SATcats and Other Scat

San Antonio took a huge step forward today to embrace the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. At a press conference, Animal Care Services (ACS) Director Jef Hale announced that, effective April 1st of 2008 (next week), the city will no longer accept cats in traps at its facility or in the field. Last year, the city adopted a Strategic Plan to attain No-Kill status in San Antonio by 2012. Today's announcement proves that the city is continuing to make gains in embracing No-Kill and will save the lives of countless stray and feral cats. Accepting cats in traps at the ACS facility has always been tantamount to more of the same kill mentality that has affected our community for decades. This new change in policy puts San Antonio on the right track and will dramatically reduce the numbers of cats taken into the ACS facility. I am thrilled.

A recent change to the city's animal ordinance (December 2007), which now provides for legalized TNR programs, makes all of this possible. Jef remarked that the city has done nothing to improve the situation regarding free-roaming cats over the past three decades, so the problem never got better. Statistics at the ACS facility in recent years have shown that most cats brought in (usually in traps) have resulted in the killing of about 85-90% of those cats. What a tragedy. Now, with an increased emphasis on adoptions, working with rescue groups, and cutting off the intake of cats in traps, ACS is saying we need to change the way we think by embracing TNR. ACS will now begin offering alternatives for those people who still need help with stray and feral cats. ACS used to loan out traps to enable cats to be caught and brought in for killing, now they will loan deterrents to help people deal with cats humanely.

ACS will partner with the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition (SAFCC) to provide different ways to address nuisance behaviors of stray and feral cats. Some of those alternatives will be: 1) encouraging people to attend SAFCC's TNR Workshops; 2) offering deterrents to people complaining about cats in their yards; and 3) specifically addressing free-roaming cat nuisance behaviors in a humane fashion. Jef indicated that he will have a dedicated ACS person to work on this initiative.

In addition, Jef said there are plans to increase the capacity of spaying and neutering pets in the community, including feral cats. ACS will shortly begin offering SAFCC 30 appointments on Fridays to spay/neuter feral cats. ACS will also offer no/low-cost spay and neuter to the public. Most of the complaints ACS has received in the past involved intact (non-sterilized) cats. Sterilizing them will greatly reduce nuisances from free-roaming cats.

Congratulations to Jef Hale and the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition. Your partnership will save many kitty lives and help those people to address cat issues in our community. Well done!

(Jef Hale gives TNR a big thumbs up!)

San Antonio City Council unanimously approved changes to Chapter 5 of the City Municipal Code yesterday (see story at http://tinyurl.com/2jtfyb). The ordinance change modernizes and cleans up the entire code, legalizes progressive life-saving techniques like Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), closes loopholes in the state's cruelty laws, makes licensing free as a way of collecting information to reunite lost pets with their families, creates an Excess Animal Permit to allow families who take good care of their pets to keep more than the limit, and a whole host of other important improvements. The revised code that was approved is published at http://tinyurl.com/2kf4t7.

A significant change that the code revision added was to introduce Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) as the method for controlling free-roaming cats (not mentioned in the news article cited above). Last week Houston city council approved a similar ordinance change. Now, San Antonio has joined the ranks of progressive cities to address the feral cat population control problem in a humane way. This is huge.

Portions of the code revision that relate to feral cats are as follows:

ARTICLE I. IN GENERAL

Sec. 5-1. Definitions.

Cat colony means a colony of free-roaming (homeless, stray, wild or untamed) cats that has been registered with the Department and is maintained by a colony caretaker (who provides food, water and shelter) using trap, neuter and return methodology.

Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) program shall mean a nonlethal, humane alternative to deal with the stray cats which are captured, altered and returned back to their location in order to encourage the stabilization of the free-roaming cat population in the City.

ARTICLE V. ANIMAL LICENSES AND PERMITS

Sec. 5-108. Litter permit.

(e) This Section does not apply to caretakers of feral cat colonies and rescuers affiliated with recognized rescue organizations registered with the Department.

Sec. 5-115. Cat colony permit and registration.

(a) Each cat colony will be registered by the caretakers with the Department or its designee which will serve as a clearinghouse for information on current caretakers, education for new caretakers, and assistance for persons found in violation of this Section. Cat colonies with eight (8) or fewer cats are not required to be registered as a cat colony.

(b) Any feral cat picked up by the Department which has an appropriate ear tip will be returned to that colony unless veterinary care is required or the criteria listed in subsection (d) apply.

(c) Caretakers of feral cat colonies shall obtain a cat colony permit and implement proper management and sterilization practices as required by the Department. Any person or caretaker determined to be in violation of proper management and sterilization practices required by the Department shall be issued a written warning and be allowed a period of time to come into compliance, or provide satisfactory evidence of working to achieve compliance. That period of time shall not exceed ninety (90) days from issuance of the initial warning notice. Failure to comply shall result in a violation of this Chapter, which may result in the issuance of a citation.

(d) The Department has the right to immediately seize and remove all, or parts of any colony for the following reasons:

(1) Public health and public safety concerns including rabies, other epizootic and certain zoonoses identified by the Department of Health; or

(2) Animals creating a public nuisance as defined in Section 5-150.

ARTICLE VII. OWNER RESPONSIBILITY; NUISANCES; IMPOUNDMENT

Sec. 5-154. Impounding abandoned or unrestrained animals.

(a) The Director may order the seizure and impoundment of any abandoned animal as defined in this Chapter. Disposition of said seized and impounded abandoned animals shall be in accordance with Sections 5-157, 5-158, and 5-159 of this Code. Any trap, neuter and return (TNR) program that has been registered with the Department shall not constitute a violation of this Section.

Roddy Stinson's column today (4 Dec 2007) discussed a resident's dissatisfaction with feral cats in his yard in the Canyon Rim neighborhood in Stone Oak. The column warrants a response to clarify some things and provide some additional information about feral cats in San Antonio. You can read Stinson's column online at http://tinyurl.com/2mcxuj.

The homeowner's displeasure about the cats in his yard is understandable. Nobody wants cats around their house that are marking their territory, making a mess of flower beds, yowling and squalling, and generally causing a nuisance. But this is a reality in just about every neighborhood, at many businesses, apartment complexes, college campuses, trailer parks, hospitals, etc., in not only San Antonio, but in every other city and location where people live across the country. Heck, it's a world-wide problem (and so documented for years). Nobody knows just how many feral cats there are in the U.S. I've seen figures that estimate anywhere between 70 million and 100 million feral cats in the U.S. In San Antonio alone, there are an estimated 200,000 plus feral cats (based on the number of households in the city as of 2004). My guess, because of the city's history of animal issues, is that the figure is probably closer to a quarter of a million free-roaming / feral cats in San Antonio. So, yeah, it's a huge problem.

Recognizing this problem (because I experienced it first-hand like the homeowner who is the subject of Stinson's column today), I decided to do something about it and co-founded the San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition (SAFCC) back in 2004. You can read more about SAFCC at their web site at http://www.sanantonioferalcats.org.

So, Mr. Homeowner in Canyon Rim, you're not alone. The first thing you need to realize is that the situation you are faced with is much the same as others face all across our community. In other words, it's a community problem now and we need people in the community to step up and help solve it. Don't expect city government to fix it alone. Government's traditional approaches (catch the cats and kill them at the pound or just ignore the problem) haven't solved the problem with free-roaming cats in the city in the past. In fact, the problem has gotten much worse over decades of failing to deal with it in an effective fashion. Your frustration is understandable, but you need to direct your ire at irresponsible people in OUR community who let their pet cats roam outside without having been first neutered or spayed. Also, be irritated at the people who move away and abandon intact cats or those who dump unsterilized cats on the steps of homes where people live who are known to care for (i.e., feed) the cats. THAT's how the problem started and continues today.

So, how do we deal with the problem? The most effective, and humane, method is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). For more information as to why this is the best way to confront the issue of feral cats, go to the source: Alley Cat Allies (http://www.alleycat.org).

I want to move along and address some things in Stinson's column that need clarification or amplification.

First, the reason the cats in the homeowner's yard are making noises (fighting, yowling, etc.) is mainly because they are not neutered. Spaying or neutering the cats will cut down or eliminate this nuisance.

I'm not sure which nonprofit group that 311 told the homeowner about that rents traps, but my guess is that the unnamed group was SAFCC. It's true they rent traps and they also sell the traps (for about $50 each, not $70 to $100 each). It's worth noting that most public animal shelters will also rent humane traps (I know the Humane Society/SPCA of Bexar County and the Animal Defense League do) and some veterinary clinics will loan out traps.

Regarding the cost quoted by unnamed nonprofit animal welfare group for neutering the cats, I'm not sure where the $40 figure originated. The SAFCC spays and neuters feral cats through the Gladys Harborth Animal Resource Center (on South Laredo Street) for just $10 per cat. The spay/neuter is actually free, the $10 is for the rabies shot (a feline distemper and ivermectin shot are also included at no charge).

Concerning the city ordinance about returning cats to a homeowner's property after being neutered and vaccinated, the CURRENT city ordinance does not advocate this. But the NEW city ordinance, currently in committee and being considered by the city council, does delineate Trap-Neuter-Return as the way to effectively deal with feral cats in "managed" colonies. It's also worth noting that implementing TNR will save the city taxpayers a good deal of money over having to house feral cats at the city pound for the required holding period and then euthanizing them.

Now, with the homeowner in Canyon Rim "dealing with the problem on his own," I hope that his way of dealing with it is a humane one where the cats won't be injured or abused. It's worth reminding him that a new state law that went into effect in September of this year makes it a felony to kill or abuse the cats in a cruel fashion (poisoning, shooting, etc.).

So, what can we do to help this individual? There are several things to try:

1. He can attend one of the monthly Feral Cat Workshops put on by SAFCC where he can learn to "deal with the problem" in a humane and more effective fashion.

2. He can call the SAFCC Help Line at 210-877-9067 and ask to speak to someone about his problem. If he doesn't get satisfaction from that, he should ask for one of SAFCC's board members to call him.

3. He should visit the Alley Cat Allies web site and search through the Resources section for ways to humanely keep cats out of his yard.

4. He could seek help from some of his neighbors who might want to step in and help. If he can find someone willing to take on the TNR effort in his neighborhood, it might be possible to gradually move the cat colony to another place where a neighbor could feed and manage the cat colony (after they're all "fixed").

5. And if all else fails, he can call me at 210-490-2415 and I will be happy to meet with him and see what can be done to help his situation. I would also be happy to come to a meeting of his neighborhood homeowners association and present some options for getting the problem under control in the Canyon Rim neighborhood.