‘Feral cat colonies will be here with or without our help,’ vet says
To the Editor,I am writing in response to last week’s letter about the feral cat situation in Tecumseh. I was contacted by Mr. Welch about the ongoing cat issues in Tecumseh. I told him that trying to get rid of all the feral cats in Tecumseh is like trying to get rid of all the skunks, raccoons, rabbits and squirrels in the city limits. It isn’t going to happen! I explained that we have been a proponent of the capture, neuter/spay and return method. We perform at least 10-12 surgeries per week through the cat-snips organization at a much reduced cost. The neutered cat population will drive other new cats out of their territory. The food sources will dictate the holding capacity of that territory. Never ending food resources will only increase the population within that territory.The fact is that feral cats are wild animals. Cats are carnivores and very resourceful. They are natural born hunters. They will hunt their own food such as birds, mice, rabbits, and squirrels. Not feeding them from dumpsters and hand-outs is not cruel. They are very resourceful. I was making a point that if the population of Tecumseh is against the feral cat population then why have open dumpsters. They come running across the parking lot when employees come out of the back of restaurants.I explained also that if someone removed all the cats behind every restaurant, by whatever means, more cats would soon be back to establish a new colony. They go where the easiest food source is available. I have no dog (excuse the pun) in this fight. I only will continue to help with discounted spays and neuters through cat-snips. I don’t want to be associated with any effort to exterminate the cat population. All I was trying to do was to repeat what research shows about feral cat colonies. They will be here with or without our help.Edward W. Tritt DVMTecumseh
Tecumseh Herald
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