From the Brazos Feral Cat Allies:
Please join us at Spoons yogurt(in Culpepper Plaza) this Friday from 12-2 to help us raise money for our kitties. All you have to do is mention our name when you are checking out, and we get a donation from Spoons! Thanks so much!

We are not allowed to have a table, etc. People must just know to mention BFCA at checkout. If everyone sends(or brings) 5 people, we could get a pretty nice donation!!! Spread the word.

Does the money collected go to eradicating the feral cat colonies from the BCS area? If so, count me in...

Me too, I'll donate to erradication, prolifferation I will not.

Why do feral cats need allies?

I didnt' know cats ate yogurt!

BFCA does not contribute to the proliferation of the feral cat population. They TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) feral cats. The cats also receive vaccinations.

BFCA also traps, neuters and gives all immunizations to kittens who are born of feral cats (of whom they are made aware) then aggressively seeks homes for the kittens.

They actually do more than anyone, in my opinion, to stem the growth of the feral cat population. And on top of that, they are some wonderful people who volunteer their time.

I think
Trap------> Euthanize------> Incinerate

Would be the best control of feral cat populations. If you already have them captive why not euthanize? That would be way cheaper. What greater good does allowing the cats to survive and roam serve?

We adopted one of our cats thru them. She is wonderful. Fantastic group of people working to keep the feral feline population low and disease free.

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They TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) feral cats.

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I think I've identified the problem here...

OnlyANobody, if this is the same group of nuts that tried to ramrod the animal ordinances committee and is still publicly slamming the Animal Shelter.

Then NO Thank You, I'll keep giving my time and money to the shelter.

[This message has been edited by burnt meat (edited 5/13/2010 3:21p).]

I think I have found an error in my process as well. Steps 2 and 3 should be combined.

Posting in this thread against my better judgment...

Wiki page, with links to studies at the bottom: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap-Neuter-Return

Some people disagree, of course, but it's generally accepted that TNR programs are more effective at reducing the feral cat populations than Trap/Euthanize, because fertile cats will eventually move back in and reproduce further, whereas if there are neutered cats controlling the territory they'll be the only ones there, chasing off any other cats who wander in (and of course, not reproducing).

Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if people weren't jerks who dumped their unwanted cats and/or kittens (especially intact ones) into the neighborhood, but they are...

Note: I am not endorsing the methods and/or people of BFCA, as I honestly don't know them from Adam. They may or may not be doing good work, but could probably use better PR in any case. Publicly opposing the animal shelter (if that's true) is probably not the best way to go...

[This message has been edited by Drewmeister (edited 5/13/2010 4:20p).]

Dont waste your money on this garbage. Why does anyone give a crap about feral cats? I would pay to have the cats killed, but thats it.

For Feral Cat Allies - Thumbs up. The city came through and did the "trap->incinerate" thing to a cat colony that had been keeping the rodent population near the new Creek View Elementary under control. A few months later, we had rats eating our garage doors, gardens, siding, walls, landscaping.

Natural pest control (aka: the food chain) is far superior to anything chemicals will do.

Superspeck,
Sounds to me like there's plenty of "live" food for these "kitties", and odds are their place in the food chain is pretty well solidified. Don't see any need for city involvement here, especially when some carefully placed .22 shots could resolve any potential colony expansion issues...

Um, the city removed the "kitties". The varmints that the "kitties" were eating prior to their round-up were then eating our houses as the kitties were no longer present to eat them. What part of that is not clear to you?

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Some people disagree, of course, but it's generally accepted that TNR programs are more effective at reducing the feral cat populations than Trap/Euthanize, because fertile cats will eventually move back in and reproduce further, whereas if there are neutered cats controlling the territory they'll be the only ones there, chasing off any other cats who wander in (and of course, not reproducing).

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So where do the cats who were chased off go?

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Natural pest control (aka: the food chain) is far superior to anything chemicals will do.

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Agree! That’s why we allow coyotes in Wellborn.

If folks want to keep a feral cat colony in their yard, power to them. Not what I would choose, but I believe we are all entitled to our opinion and actions.

edited because posting in anger will lead to saying too much. I apologize.

[This message has been edited by burnt meat (edited 5/13/2010 8:52p).]

Burnt Meat, I do not know what you are referring to about the people of BFCA. Is there a news link or something that I can read?

eta: The only reference to a group that I keep finding is "Citizens Coalition for Responsible Pet Ownership"

[This message has been edited by OnlyANobody (edited 5/13/2010 6:50p).]

A couple of you have mentioned the "antics" of BFCA in dealing with animal ordinances over the past couple of years. I am curious if you can give some examples of what you mean by this.

BFCA advocates the T-N-R method to control, thereby eventually eliminating, feral cat colonies. BFCA is the only group in our area that citizens can call for help to trap/help control a feral cat colony. The group does this using cat adoption fees and donations. No tax dollars are used.

Killing/incinerating/shooting feral cats does not work. There is so much research out there to support this. Where there are feral cats, there is a food source. Cats will continue to "show up" at the food source unless the source is already inhabited by another colony.

This is not about whether or not you like cats, feral or not.Clearly, some of you can't wait for a chance to tell about the inane ways you would like to kill them.

If you would like to support BFCA's efforts in our community to help control the feral cat population, then please come to Spoons tomorrow between 12 and 2 and mention the group's name. If not, then feel free to ignore these posts.

I have to disagree with the last post. You will NEVER eliminate the colony by doing that. New fertile cats will always replace the sterile ones that die, move on ect. House cats are not native and should be treated like any invasive species, eradication is the only answer. What is the cat lover's response to all the native wildlife that is killed by the cats?

So, how much is Spoons giving? Is it per person or per amount of money received?

I'm saying spend no money on feral cat wrangling, cats then control the mice/rodent problem, city gets to spend money on something more useful.

I think neutering is a waste of money in general, but I'd rather have a non-profit waste it's money than have the city of CS send us further into the red trying to control something that affects maybe 1% of the voting, tax-paying population.

Informed ag, either you just did something that is the first I've ever seen on Texags and actually changed your opinion when presented with the facts (for which I congratulate you), or you are mis-understanding what the BFCA does. Other than thinking "neutering is a waste of money", this:

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I think neutering is a waste of money in general, but I'd rather have a non-profit waste it's money than have the city of CS send us further into the red trying to control something that affects maybe 1% of the voting, tax-paying population.

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is exactly what the BFCA does. Go eat some yogurt!

[This message has been edited by Montego Bay 2 (edited 5/14/2010 9:13a).]

If you really want help taking care of the feral cat problem, I will donate the use of 3 shotguns and 4 cases of birdshot. Through extensive reseach I have found it to be quite effective...

Haven't really changed my opinion and I know full well what the BFCA is/does. My original post said I'd be for the effort if it involved eradicating the feral cat populations. I'm fine with non-profits trying to take on a TNR project, because city government shouldn't allocate funds for anything like this. However, I will not be donating to the cause.

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I have to disagree with the last post. You will NEVER eliminate the colony by doing that. New fertile cats will always replace the sterile ones that die, move on ect. House cats are not native and should be treated like any invasive species, eradication is the only answer. What is the cat lover's response to all the native wildlife that is killed by the cats?

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A certain level of cats is sustainable. They may not be native, but they have integrated into the food chain and removing them suddenly will unbalance it... as we saw in my neighborhood.

Fertile cats may move in, but that's why BFCA and other feral cat care organizations mark the cats that they've spayed and continue to keep track of the populations in 'their' colony, trapping any new fertile cats that show up so that they can be spayed/neutered.

If you don't spay/neuter, and you don't have a higher end predator like coyotes (which you probably don't want around in residential areas, unlike cats) then you will have a cat population that spirals upwards out of control and damages or destroys the balance of other wildlife in the neighborhood.

So: Eradication = bad, not doing anything = bad. BFCA provides a neutral ground that doesn't draw on public resources and that does a lot of good.

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However, I will not be donating to the cause.

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Fine. Then shut your yap.

The city killed cats near Creek View? Were there no attempts to even find home for kittens?

BFCA does some good work, and they are nonprofit, all volunteers so tax money is not being used/wasted on feral cats. I know they test all the cats they trap (to make sure they don't have contagious diseases; pretty sure they euthanize those who do have FIV or feline leukemia), and they vaccinate them so there's less risk of spreading rabies and other illnesses.

They do attempt to find homes for some if the cats (depends how feral they are) and all the kittens.

Any more details on the Creek View situation? Who decided to do that in that neighborhood? City council? Animal shelter?

I see a lot of zeal and opinion being masqueraded as fact in this thread.

Seems that the people who are posting of direct experience with BFCA are consistenly saying similar things and not spouting rhetoric based on heresay or the desire to go out and kill cats.

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Who decided to do that in that neighborhood? City council? Animal shelter?

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City animal control trapped 'em, dropped them at the animal shelter. They didn't come back. Don't really know any more than that.

I saw a special on the discovery or animal channel that said that cats were the number 1 pest in the world.

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Fine. Then shut your yap.

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You are so cool, Mr. Internet Tough Guy. More posts like this please.