By Kelly Rush, Mower County Humane Society, Austin
Scott Rall’s March 31 column regarding “invasive species” was forwarded to me, and I would like to comment on it and offer a different perspective on the issue of feral cats.
Rather than comment on several erroneous statements made by Mr. Rall, I would like to tell the Worthington-area community what is working in Mower County. In 2006, the Mower County Humane Society (MCHS) conducted its first feline low-cost spay/neuter clinic. Our goal was to spay/neuter 50 cats in our
area. We accepted house pets, barn cats and feral cats.
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The clinic was a success, and the public wanted more opportunities to control the growth of unwanted cats in their neighborhoods and on farms. Today, we sponsor seven low-cost spay/neuter clinics. One, done with the Austin Vet Clinic, spays/neuters 200 cats every spring. We also work with MNSNAP (a non-profit group that travels throughout Minnesota doing low-cost spays/neuters on both cats and dogs) six times per year. MCHS works with the citizens of Mower County to actively trap/neuter/release feral cats.
This proactive approach has resulted in a dramatic drop of unwanted felines in our community. Both the MCHS shelter and the local city pound have seen a drop in calls about unwanted cats. The difference between our approach and Mr. Rall’s is that we are humanely controlling the number of feral felines.
Feral cats DO have a place in our society. They control rat and mouse populations - without the use of poisons - and they cost nothing when compared to other pest control methods. Farms in Minnesota actively use feral (I prefer “working” as a description) cats to control pest populations. On a larger scale, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Chicago are just a few cities where TNR (trap/neuter/release) is successfully done to control feline and pest populations.
Mr. Rall, humans create the feral cat communities with the release of unspayed/unneutered felines. As with many issues society is now facing because of former actions (perhaps you would like to address the house
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sparrow issue in another column?), it is now up to us to fix it. I for one prefer to humanely control the feral cat population through education, spaying and neutering.
