It’s hard not to appreciate the motivation of volunteers who came out to build shelters for stray cats as winter approached.
A recent Denver Post story detailed how they built about 50 shelters for “homeless and feral cats.”
But these kind-hearted souls are only making the stray cat problem in Denver worse, and they’re being aided and abetted by city policies that encourage a misguided ” ” approach to cat overpopulation.
The city’s animal shelter takes the position that feral cats — which are unsocialized domestic cats living behind Dumpsters and under bushes — should be allowed to live there.
This is what the city says on its website on the matter of homeless cats: “They have a home: the outdoors.”
That’s a cruel approach to what admittedly is a difficult problem. Accepting that domestic cats, adapted over generations to the comforts of living with people, should be allowed to live outdoors — exposed to predators, parasites and disease — isn’t an acceptable way to deal with the issue.
Not even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) , unless undertaken with an extraordinarily high level of care that includes regular veterinary care, neutering, vaccinations, feeding and keeping them in an isolated area.
In short, it would be a cat zoo.
The goal behind the trap-neuter-return approach is to reduce the free-roaming cat population by attrition. The trouble is, it doesn’t work without other extensive interventions, such as a robust adoption program.
As one study said: “But unfortunately, the consequences of allowing cats to roam wild or live in colonies with extremely poor health conditions are less humane than euthanasia.”
In the meantime, feral cats are devastating predators that kill a significant number of birds and other wildlife.
The traditional approach to dealing with feral cats — euthanizing them — is unattractive and imperfect for obvious reasons. Yet, we are equally convinced that returning neutered cats to Denver streets is not the answer, either.
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