Apparently there is a large population of feral cats in Wisconsin. And there was a meeting last night by the Wisconsin Conservation Congress to decide if Feral cats would fall into the category of an unprotected species. I read about this first on Jay Dyke’s site called The Mows, a cartoon about his cats. And he has his statement on the subject.
One very good point that he makes is regarding his utter frustration with feral cats coming into his home and his chasing them away by use of a broom and hissing, water and finally throwing rocks at them (a last resort) and mistaking is very own cat Indy for a feral cat. I guess the point is, if a person who is the owner of a cat can mistake it for a feral cat, how easy would it be for a hunter to make the same mistake, not much you can do after the cat is already dead.
Feral cats are a big problem all over the place. My sister traps feral cats to make sure that they are spayed and neutered through a volunteer program with a local animal shelter, something the owners of cats should do. They cats are trapped an released. Allison and my sisters have all been volunteers with Petsmart to help people adopt abandoned cats. Our boys were feral cats at one time too. There are other ways to deal with feral cats then with guns.
To think that if Oliver or Duncan were to get out and that they could be shot and killed (accidentally of course because hunters who can’t tell the difference between their buddy Clem and a moose probably won’t be observant enough to notice if a cat has a collar on or not) makes me sick to my stomach. It also makes me sick to my stomach to think of them getting out and getting into a fight with another cat and ending up with Feline Aids, or Feline Leukemia.
Something needs to be done to control these populations and take the dangerous and sick cats out of the populace, and that responsibility relies on owners of sick cats to keep them inside and away from other cats, and the humane society and local animal shelters, not in the hands of hunters. I hope this doesn’t go through in Wisconsin. I’d like to think that they could search for other solutions.
The Humane Society of the US condemns this proposal. (As it should)
Learn how to protect your cats.
JR Left me this site in the comments
