Feral cats on the rise in Polk County

Every year, five to seven million companion animals enter animal shelters.  Only 10 percent of animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered and of those five to seven million, three to four million have to be euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Cats can be spayed or neutered after only a few months. A female cat can go into heat as early as five months old.

Stray cats wandering around neighborhoods pose risks: unwanted litters of kittens, and the spread of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and cat leukemia. A cat does not always have the recessive feral gene and when left to fend for themselves will die within two or three weeks. A feral cat is one that lives outside and is not social with humans. Typically living in colonies, they have been victims of abandonment, accidental loss and failure by owners to fix their pets.

FIV is a lentivirus that affects domesticated house cats and is the causative agent of feline AIDS, which makes cats more susceptible to diseases. Feline Leukemia virus (FeLV) is a virus that attacks a cat's immune system and can be lethal if their body cannot fight it off. Both of these diseases are spread through cats by contact of bodily fluids during fights from scratches or being bitten. These are not only dangerous to stray cats roaming the streets but to indoor/household cats that may go outside.

Ash Creek Animal Clinic states that the best thing to do if you have stray cats around your house is to contact the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon in Lebanon or the Willamette Humane Society in Salem or Corvallis to have the cats caught and taken to be spayed or neutered and then adopted.

Cats are domesticated creatures and can only survive for a few weeks without food but will continue to reproduce, making the problem of stray cats worse. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (ASPCA) reports that a fertile cat can produce up to two litters a year with the average litter size being four to six kittens.

Ash Creek has helped with multiple stray cats in the Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program that both the Feral Cat Coalition and Human Society participate in.  Ash Creek states that to bring a cat into their clinic to be spayed or neutered would cost $117, but through the Federal Cat Coalition the same procedure can be done at a reduced price.

Willamette Humane Society will take stray cats that are brought in, check for microchip implants and will hold the animal for one business day to see if the owner comes looking for the animal. If the cat is deemed to be a stray cat it will be evaluated for adoption. Unfortunately, the Willamette Humane Society states that they cannot put feral cats into their adoption program, but they are able to spay or neuter a cat and return it. This costs $43, which includes the surgery, rabies vaccination, and flea and ear mite treatments.

The Willamette Humane Society and Feral Cat Coalition participate in a TNR program, which is the most humane and effective method to end the overpopulation of feral cats.

The Willamette Humane Society states that the program first has to identify a feral cat colony, then humanely trap the cats. They are then transported to the clinic for their surgery and treatment, costing $43 per cat. Before being returned, their right ear is tipped for future identification, and after being held for 24 to 48 hours, they are released back to their colonies.

For more information contact the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon or the Willamette Humane Society.