on my land. I have rescued a number of birds of prey.

What do you do for wildlife other than allowing cats to eat them?

Extinction of animals caused by HOUSE cats is "piddle little trouble"???

I have feeders in my yard and a pond which is the neighbohood watering hole for the wildlife.I have nesting woodpeckers both downy and hairy plus suet feeders for them year found. There are feeders of niger for the finches.
When the hatchlings appear I do my best to keep the catrs in. They are really lazy about hunting.I've seen very few dead birds. they seem to enjoy watching the golfish in the pond.Oh yes the mourning doves keep the ground under the feeders cleaned pretty well. My yard is not a killing field nor is our neighborrrrrrrhood where most people let their cats roam within reason.

I have 2 cats, both spayed and kept INDOORS! The folks across from me have anywhere from 4 to 8 cats, never fixed and are outdoors ALWAYS! I really think there should be a law that if you have cats, either keep them indoors or have a 'cat run' outside. I love cats but if left outside they get hit by cars, mauled by dogs, breed, get sick, mess in peoples yards, and on and on..
The reason I put from'4 to 8' cats that my neighbor has is some disappear and some have kittens, it's really sad.

You can call them domesticated all you want. The lands have been *domesticated* for hundreds if not thousands of years. Farms have *domesticated* large areas, people have *domesticated* everything and everywhere.....yada yada.... We can go on and on about domestication so lets not start talking about JUST cats.

Fact is, *domestic cats* play a HUGE roll in keeping vermin and such at bay. That is the bottom line.

While I am all for trapping and spay / nuetering and people taking repsonsibility for the amount of animals they have and caring for them; ; your attitude of *it does not matter whose animal this is, it is going to the pound" is sickning.

Walk both sides all you want. This comment " We have removed most predators that kept squirrel numbers in check. Now I do it."

PROVES my point and it is pretty sad that you don't even see your own hypocracy.

Wellsaid giddymoon

Hint:
You cannot “domesticate” land. If you think that you can domesticate land and land has been domesticated for thousands of years please describe this process. Do you tame the soil?

Your bottom line:
I don’t care about wildlife. As long as my domesticated cats kill rats and mice they can kill the last member of any other species, sending it into extinction and I don’t care.

Your attitude sickens me. You don’t care for the welfare of your cats or wildlife. You are responsible for more death, pain and suffering than I could ever be. If your cat is on my land it is my legal right to trap it and send it to the pound. You can get it back by paying a small fine for your illegal activity. Do you ignore all laws or just pick and choose?

If you don’t think that our conservation departments understand that certain animals need to be hunted think again. I am part of the solution. You are part of the problem. It is sad that you don’t understand predator and prey relationships. I kill over populated species. You send your cats out to kill whatever they can find. If my reasoning is deemed by you to be hypocrisy than I consider yours ignorance.

You can try and turn what I said back on me all you want, but the bottom line stays the same. You are grasping at straws.


FYI; it is common knowledge among people dealing with feral colonies that removing cats, feral or not, from an area; will just bring in more cats. Cats are territorial. Spay and nuetering while bringing them back to their territory has far more success than your method, which you claim has been supported by government officials.

For someone to supposedly know so much, but who has actions that totally go against what works, is quite interesting.


If you were able to find things to try and support what you claim, you can just as easily prove yourself wrong.

http://www.feralcat.com/acafcmc.html

Predation and Wildlife


The topic of wildlife predation by cats is usually a very emotional issue between cat lovers and bird lovers. The books listed in the bibliography will help you become more informed about the issue. As illustrated by this material, many studies have been done worldwide on continents and islands since the early 1940s'. However, much of this information is either ignored or unavailable to researchers in the U.S. More often quoted are two studies in which the numbers have been extrapolated across a state or a country. The results of such extrapolation are deceptive and add up to the impression of tremendous numbers of birds and small mammals killed by cats each year.

Cats are carnivores, equipped with highly developed senses, sharp teeth and claws. Wild cats are the supreme predators among terrestrial mammals and although they have a reputation for wanton slaughter, only well fed domestic cats can possibly be accused of this, as they often do not eat their prey. They hunt, in essence, because they are compelled to do so by nature. Even in such cases, scientific evidence shows cats mostly catch small mammals, such as rodents, and insects.

Feral cats who rely solely on hunting for food, as with all other wild cats, spend much of their time seeking food and stalking it. They often have to wait for hours for potential prey to come by and often are unsuccessful at making a kill.


Many zoologists have observed that feral cats are mostly scavengers, hanging out next to dumpsters to wait for a hand out. Peter Neville, a pet behaviorist and author of many books on cats, worked in England for two decades with feral colonies. Neville states, "a deliberate strategy of scavenging has enabled many feral cats almost to give up hunting altogether. They may learn instead to lie around waste bins of hotels for fresh supplies or to cadge from well-meaning human providers in urban areas.

This "begging" and opportunistic behavior started with the domestication of the cat approximately 4,000 years ago. Cats congregated around grain storage barrels, attracted by the rodents who fed off the spilled grain. Cats are opportunistic feeders and hunters, living off the easiest source of available food and will scavenge from human refuse and carrion.



A wildlife biologist recently said that researchers were "obsessively preoccupied with predation by cats and often overlooked other causes of wildlife depletion." An investigative journalist found many U.S. researchers using the Stanley Temple study in Wisconsin and the Churcher study in Britain, were unaware of the international studies conducted during the past forty years, all clearly reflecting the predominance of feline predation on mammals over birds.

1940, Oregon: Mammals 61.8%, Birds 18.9%, Carrion 10.7% Garbage 8.3%.
1941, Oklahoma: Mammals 55%, Garbage 26.5%, Insects 12.5%, Birds 4% and Reptiles 2%.

A New Zealand study showed mammals account for 93% of consumed food and birds 4.5%. In Australia, biologists Brian Coman and Hans Brunner concluded after studying feral cats that mammals made up 88% of the diet and birds 5.2%. They reported:
"The common belief that feral cats are serious predators of birds is apparently without basis. Although birds were common in all sampling areas, they were a relatively minor item in the diet. Presumably, other factors such as difficulty of capture are responsible for the low intake of birds."

A study in Pennsylvania in 1954 found the food of urban feral cats consisted of 85% garbage and 15% rodents and birds.

The following is a good summary of the conclusions reached by many biologists after studying cats, predation and wildlife on four continents:
Europe (13 studies), North America (12 studies), Australia (9 studies) and Africa (1 study). The diet of cats has also been studied on 22 islands from the equator to latitude 57 (see Bibliography).

C. J. Mead, 1982: "[T]he birds in suburban and rural parts of Britain have coexisted with cats for hundreds of generations, and they may now be under less pressure from cats than they were in the past from the assorted natural predators. Any bird populations on the continents that could not withstand these levels of predation from cats and other predators would have disappeared long ago. But populations of birds on oceanic islands have evolved in circumstances in which predation from mammalian predators was negligible and they, and any other island vertebrates, are therefore particularly vulnerable to predation when cats have been introduced.

B. M. Fitzgerald summarizes his findings of the feral cat diets by stating: "On all continents birds are usually much less important than mammals; birds were present on average at 21% frequency of occurrence, and mammals at 68%."

These biologists agree with Tabor, "In terms of the cats as threats to wildlife, generally for countries like Britain and America where other species have co-existed with the cat family predators for a long time, cats are no more harmful than other predators. Only in cases of small islands and the unique circumstances of Australia has the effect of cats, both feral and domestic, been very harmful. In biological systems it is insufficient merely to have found one animal will eat another, that, after all, is what predators do-but is that predation pressure within normal limits? Is the prime predator the cat?" Tabor concludes by suggesting, "disturbances by man" should be considered.

Double Standards


At this time in history when the human population causes so much destruction to the earth, we need to remind ourselves of our species' responsibility and consider our "double standards." We often excuse or ignore the devastation done to the environment by humans and the results of this destruction on our wildlife. Urban sprawl, shopping malls, road building, golf courses, etc. all play a part in reducing habitat and food sources and all have negative effects on wildlife. We poison our air with exhaust fumes from over 120 million automobiles and spray 4 billion pounds of pesticides into the atmosphere annually. The WorldWatch Institute cites deforestation due to razing of forests for croplands, pastures and real estate as one of the major factors contributing to the loss of all birds, including songbirds.

There are 14,136 golf courses nationwide, each of which uses 150 acres of land. Each acre is treated with 18 pounds of pesticides annually. Pesticide use causes enormous losses in bird populations. In the U.S., 220 million acres have been deforested for livestock production, yet environmentalists are eager to eradicate all alien and introduced species except cattle. Rather than blaming cats for so many of our problems, perhaps we should look toward modifying our lifestyles and animal-based agriculture, so destructive to natural ecosystems, and move toward methods which are less damaging to our environment.

Why American Songbirds Have Vanished


Although songbird populations are declining, other birds such as blackbirds and greenfinches, blue jays and brown-headed cowbirds (both nestling-eating predators) are exploding. Year-round U.S. bird residents are stable or increasing in numbers, indicating the need for serious consideration and urgent attention to reasons why songbirds are in decline. Blaming cats for songbird decline is a facile and simplistic solution to a complex problem.
Professor John Terborgh of Duke University reports in the May 1992 issue of Scientific American that little can be done about restoring songbirds in rural and suburban areas and conservation efforts should be directed towards consolidating and expanding large tracts of forest, such as the Smokies and Adirondacks, to maximize habitat for nesting birds. Another suggestion is for farmers to practice fallowing their fields every two to three years. He also mentions the damage done by clear-cutting national forests and overgrazing federal lands.
More than 250 species of song birds migrate south of U.S. borders. Tropical deforestation is occurring at the rate of 142,000 to 200,000 square kilometers each year, an area roughly the size of Florida. At this rate the world's remaining tropical forests will be depleted by 2030 and many species of songbirds will disappear along with them.."


"Preventing Colonies from Forming


ACA promotes low-cost sterilization programs to control breeding until the crisis of pet overpopulation is ended. We also promote and support breeding ordinances limiting animal breeding, provided these ordinances do not penalize colony caretakers trying to alleviate feral cat suffering.
Many blame caregivers for perpetuating the problem by feeding stray and feral cats. While it is true supplemental feeding creates healthier animals and increases the chance of more kittens surviving, feral colonies survive even if only meager food sources such as garbage and rodents are available. This has been proven in deserts and on deserted islands throughout the world where ferals survive without any nearby human habitation.

Instead of blaming the feeders and criminalizing their actions (which is often suggested), we should encourage their acts of compassion by assisting them with the resources and information available to sterilize the animals.
In a recent poll, it was estimated that 17.5 million people feed 35.2 million stray and feral cats in the U.S. It seems a natural act for humans to feed an animal to keep it from starving. Those cats turned away from a possible food source will cross busy highways in search of other sustenance. They will suffer from malnutrition and starvation, and most will still survive and manage to add to the overpopulation of feral kittens. Isn't a good life in a managed sterilized colony with a caretaker providing nutritious food much more preferable?"


http://www.catsnap.org/ferals.htm

"Facts

TNR is the most humane and most effective way of controlling feral cat populations.
When cats are removed from an area, other feral or stray cats move in to take advantage of the food source, so removing feral cats only temporarily solves the problem.
TNR has been used with success across the US and all over the world.
TNR is the preferred method of control for feral cat populations in England, Denmark, and many other forward-thinking countries.
TNR is more cost-effective than trapping and killing feral cats. The average cost of sterilization is $35, while the average cost of euthanasia is $105. Plus, as mentioned above, killing the cats does not get rid of them; more simply move in and take up residence, replacing those who were removed. A vaccinated, sterilized colony of feral cats poses no rabies threat to humans (Raccoons, skunks, and bats are the most common carriers of rabies) and will deter other feral cats from moving into the area. "



The cat did not kill the animal that would take care of your squirrel problem.

The wildlife society admits their findings are suggestive and cannot back up most of what they claim with data and enough studies to support it.

The Wildlife society wants to eliminate colonies when it has been proven that eliminating does not work.

This is only part of all the available info out there. I urge anyone reading this thread to do their own research to find how it really works. Every study out there to try and claim cats are major problem admits in their findings that it is suggestive and not proven.

Meanwhile, as the above article mentions, the real reasons for other depletions get left out of the equation.

I will not waste more time proving my point.... It is very easily found.

“Cat colonies, even managed ones, are a human health risk. Diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as ringworm, cat scratch fever, and toxoplasmosis, cannot be controlled in managed cat colonies.”

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cats are the domestic animal most commonly reported rabid in the U.S. The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians recently passed a resolution opposing TTVAR because of these health risks.”

“WHO OPPOSES TTVAR?

American Bird Conservancy, American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians, The American Ornithologists’ Union, The Cooper Ornithological Society, and National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians have passed resolutions opposing TTVAR. In addition, The Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are on record expressing concerns about this practice.”

PETA says you are wrong. The ASPCA says that you are wrong. The Humane Society of the United States says that you are wrong. You can link to a FEW fringe groups that imagine what they do is practical or even correct. Every major animal rights group opposes you. Every major wildlife organization opposes you. Every major birding group opposes you. Every state in the nation opposes you.

Your practices endanger the very cats that you seem to care about. Your practices endanger human beings. Your practices endanger wildlife. Your practices could kill an unborn child:

“Congenital toxoplasmosis is a special form in which an unborn child is infected via the placenta. This is the reason that pregnant women should be checked for Toxoplasma antibodies. A positive titer indicates previous exposure and immunity and largely ensures the unborn baby's safety. If a woman receives her first exposure to Toxoplasma while pregnant, the baby is at particular risk. A woman with no previous exposure should avoid handling raw meat, exposure to cat feces, and gardening (cat feces are common in garden soil). Most cats are not actively shedding oocysts and so are not a danger, but the risk may be reduced further by having the litterbox emptied daily (oocysts require longer than a single day to become infective), and by having someone else empty the litterbox.

Treatment is very important for recently infected pregnant women, to prevent infection of the fetus. Since a baby's immune system does not develop fully for the first year of life, and the resilient cysts that form throughout the body are very difficult to eradicate with antiprotozoans, an infection can be very serious in the young.”

While there is overwhelming evidence that what you practice is wrong I’m sure that you will ignore it. You seem to care more about cats than you care about people, unborn children and wildlife.

Links:

http://www.wildspirit.org/managed.htm

http://www.animalsheltering.org/resource_library/magazine_articles/may_jun_1998/free_roaming.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

You can't even see that the majority you are trying to point out by the sources you are using, is as stated before, speculation and fear. The majority of every link you show uses the words fear, speculated, not enough studies, belief, but cannot support, etc.

You can find tons of info supported by fear and assumptions..but what has been found to work, works. Funny how the links I showed you and the info anyone can find on the net supporting the proper way to handle outdoor cats will actually use a lot of stats and statistics to support and show how and why it works. But all your sources cannot prove or show enough of anythig to warrant the way you want to do things. In fact, not ever do you hear anyone say that killing them takes care of the problem either. But you won't face that, you just like killing.

Yea, all these statements on these articles proves you are right:

"by free-roaming cats, rabies
is the most worrisome
from a public policy standpoint.
Although there have
been no human deaths in
the United States attributed
to rabid cats,"


"Among the other
zoonoses of concern are
plague, which has been
spread from rodents to cats
to humans; toxoplasmosis,
which has been spread by
free-roaming cats soiling
water sources; and Lyme
disease, which has been
spread by infected ticks
brought into the home by
free-roaming cats."..... yea, we hear about plague, toxoplasmosis, lyme disease deaths everyday on the news from cats...

"Many people believe
free-roaming and feral cats
hunt and kill an enormous
number of songbirds and
other wild animals, but few
studies indicate any longterm
effects, and many provide
evidence to the contrary." as already shown above show AGAIN this is a worthless fear.


And Peta, you want to bring in Peta? Now you are REALLY grasping at straws. I believe you support peta as much as I believe pigs fall from the sky.

I have no doubt you hate Peta, but you will try and use them to support your so called cause. Your own statements are as doublesides as Peta's are.

Keep up with your links..lol

I am a cat lover and a bird lover. But Stelco is correct in saying that cats are responsible for the enormous decline in birds. In Great Britain there have been studies and it's absolutely a fact that the songbird population has declined in the millions as a result of roaming cats (maybe those birds are easier to catch). I do know that when I was growing up in England (quite a few decades ago) we never had a major problem with stray cats (or dogs). People loved their animals and took care of them. Unfortunately, times have changed. I may be stepping on toes saying this; but like a lot of countries we now have a huge poplulation of immigrants with "cultural" differences, where animals in their respective countries are not held in high regard and it doesn't matter at all if animals are starving or abused -- food goes first to family and children and animals are at the bottom of the help list.

I know I have seen this first hand - living in Libya and in Puerto Rico. I hope this doesn't open up an ugly can of worms and people don't get all riled up; but I saw what I saw and worked with many American women trying to help (as well as the poor families and children -- and that's another story). Please don't misunderstand; there were wonderful people on the island who had pets and took responsible care of them. But the truth is there were more roaming, starving animals there than I have ever seen anywhere else. I used to carry dog and cat found around with me in my car. When we left; we came back with our two boys; five dogs and two cats.....Maybe it's all changed for the better now; as this was 25 years ago.

I hope I haven't offended anyone.