| Appeared In: Daily Herald |
| Written By: Patrick Garmoe Daily Herald Staff Writer |
| Date Appeared: April 20,2003 |
To many McHenry County residents, they are little more than orphaned or free-roaming pets playfully peering out from beneath cars and behind tall grass. But to McHenry County officials, they are a nuisance rapidly approaching a scourge, damaging property, devouring wildlife and carrying disease. Such views highlight not only the concern over the impact of the growing number of feral or wild cats prowling the suburbs, but also the thorny problem of finding a solution that's palatable to pet lovers and animal rights activists. The cats live - by the dozens and sometimes hundreds - in abandoned buildings, garbage bins and even our back yards. Just in McHenry County, the number of homeless cats roaming free - including strays that may have at one time been pets - stands at as many as 30,000, according to Joyce Crosbie, executive director of the nonprofit Animal Outreach Society of McHenry County. "People think if they don't see these cats, there's not a problem," Crosbie said. "But there really is." Though a similar estimate has not been conducted in other Chicago collar counties, many animal experts believe the problem is just as acute in those areas. But now there's a new program for downsizing the feral and stray cat population that many view as more palatable than euthanasia. Called "trap, neuter and return," or TNR, the program is an effort to sterilize feral and stray cats so they can live out their lives, but not reproduce. A pilot program is being tested in Lake County. Similar programs are being discussed in McHenry and DuPage counties. Though TNR is touted by many animal rights groups as a more humane solution, some veterinarians and animal groups fear its effectiveness is being drastically oversold. An invisible problem Although some might welcome cats roaming free, animal experts say too many cats creates a variety of problems that will grow if left unchecked. Becky Robinson, national director of Alley Cat Allies, an organization dedicated to solving the stray and feral cat problem, estimates the typical feral cat will bear 10 kittens a year. Stray and feral cats spread disease, often die in traffic accidents or starve, and are one of the worst destroyers of natural wildlife, including small birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, according to David Jessup, senior wildlife veterinarian of the California Department of Fish and Game. "That's way too much wildlife damage," he said. That's why he still supports euthanasia for cats. Sterilization proponents argue government agencies spend a lot of time responding to complaints of roaming cats because the number of cats is so out of balance with nature. But whether the general population recognizes it as a major problem or not, there is a raucous debate in the animal care industry over whether TNR should be a key component of getting the cat population down in addition to, or instead of, cat adoption efforts and euthanasia. How TNR works Although the TNR process differs depending on the community, AzCATs in Phoenix has two programs that encompass what typically is offered. Since its inception four years ago, the group has sterilized more than 12,000 cats, executive director Jan Raven said. One program is for people who can pay at least $25 per cat; the other is for those who can't pay as much or anything. The first method, Fast Track, is done similar to the way a family pet would be sterilized. The organization makes sure that those requesting the sterilization accept the cats again and continue to provide them food and water. The "cat caretaker" is sent to the homes of AzCAT volunteers to borrow humane traps. The organization also helps set up appointments with local veterinarians who donate their time to do the surgeries at a reduced rate. Veterinarians typically are paid a reduced fee of $15 to $19 to neuter a male and $25 to $31 for a female, depending on the difficulty of the procedure for a particular cat, Raven said. Funds also go toward insurance fees and supplies. The cat caretaker traps the animal with advice and sometimes assistance from AzCATs. Once the procedure is done, the caretaker takes the cat home to recover. The Fast-Track program typically has a waiting list as long as six weeks. The other, cheaper program, called "Mission Nip 'N Tip," has a waiting list of up to six months, Raven said. In that program, people are asked to make a voluntary contribution. AzCATs then comes out and trap the cats. About once a month - typically Sunday or Wednesday nights - veterinarians get together in an assembly line and AzCATs pays each $40 to $45 per hour to sterilize one cat after another. The group can sterilize up to 150 in one day, Raven said, which reduces the cost to roughly $10 a cat. Regardless of the cost of either program, it still is a significant drop from the $60 McHenry County pays to have each cat euthanized. Dr. Richard Gorski, president of the McHenry County Health Board, said his group is investigating the idea of allowing Animal Outreach Society of McHenry County to offer TNR, in part because he thinks it makes financial sense. His group will recommend an 18-month pilot project in the next six months. Even though the program might be less costly than euthanasia, ultimately its effectiveness depends on whom you ask. Opinions vary In the case of AzCATs, large colonies - areas where cats congregate because someone is putting out food and water regularly - aren't growing. But the number of people on waiting lists also hasn't dwindled in the four years AzCATs has offered the program. Raven said information in other countries shows once you manage to sterilize 75 percent of the cats, the numbers of cats begins plummeting. But there is no way to track when you've hit 75 percent. "What you learn is that you never know whether it's having an impact until it does," she said. Which means that when counties want to see success rates, TNR advocates have to point to how many cats have been sterilized. It could take years before there is a noticeable drop. Rebecca Adler, president of Spay and Stay, the pilot TNR program in Lake County, said that since it began nearly a year ago, 150 cats have been sterilized. She said several colonies have been reduced by 50 percent because of a mix of adoptions, cats simply leaving and attrition due to TNR. In other Lake County colonies, there has been no population growth, which to cat lovers also is good news. "It's proving to be pretty effective," she said. Although 150 sterilizations is not a lot compared with the number of stray and feral cats likely roaming Lake County, officials feel it is a first step toward getting the problem under control, because so far euthanasia hasn't done the job. Data inconclusive Gorski has heard of other communities that have tried TNR and rejected it because it wasn't effective enough - a sentiment echoed elsewhere. "In some situations, it's seemed to work really well. In other colonies, it hasn't done much at all," said Gail Golab, a veterinarian and assistant director of communications for the American Veterinary Medical Association. Her organization has not discounted it nor endorsed it, though the American Humane Society has endorsed it. "At this point and time there aren't any really good answers," Golab said. Thus far there isn't much scientific study that has tracked effectiveness. So they rely on anecdotal information, she said. "You're really dealing with an amorphous population and it gets really hard to track," Golab said. Yet Jessup, of the California Department of Fish and Game, argues that TNR by itself is a failure in most cases. "Almost all of the projects fail to not only eliminate (cats) but reduce them by a significant number," he said. He said it takes sterilization of 90 to 95 percent of female cats for three to five years before a cat population of 30 or more cats shrinks. Experts on both sides agree, however, that in the end it's going to take a lot of community support for sterilization, euthanasia and adoption programs to get the cat population under control. "Just going out catching cats and killing them is not going to solve the problem," Jessup said, "but TNR is not going to work, either." If you'd like more information on "trap, neuter and return" programs in your area call:
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