JAYCIE OTA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The feral cats, like the ones at Moanalua High School campus, seem like permanent fixtures in their communities. Some people scorn them for their foul feces and bird butchering, and for being noisy nuisances and want to see them gone. In Hawaii a rule passed by the Hawaii Board of Land and Resources states that if a stray cat is seen trespassing on lands under the jurisdiction of the department, they have every right to dispose and destroy said cat.
However, the destruction of intrusive felines is not only an inhumane act but an impractical and temporary solution. A humane and practical solution towards preventing the growth of the feral felines community is the process of TNR: Trap, Neuter and Release. TNR aims to safely trap the cats, neuter or spay them and return them to their natural habitat in the streets. TNR is a preferable solution to lethal trapping and TVHR because it reduces the issues caused by feral cats, it is a safe and practical practice, and it is the best option for neutering feral cats.
Annually, a cat can produce three litters of kittens with four to six kittens per litter, according to PetCoach. The average life expectancy of a feral cat is about 5 years old. Within a female cat’s lifetime, she can produce up to approximately 90 kittens. This population boom can cause dangerous drops in endangered species as well as health issues.
Feral cats rely on small animals such as birds, mice and rats that roam the streets as their source of food. In Hawaii, feral cats are the principal threat to 8 percent of critically endangered birds, mammals, reptiles and caused 33 Hawaiian species to go extinct. With nothing stopping their appetites, feral cats are hazardous towards all the native victims.
Hunting is not the only way feral cats disrupt the population of native species, but they are the hosts of a nasty parasite that causes a toxic disease called Toxoplasma gondii, which is spread through the feces of cats. The Hawaiian crow and nene goose have been victims. Cat poop that washes into the ocean can infect wildlife in the water such as monk seals.
During mating season, the females screech piercing howls and hisses, which can be booming and is a noise issue to the people that are in the surrounding area.
TNR is a safe practice in which feral cats are carefully captured, transported to a veterinary clinic to be spayed/neutered and then gently returned to their original habitats after some recuperation. Neutering is the process in which the cats reproductive organs are surgically removed to prevent the creation of offspring. These cats not only benefit from being neutered but as they are at the clinic they are given a health check, vaccines, and food and water before they are released back to where they came from. They are also ear tipped so veterinarians can tell if the feral cat has been neutered and they can also continue to provide safety to these cats as well.
Feral cats that become neutered often have improved health. They develop a healthier coat and gain much needed weight to be at a healthy weight. It even leads cats to live a longer life. As the result of a 11 year TNR study completed by the University of Florida, 83 percent of cats in TNR-monitored colonies for more than six years, challenged the life expectancy of a household cat which has an average of 7.1 years.
TNR is a more humane option to address the problem of feral cats than trapping and euthanizing them at shelters. Even shelter workers find having to kill countless cats an emotional drain.
The Trap-Neuter-Release programs aims to lessen issues caused by feral cats by neutering them to prevent more offspring from being produced, allowing them to live a natural life while controlling the population. Eliminating feral cats by killing them is not answer to the problem we are trying to solve. TNR is the key for feral cats to live their lives without controversy from the people around them.