Feral cat colonies could pose rabies risk, CDC says

[XemaSab]

Efforts to care for abandoned cats could mean more humans will be exposed to rabies, researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

For the past 30 years, the main domestic animal linked to human exposure to rabies has been cats. In the past 10 years, the number of feral cat colonies nationally has exploded as animal groups fight to end the capturing and killing of strays. Those two trends could be on a collision course, said Charles Rupprecht, director of research for the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and senior author on the paper in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health.

Dogs were the primary domestic carrier of rabies until the 1970s, when aggressive rounding up of strays and vaccination programs finally eradicated canine rabies. That hasn't happened with cats.

"We didn't think it was OK to have (stray) dogs, but we think it's OK to create artificial cat colonies where they're exposed to wildlife that can transmit rabies," Rupprecht said.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/17/feral-cats-colonies-rabies-risk/2665359/

[Inkfreak]

1. We have a ferel cat colony near us.

Just down the road. An older man has his house set back a ways from the road. Up close is an old abandoned trailer he used to live in. Somehow cats just started living there. He feeds them when he's home. He's gone 6 months out of the year. For the most part, they're on there own. The size is tough to estimate, but it looks to be anywhere from 20-30 at times.

He used to have people come and take kittens whenever someone expressed an interest in them. But that's pretty much stopped. They've become to wild. In an odd twist, up the other end of the road some people have let a bunch of dogs go wild in the woods. So they've taken to catching the cats every now & again and eating them.

[kestrel91316]

2. Well, duh. I have been carping about this for years and years and years in Los Angeles.

A couple of weeks ago a woman brought a little feral stray of 2 lb in to me. He was very ill with who knows what weirdness and he had bitten her. I quarantined him and he bit ME. But he was a doll.

He died the next day, AFTER I had named him and fallen in love. I had to remove his head and send it in for rabies testing. He was negative, but I'd rather never have that sort of thing happen in the first place.

[justiceischeap]

3. It's like anything else in life, there are good and bad

I know some feral cat colonies are well-cared for (or as well cared for as can be). They are captured, vaccinated, spayed/neutered and then returned. Unfortunately, not all colonies are treated that way.

If people would consider adopting (and then keeping the animals they adopt) it would go a long way to alleviating this problem.

[Polly Hennessey]

5. Feral Cat Colonies

Our neighborhood feral cat colony is healthy and stable. We have been trapping, spaying/neutering, releasing and feeding quality food since 2004. When we trap a cat, we have the vet check it out and also give it the required vaccinations. We have been kitten free for over a year. This means the colony has stablized. We recognize all of the cats in the colony. We do recapture some and they go to the vet for follow up vaccines. We also microchip some of the cats. This way if they are taken by animal control they can be returned to us and put back in the colony. I am a registered Feral Cat Colony Caretaker. Las Vegas has this program as a solution for the feral cat problem. Because of the housing crisis Las Vegas was in a deep feral cat dilemma about five years ago. There were over 500,000 feral cats in the valley. The number has now dropped to 200,00. With some care and effort, this problem can be handled in a humane way. It amazes me that people just leave animals in the house or backyard and that's that. What upsets me most is that these same people are going to get another dog or cat and the cycle continues.

We are lucky that our neighborhood has several caring cat lovers and we see it as our mission to take care of the little guys that are left behind through no fault of their own. There is always a good and successful solution to most problems.

[Eleanors38]

4. I maintained a small colony in S. Austin, making sure

ears were clipped, capturing "newbies," and taking them to the vet. Had to bury one, too after she was put down. Feeding strays is like an addiction to sentiment, and no one benefits by addiction.

The saddest thing I've seen while hunting public lands is how wildlife reacts noisily and fearfully to a feral. No one wants them around, and they live short, brutish and confused lives.

[shenmue]

6. Spay and neuter is important

Please support your local organizations which promote this.