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Our lease Many of you already know that I was unable to raise enough money for a mortgage down-payment before our sanctuary’s two-year lease ran out on December 31, 2004.

            BUT, I was able to convince our landlord to extend our lease for 6 months and the option to buy the property. He raised the rent $200 to $1,600 per month and upped the price of the 5+ acre commercially zoned property $10,000 to $180,000. The new lease expires July 1, 2005 (three months from now). The banker is still willing to provide a mortgage, but he, too, has increased the down-payment $5,000 to $55,000.

            Our 500+ cats and a few dogs are safe – for the moment. (Our numbers are down: we’ve been getting a lot of our kittens and friendly cats adopted!) If you can help us with the down-payment, please let me know. We can make the monthly payments!

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A lesson for Palm Beach feeders One of our volunteers told me that Leigh Trimaldi of Glen Ridge (a small town in Palm Beach County) was having a tough time with Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control (PB ACC). Leigh had been cited for “maintaining a feral cat colony without registering it.”

            She filed a “not guilty” plea with the court and was assigned a February 28 hearing date.

            When I first heard of her problem on Dec. 20, 2004, I contacted PB ACC and asked if 10th Life could help Leigh trap her cats and bring them to our sanctuary. As you can see from the 12-24-04 Palm Beach Post newspaper report, PB ACC said it would be okay. We took 19 of her cats to the sanctuary a few days before Christmas. By the end of the year, we had taken a total of 29 to the sanctuary – and she was able to get several more of the cats adopted.

            But, even after PB ACC had given me permission to intervene, their Grinch (Diane Suave, Director of PB ACC) stole the moment (not the cats – they’re safe at the sanctuary). Diane (who was on vacation when I got permission to help Leigh) decided to have me cited for trapping Trimaldi’s cats and taking them to our Hendry County sanctuary. (See 12-30-04 Post report).

            According to the PB ACC Ordinance 98-22, Section 24, Paragraph K-4 the law says that all trapped feral cats have to be brought to PB ACC (where they will be killed) or returned to their rightful owner.

            I’ve pleaded “not guilty” and will see them in court on April 15.

What’s interesting about Trimaldi’s citation and mine is that neither of us were violating the law!

            Trimaldi won her case on February 28, 2005... she was judged “not guilty” because her cats were not “feral” under the law’s 3 part definition of “feral cat:”

Palm Beach County Animal Control Ordinance 98-22, Section 2, Definitions

                        Paragraph K: Feral cat shall mean any cat that

                                    (1) has no apparent owner or identification, and

                                    (2) is apparently wild, untamed, unsocialized, unmanageable, and

                                    (3) is unable to be approached and handled.

In short, a feral in Palm Beach County is “un-owned” – the first part of the definition. There is nothing in the law (anywhere) that says an “owned” cat cannot be wild, untamed, unsocialized, unmanageable and unable to be approached and handled!

            So, Timaldi had to prove that she “owned” the cats to win her case.

            She won because she fed them.

            Under the law (98-22, Section 2, Definitions, Paragraphs O: harborer/caregiver and W: owner):

A harborer/caregiver shall mean any person... which provides... food or nourishment..., and

                         An owner shall mean any person who... is a harborer/caregiver.

She testified that she had been feeding and caring for her cats, some for over two years – and she had affidavits from several neighbors, including the Town Manager, to substantiate the fact that she had been feeding them.

            She was further able to establish ownership of the cats because some of them had PB ACC licenses and microchips which named her as the owner.

            She was judged “not guilty” because she proved she was the legally defined “owner” of the cats. Therefore, she wasn’t guilty of maintaining a “feral” cat colony – she was maintaining “her” colony cats which didn’t need to be registered with the county.

            Why did the PB ACC Officer write the citation? The Officer should have known that if someone feeds free-roaming cats the law makes the cats “owned” – not “feral.”

            In my opinion Palm Beach Animal Care and Control is out to get (and kill) free-roaming cats – and punish whoever feeds them. One way they do this is to write citations knowing that most feeders have not read the law. They also know that the feeders will assume that the Officer wouldn’t write a citation if it misrepresented the law.

            Unfortunately, most feeders will bow their heads in shame for supposedly violating the law, pay their fines, and let PB ACC take their cats to the death chamber. Instead, they should fight the citation in court.

Many of the readers of this newsletter feed free-roaming cats in Palm Beach County. I’ve included this information about Trimaldi’s case in this newsletter in the hope that the information will help them if PB ACC cites them for maintaining an unregistered feral cat colony.

            In short, if you feed free-roaming cats in Palm Beach County, you own them. If you own them, they are not feral. If they are not feral, you don’t have to register the colony.

            HOWEVER, if feeders leave “their” cats in Palm Beach County, they’ll have to get them fixed, buy them tags, and meet other parts of the law – but they won’t have to register them as a feral colony.

I expect to win my “trapping” case, too, since I didn’t do the trapping – Trimaldi did! Trimaldi will testify that she trapped her “owned” cats.

            All I did was loan our traps to her. Since Trimaldi “owned” the trapped cats (and they were not “feral”), she didn’t have to turn them over to PB ACC. Only trapped (unowned) free-roaming feral cats have to be turned over to PB ACC where they are killed. Once she caught her cats, she could legally surrender them to 10th Life or find homes for them.

            There is no law that says Trimaldi couldn’t use 10th Life’s traps to catch her cats.

            If the Grinch thought she could intimidate me into pleading guilty, she was wrong. Because of these facts, I expect to win in court – and the Grinch will lose! Court date: April 15... I’ll keep you posted.

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A new “Mission of ” Getting money from foundations is very difficult. We have never gotten a grant after applying to many foundations.

            While speaking to the director of one of the foundations, she told me that we needed to change our Mission Statement from saving “sick, unwanted and feral cats” to something that benefits people – not just animals. (Yet, this foundation gives money to animal rescue groups for neuter/spay... I guess it’s because “pet over-population” is a problem for people, whereas saving the lives of animals is not...)

            Her comments, though, did get me thinking. If other foundations were like hers, I’d have to re-write our Mission Statement in some way that shows that our activities benefit people, not just our animals.

            I came up with

                        Our mission is to give people

                                    who are unable to continue caring for their cats and dogs, and

who have been unable to place these animals with friends, relatives, or no-kill adoption groups

                        a sanctuary where their animals will receive a lifetime of love and care.

In short, we provide an alternative: Instead of having these usually healthy animals put to death, we take them when we can afford to do so. Knowing that their pet will continue living, creates an emotional – often tearful – release of joy for these people.

Our new Mission Statement goes on to explain that the animals come from a wide variety of circumstances: from people who are about to die, from people who can no longer afford to care for their cat or dog, from people who have to move into housing that doesn’t allow pets, from people who have been feeding feral cats and can no longer do so, etc.

            Our mission does create joy for these people – and if we can get grants to create more joy for more of these people, I’m happy to make the Mission Statement change.

            But understand, my joy comes from being able to save sick, unwanted and feral cats – and unwanted dogs.

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FIV blood donors Humans cannot get the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV); only cats can get it – even large “jungle” cats can get it.

            While humans can’t get FIV, they can get a different immunodeficiency virus commonly referred to as AIDS or HIV (the “H” is for “human”... “F” is for “feline”). Though they are different viruses, scientists have long noted some similarities.

            Recently, a new FIV vaccine was introduced to the market, and because of it, scientists at the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine have the opportunity to look more closely at the similarities between FIV and HIV.

            Their research may help discover cures, tests and vaccines for both FIV and HIV.

            Visit these two websites for more (really good) information:

                        • www.vetmed.ufl.edu/path/Faculty%20Pages/Yamamoto/yammamoto_FIV.htm

                        • www.marvistavet.com/html/body_fiv_vaccine.html

The new FIV vaccine (manufactured by Fort Dodge Animal Health – a reputable manufacturer of animal vaccines) – has had some deadly effects: no matter what current test is used, cats that have been given their new vaccine always test “false-positive” for FIV because current tests cannot distinguish “vaccinated cats” from “truly infected cats.”

            Consequently, vaccinated cats that wind up in shelters will test “positive” – and are killed because shelters can’t adopt “sick” FIV positive cats into loving homes. If the cat tests positive, the shelter doesn’t know if the test is showing a false-positive (because the unknown cat may have been given the new vaccine) or a “true- positive” (because the cat is truly infected with the disease).

We have about 25 FIV+ cats at our sanctuary. We don’t allow them to be adopted; instead, we let them live out their lives. We’re not required to put them down, we’re just not able to have them adopted. (If we had more funding, we could save a lot more FIV+ cats...)

When Fort Dodge introduced their new vaccine to the market 2 years ago, it became more difficult for UF researchers to find blood samples from “truly infected” FIV positive cats. They needed a larger “sample base” to continue their research to develop a new FIV test that will distinguish between those cats that have been vaccinated and those that really have the disease.

            Rather than infect healthy laboratory cats with FIV, they contacted us (and others) and asked if we could contribute blood samples from 10 of our “truly infected” FIV positive cats.

Duh... a no-brainer! Of course we did!!

            No healthy laboratory cats need to be infected, and, if UF is successful and develops a new FIV test, fewer shelter cats will test false-positive for FIV. They can then be adopted into loving homes – instead of being killed.

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A fragile coalition of enemies Remember the Kissimmee meeting several years ago when Florida’s Fish and Wildlife (FFW) Conservation Commission announced that they were going to start trapping the feral cats that were killing endangered species – and the uproar this announcement created among feral cat lovers and TNR advocates? While FFW hasn’t yet implemented that program, USDA did – at the federally owned Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Key Largo. (As we reported in our last newsletter, we were able to take most of these Key Largo cats to our sanctuary.)

            Well, something else has happened: a coalition of a number of government agencies, biologists, bird lovers, and cat advocates was formed a little more than a year ago. We call ourselves the Florida Feral Cat Forum. It’s not a formal group (not a corporation, no address, no phone) – just members from both sides of the issue periodically meeting to find a way to protect the endangered species and the feral cats.

            That’s a “long way” from the Kissimmee meeting! There are Forum members who, on one side, want to eradicate feral cats completely, and TNR advocates on the other side who want to leave the ferals alone. Both are speaking civilly to each other and working toward solving the problem.

            I’ve been to two of the three meetings and am amazed that neither side has killed the other!! Actually, I’m very impressed with the attendees. They are credentialed, extremely knowledgeable, and are truly working to establish a reasonable plan.

The Forum’s plan objectives are to:

            1. decrease the number of feral cats and their impact on wildlife, and

2. establish (a feral cat) public policy, based on science, to be used throughout Florida.

Killing cats is not part of the plan. Neuter/spay, increased adoptions, relocation when necessary, and public education are part of the plan – as is conducting scientific research.

Research Scientific research, in my opinion, is the first and most necessary step – and will be the hardest to achieve because it will take serious money and time to conduct it.

Here are some of the subject areas and questions that the research will try to answer:

• Geographic: Where are endangered species (or sensitive wildlife) living in Florida? Are managed and un-managed cats living nearby? How far are the cats from the endangered species? Are the cats killing the endangered species or sensitive wildlife?

• Health and Behavior: What is the effect of health on the longevity of managed and un-managed colonies? What are the differences in wildlife impacts between managed and un-managed colonies? If an un-managed colony becomes a managed colony, is the impact on endangered or sensitive wildlife reduced? What are the effects of feral colonies on non-endangered wildlife? If cats are removed as a threat to endangered or sensitive wildlife, what happens to the population of the endangered species or sensitive wildlife? Does the population grow? If not, what other factors contribute to the demise of the endangered species?

• Home range: What is the makeup of colonies? Are most of the cats abandoned or did they grow up in the wild? How far do colony cats roam? What are the differences in roaming distances or patterns between

                                    (a) fixed and unfixed males and females (including nursing females)?

(b) well-fed cats from managed colonies vs. unfed cats from un-managed colonies?

                                    (c) abandoned cats and cats that grew up in the wild?

How close can managed or un-managed feral colonies be to specific endangered species without harming the endangered species? Where do managed and un-managed cats rank in the list of threats to specific endangered species and other wildlife?

• Fecundity (the ability and capacity of female feral cats to produce off-spring, in managed and un-managed colonies): What factors, such as health or environment, assist in the production of off-spring? How necessary is neuter/spay? What are the death rates of feral cats and kittens? What kills them?

• Predation (the act of capturing prey by a cat who kills and eats the prey as a means of maintaining life): What do feral cats eat – as determined by stomach content and fecal studies? Do they eat dead, injured, weak or unhealthy wildlife? In un-managed colonies, what are their food sources?

• Population Control/In-migration-Out-migration: What factors control managed and un-managed colony size? Is there a difference in colony size

                                    (a) when all the cats are sterilized?

                                    (b) when there is ample food?

What effect do snakes, hawks, raccoons, bob-cats, and other large predators have on colony size? What is the effect on colony size when newcomers appear – are they allowed to join? What effect does housing and roadway development have on colony size?

What are the factors involved in new colony formation (out-migration)? Do colonies disappear due to natural attrition? Is there a “vacuum” effect (in-migration) when the source of food disappears? If the food disappears, does the colony stay together while looking for a new food source or do they separate? Do some stay together to form new colonies, in new food-rich locations? Or, do they become independent vagabonds always searching for food?

The Forum’s research committee wants to conduct two projects that will begin to answer some of these questions. It will take about $250,000 (total) to implement both projects.

            The first project is to evaluate existing peer-reviewed scientific studies and the second is to conduct a managed colony home range study. Other research to answer the remaining questions would be conducted later.

Evaluating Existing Peer-Reviewed Studies The committee has developed a list of scientific literature that needs to be reviewed by professional experts. These reviewers will conduct a “meta-analysis” of existing feral cat, veterinary and biological peer-reviewed studies and synthesize the results by using various statistical methods to retrieve, select and combine separate, but related, studies. The intent of this expert literature review is to determine what is relevant to Florida and identify gaps in the research.

            The meta-analysis will also weigh the importance of each study. For example, if it’s an old feral cat “home range” study that didn’t use cats with radio or GPS collars, but instead relied on simple observation, the study would probably be rated “low” in reliability.

            The reviewers will also look at other areas of existing peer-reviewed studies that might have an impact on the general findings. An example would be a peer-reviewed environmental study showing the effects of housing and roadway development on wild-life, birds and/or feral cats.

Feral Cat Home Range Study The committee would like to find a grad student (or two) to study how far ferals roam. A number of colonies, both managed and un-managed, would be studied. The opportunity to gather other information about each colony would be present, but would not be the focus of this study – though that focus may change by the time the study is funded.

            It was proposed that the managed colonies at Ocean Reef in Key Largo (these were the colonies that were the subject of USDA’s trapping effort at Crocodile Lake National Refuge) would be a good starting point for the study both because the colonies are near the endangered species (i.e., wood rats) living in the refuge and because the colonies are well managed, somewhat isolated, and relatively stable.

            An Ocean Reef employee is a Forum member and was asked to find out if the study of their colonies would be permitted by the governing board of the community.

I’d like to see the Home Range study expanded to help answer the Predation questions – particularly in un-managed colonies. It should not be too difficult to do fecal studies that would determine what both types of colonies are eating. Even well fed, well managed, colonies eat other “food” – determining what they eat and comparing it to what un-managed, poorly fed, colonies eat could be significant.

            Conducting Home Range and Predation studies at the same time, on the same colonies, could also answer other important questions.

            A major source of contention among some of the coalition members is that feral cats are killing a lot of birds. Bird lovers say that it doesn’t matter if the colonies are well managed and well fed – the cats still kill birds. How many birds are killed by well fed cats vs. how many birds are killed by un-fed cats are the questions that need to be answered. Do well fed cats eat all the birds they kill? Is there a difference in the number of birds that are killed by well fed cats and un-fed cats? What is normal and what is not harmful to the ecosystem are additional questions.

            A Predation study would answer these questions – and remove the contentiousness that inflames so many.

The research needs to be done so we all can get the answers to the questions. Once we know the answers we can produce educational materials and help draft the public policy (laws that protect both ferals and endangered species).

Other projects In order to achieve the Forum’s objectives to decrease the number of feral cats and their impact on wildlife, the coalition established several additional committees. Here is a summary of their efforts.

Neuter/Spay Everyone agrees that n/s is the first step in controlling cat over-population – whether the cat lives in a home or out in the wild.

             The earlier n/s is performed, the better. It’s okay to n/s 2 month old kittens – yet, many vets don’t. They wait until the cat is 5 or 6 months old – too late if a 4-month old cat gets out of the house and becomes lost.

            This committee wants to develop a literature packet to be sent to vets and animal shelters promoting the benefits of early n/s. The packet would have information for the vets and for their customers. The committee also suggested that the vets receive a procedure training DVD.

            A survey and return envelope would be included in this packet. Vets would be asked to answer n/s questions that would be developed by the committee. One of the questions would try to find out how many vets perform “flank spays” – a spay procedure that creates an incision on the side of the cat, rather than on the belly. Flank spays are harder to determine when a cat is brought into a shelter and the idea behind this question is to find out if flank spays are increasing. If they are, shelters need to be more vigilant when new cats are brought into their facility (otherwise, they may think the cat has not been spayed and schedule her for unnecessary surgery).

            The committee also suggested that local ordinances be written to ensure that all shelters and stores n/s before adoptions are made. Another suggested ordinance would require shelters to see proof of sterilization prior to releasing a lost pet to it’s owner. If the animal is not sterilized, the shelter would be required to charge a higher fee and be required to sterilize the pet before releasing it to the owner.

            The committee also wants to help promote the new Florida n/s auto tag.

Education This committee feels that abandonment is a key factor in the establishment of feral cat colonies, particularly the abandonment of un-sterilized cats (which is why an early n/s requirement is so important). It is believed that high veterinary costs are a major reason people consider abandoning their pet.

            The committee feels that the public knows that bringing a cat to a shelter to surrender it will often result in the shelter killing the cat. It is the committee’s feeling that many people would rather give the cat a higher “chance” of survival by abandoning it (even though they know the practice is illegal), rather than taking it to a shelter where it’s chances of survival are slim.

            The committee wants to prepare a public relations campaign to discourage abandonment and promote responsible pet ownership and alternatives to abandonment – including finding a no-kill shelter or a friend, neighbor, or relative to adopt an unwanted pet.

Other topics At the end of the last Forum meeting, each committee presented a summary of their activities to the attendees for discussion. Several related topics were discussed.

Increased adoptions As it relates to the abandonment issue, several members suggested that if the public knew that shelters could adopt every animal they had, people wouldn’t abandon their pets – but would bring them to a local (high volume) shelter.

            Several members told of very successful adoption programs in Milwaukee and in Long Island. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin program is so successful that they are able to adopt every animal it has, each weekend! This forces the Milwaukee adoption group to travel to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota each week to take unadopted animals from participating local shelters to the Milwaukee shelter where they can be adopted the following weekend. This adoption program is so successful that they recently received a large grant to purchase four vehicles to make the weekly animal pick-up trips into the neighboring states.

            It was agreed that the Education Committee should find out more about the Milwaukee program so that whatever they are doing is duplicated here in Florida – to reduce the abandonment problem.

Relocation, if/when necessary Increasing n/s and increasing adoptions are key elements in solving the abandonment and pet over-population problems – and will hopefully reduce the number of feral cat colonies that impact wildlife. However, these are long term solutions when some immediate solutions need to be implemented.

            Rather than killing the offending colonies, relocating them was deemed a good alternative. Fully enclosed sanctuaries, like 10th Life, are considered the best relocation sites. Bird lovers like cat sanctuaries because birds can’t get inside of them (and the cats can’t kill them)! The problem is that there are too few sanctuaries.

            And, until the home-range research is completed, it is unknown if relocation will create a “vacuum effect” if the food source (such as endangered wildlife) remains in place. If the “old colony” is removed, will new cats form a new colony in the same geography?

            If the predation studies show that well-fed managed colonies have less of an impact on endangered species, then maybe the solution is to leave the existing colony in place, but have someone feed and manage it. In other words, relocating colonies or killing the cats may not solve the “killing the endangered species problem” because new cats would enter the area and take up where the now vanished cats left off.

            It also becomes important to find out what is really killing the endangered species – it may not (in any significant sense) be cats.

“Free roaming” cats vs “feral” cats I noticed something else at the last Forum meeting. Members were getting away from calling the cats “feral” and instead were calling them “free roaming” because it more accurately describes them.

            Not all free roaming cats are dangerous (i.e., feral). They are all probably afraid of human strangers, but I’ve found that many, many of the “ferals” we’ve taken into our sanctuary become friendly – probably because they were abandoned before we got them.

            I’ve also seen truly dangerous cats that come into our sanctuary lose their aggressiveness (which they needed to survive in the wild). They calm down because they’ve been fixed, have plenty of food (no hunting/no competition), and are safe from attack. So, should these once dangerous feral cats still be called “feral?”

            “Free roaming” is a better phrase because it doesn’t stigmatize the cat before something is known about its actual behavior. Besides, if you look at the definitions of “feral cat” in the laws in Florida and around the country, you’ll find many really different definitions. The Palm Beach County law defines a feral as not having an owner, yet, if the same cat is being fed, it is owned — and is no longer “feral” under their definition. Go figure.... it’s the same cat!

Worries As you can see, The Feral Cat Forum is looking at the problems and coming up with plans to resolve the issues. However, conducting the necessary research and implementing the public information and education (neuter/spay and adoption) programs is going to take a lot of time and money.

            The coalition members agree that the simple solution of killing the cats (and establishing tough feral cat/colony laws) may not be a solution because the cats may not be killing the endangered species and because relocating the cats probably won’t solve the vacuum effect.

            The solutions won’t be simple. They’ll need to be based on science fact – which will take time and money.

Not Our Job Raising money to conduct and implement the research and education programs is a problem because it is outside the normal business of the Forum’s participating government groups and, similarly, outside the business of the Forum’s other members and groups.

            Who will be allowed to spend the necessary time to raise the money when their employer says, “It’s not our job”?

Who Receives the Money? Another sticky: if the money is raised (from whatever source), who gets it and who becomes responsible for conducting the research or implementing the education programs?

            The Forum isn’t a not-for-profit corporation. Though 10th Life and other participating coalition not-for-profits could take the money, oversee each project, and disperse the money...would the people who are willing to give the money be willing to give it to one of the stakeholders? In fact, would those not receiving the funds be willing to let the “other side” supervise and distribute the funds? Would both sides continue to work together – before the money is spent – to make sure the results are unbiased?

            There was talk of someone going to pet food manufacturers or pet store chains for funding – but what is their interest in helping us establish public policy about feral cats? From their viewpoint, it’s definitely outside the scope of their normal business (i.e., they make and sell food, or, sell pet items – they have very little to do with feral cats and endangered species).

Solutions? At the end of the last meeting in January, there was some talk of getting one of the state’s universities involved to conduct and/or supervise the research. They’d have access to grad students to do some of the work. (But, finding faculty to supervise the projects could be difficult.)

            Having the Forum become a new not-for-profit corporation is not likely to happen. Government agencies might be able to participate on an “advisory board” to the corporation but they wouldn’t be directly involved with its operations (because of the potential liability associated with something bad happening to the corporation).

            Having the Forum’s plan taken up by one of the (federal or state) government agencies would preclude other members from participating directly. The most that the other members (i.e., bird and cat advocates) could hope for would be to participate on an “advisory board” to the government agency. But, because they won’t be agency employees, they would have no control over the plan’s projects.

            Turning the implementation of the plan over to government agencies would be considered a step backward to cat advocates: they fear that the government people may not want any advice from non-employees and will decide to do whatever they want to do.

            Further, funding for anything an agency might want to do (such as the necessary research) would get very political as the funds would have to be approved by the Governor and the legislature.

As you can see it’s a fragile coalition... good intentions that could lead to good results – but everything could disappear if no one spends the time to find and get the needed money.

            I don’t have a lot of time, but I’m writing this summary of the coalition’s efforts for this newsletter – and I’ll be sending a copy of it to a few of the foundations I’ve talked to in the past. I’m hoping that they will provide the necessary funds. If you know a wealthy cat lover or foundation that would fund or contribute to this research, please contact me.

A worry for cat lovers The forum’s objectives are commendable and achievable (if the funding can be found). Decreasing the number of free-roaming cats will no doubt reduce the negative impacts on wildlife. And, if public policy is based on the results of scientific research, fewer free-roaming cats will be targeted for annihilation. The goal of the Forum is to establish a state-wide “free-roaming cat” policy that all government agencies, bird lovers and cat advocates can endorse.

            My hope is that the Forum will have a major impact on county and local animal control agencies so that free-roaming cats are not viewed as they are today (i.e., they kill wildlife and therefore should be eliminated). I’ve never understood this logic... all kinds of things and animals kill wildlife, why aren’t they also targeted for elimination?

            What worries me about the Forum’s goals is that the research will only be limited to a small number of cases involving free-roaming cats and endangered species. While there may be millions of free-roaming cats throughout Florida, most are in metro areas where there are no endangered species. If the research comes back and shows that yes, free-roaming cats are killing endangered species, then public policy may be written in such a way that will target all free-roaming cats – those that are harming the endangered species and all the millions that aren’t.

            Hopefully the research will rank free-roaming cats (and other animals and environmental conditions) in terms of their threat to endangered species. And, hopefully, free-roaming cats will rank low on the list.

            My hope is that the Forum will help create a public policy that distinguishes between those free-roaming cats that are significantly harming wildlife from those that aren’t. For those that aren’t, I hope that the policy will encourage TNR when possible.

            In either case, I hope the policy will encourage relocation to sanctuaries when necessary – instead of euthanasia. If sanctuaries are available, I don’t understand why perfectly healthy cats (and those that can be treated) need to be killed.

            Creating and maintaining cat sanctuaries should be a goal of all cat lovers – regardless of what the public policy says.

            It would be nice if – after the policy is established and if the policy provides funds for neuter/spay, public education, and high volume adoption facilities – that the policy also provide funds for cat sanctuaries. Together, these alternatives – neuter/spay, education, more adoptions and no-kill sanctuaries – will reduce pet overpopulation and the impact on wildlife without the needless killing of unwanted cats.

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