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Our condo complex just passed a law that it is to remove the cat cafes and stop the feeding as the number of cats has gotten out of hand.

Although we did not want to do this it was the only way we can reduce the number of cats. They have killed the birds, lizards and walk onto an apartment when the door is opened. We realize that there will always be cats. And some will be fed, against the by laws, but this seems like the only way.

And if we round up the cats, and they are mature cats, they will probably be killed. The kittens stand a better chance of being adopted.

Do you have any suggestions on how we should scale down the feeding and let the cats wander to find food?

billd

Bill, what complex?

Pamela

I agree with your association Bill. I may get flamed for it but it seems like this feeding them is only making them stronger and multiply even more. Sure they may catch and neuter one or two but how many just eat and run off to reproduce? I am sure a whole lot more than are being neutered. Let nature take it course.
I love animals to but sometimes meddling messes up the balance. I firmly believe that the reason we have so many chickens and iguanas, at least here in St Thomas, is because the mongoose is disappearing. I believe the cats are killing the baby mongoose who used to eat the iguana and chicken eggs in the past. As a kid growning up an iguana was a rare sighting. Chickens rarely in the city. JMHO.

BTW. Saturday is the 7th. The 6th is Good Friday.

Pamela

I would rather not say but it is in STT.

The cat population, as well as the chicken population, is out of hand. Simple as that. By the way I have a cat in NJ. So I am not anti cat.

Bill

Bill,

I've PM'd you. The reason I asked, for public consumption this time, is that a friend is the "Cat Catching Dude" and may be able to help?

Pamela

Cat Catching Dude? More info? My neighbors moved out and left four adult cats behind. Now they spend their days trying to figure out how to get into my apartment and when they can't they just meow (loudly) in my windows and sleep on my deck chairs.

He works directly with the woman who runs SNIP (Spay and Neuter Island pets). PM me and I can send you her number. Maybe she can help?

Pamela

It's Sapphire.

Ronnie, I have to correct you about mongooses being killed by cats. What actually happened a few years ago was that a virus hit the mongooses and severely depleted their population. As a result, the ground doves (the mongooses love their eggs) and the snakes (easy prey) proliferated. In the last three years I've never before seen so many snakes and ground doves around. For better or for worse, the mongoose population now seems to be on the rise again so the balance will once again change.

As for the iguanas, there are still plenty around despite the encroachment of "progress" as in development which continually erodes their natural environment. I'm seriously fed up with the damned chickens and will be happy to see their numbers hopefully decrease as the mongooses continue to proliferate. Imagine how very different the wildlife would be here if that dip who brought in the mongooses to decimate the rats had done his homework more diligently all those years ago!!

Feral animals are wild, not domesticated. Feral cats are a significant problem because they do hunt and kill indigenous creatures such as lizards and, on the east end, tree boas. I understand the concern about them and the desire not to kill them. There are a sad number of feral animals on this island. Feeding them and trying to spay and neuter them is not the answer.

And do not get me started on the chickens...

East Ender,

Not trying to start an argument here but if spaying and neutering to prevent more kittens is not the answer, what is? Catching them all and killing them?

Pamela

Tart, you guys have snakes on STT? JJ would be in heaven. We have to come visit. What part of the island would we find snakes?

The tree boa is an indigenous, endangered snake: http://www.vi.ngb.army.mil/html/cfmo/docs/INRMP%20brouchure.pdf
They are difficult to find in the wild in Nazareth, east end, but Renata Platenberg at Fish and Wildlife has one. She is a real live herpetologist, JJ would love her office in Red Hook.

Pamela: I understand the position of no-kill, but it won't work with an overwhelming population of feral animals.

And doesn't the feral cat population spread feline AIDS and leukemia? I was always told that it was not a great idea to do the feed/neuter/spay because those populations have a high rate of disease. Not only do they spread it to other, domestic cats, but they suffer when they get the disease and it is more humane to euthanize. I'm all for no-kill shelters, but with our degree of animal overpopulation, is promoting populations of feral cats really worth it? What about investing in the current shelters we already have and in the animals that can be adopted, rather than feral cats? Especially when they are destructive to native wildlife....

Sure hope you are right Tart but nevertheless East Ender and stxem have my support.

The Feral Cat colonies are great if they incorporate:
- TRAP
- Spay/Neuter
- Release (the healthy ones, euthanize the sick ones)
- and then feed them so they don't kill wildlife....they just sit around and get fat....like me.

Doing nothing does not work, the feral cats reproduce quickly.
Feeding alone is cruel too, sick animals are a sad sight at the Cotton Valley dumpster.
We need Lucky Paws Cat Cafe's on St. Croix.

dougtami: I'm guessing the snakes are all over - the population has exploded in the last few years. I had loads of them at my Smith Bay business and my cats are bringing them in frequently up here high on Skyline Drive. (No, they don't kill them, just pick them up and bring them in to play with them as they're very wiggly! I retrieve them (I'm quite an adept snake and baby iguana rescuer) and set them outside in a safe place. They hide away in the bush and I've never seen them casually hanging. 😀

As far as the Cat Café program is concerned, it was my understanding that the cats were "culled" for diseases and then spayed/neutered before being released. I'm sure it's not an exact science and, frankly, I've always had a problem with "kind" people feeding dumpster animals for the very reason that Ronnie brings up. The healthier the animal the faster they breed. BUT, it does alleviate much of the problem if done properly and consistently. I think that's maybe the problem with the current effort, that more time goes into the feeding than it does into the catching and fixing - but I'll stand corrected.

And, yes Ronnie, on the mongoose virus I'm definitely correct. It always surprised me that so little was said about it but I suppose it's not really "news" unless one's interested in the island fauna! Anyway, I very much doubt that a cat would manage to nab even a baby mongoose. The mongoose baby mamas are ferociously protective and a cat wouldn't stand a chance against one! At Morningstar (years ago before all the development) I watched an adolescent mongoose take on an iguana over twice its size and haul it into the bush for I'm sure what was a feast for the whole extended family.