Trapped, snipped: A stray's lucky day

By JODIE TILLMAN
Published June 18, 2007

A stray cat awaits her spaying operation during a free sterilization and vaccination event at the Pasco County Animal Control center in Land O'Lakes on Sunday.
	[Times photo: Lance Aram Rothstein]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Lance Aram Rothstein] Staff Veterinarian and project organizer Terry Spencer performs a neutering procedure on "Pookie", a stray cat brought in by Christina Mendoza during a free sterilization and vaccination event at the Pasco County Animal Control center in Land O'Lakes.

LAND O'LAKES - Stray cat No. 47 goes by "Pookie," "sweetheart" and "little guy."

But on Father's Day morning, No. 47 lost his chance to go by another name: Dad.

The cat was one of nearly 60 strays sterilized and vaccinated at a Sunday event at Pasco County Animal Services.

"Operation Cat Snip" was part of an effort to help reduce the county's stray cat population, estimated at 55,000.

Preregistered residents brought the cats to the event, using special traps that the county loaned them. After the surgeries, residents returned to pick up the cats and were given instructions to release them today after the anesthesia wears off. Residents had to pay $10 for each cat they brought.

The event was aimed at residents like Christina Mendoza, who brought Pookie: Animal lovers who don't mind putting out food for the cats but also recognize the severity of the overpopulation problem.

"This is so wonderful," said Mendoza, a New Port Richey resident who has already adopted five stray dogs and four stray cats. Pookie, who comes and goes as he pleases, is like a "half cat," she said. "There's such a glut of cats."

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Why doesn't the county do more about the stray cat problem? Legalities and resources, officials say.

County ordinances do not include a leash law for cats as they do for dogs, meaning animal control workers don't have the authority to pick up wandering cats unless they pose a danger to people or other pets, said Rosemary Lyons, education coordinator for Animal Services.

Department workers spend most of their time dealing with dogs, she said. Still, about 6,000 cats, most of them brought in by residents, still end up at the pound each year, about the same as the number of dogs.

If you're a cat, the odds of making it out alive aren't good. Most of the cats that end up at the pound are too sick or aggressive to be adopted, Lyons said.

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, for instance, only 715 of the 6,213 cats that were impounded found homes.

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Sunday's effort to help cut down on the number of strays moved a lot like an assembly line.

In the order of arrival, each cat was given a number. Then came anesthesia time. Then the cat was tied to a cutting board, and volunteer runners would bring the knocked-out animals into the surgical suites where veterinarians were waiting.

At times, the setup appeared almost like that of a busy restaurant kitchen.

"Transport!" a veterinarian or assistant would call when the operation was complete. A runner would rush in, pick up the tray with the cat tied on top, hoist it on his shoulder and move the animal to its holding cage. Another runner would come in with a new patient.

Veterinarian Diana Mattox took a hard look at one female cat splayed out before her and saw the recurrent theme of these animals' lives.

"Looks like she's had babies," Mattox said.

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There is an old cliche about the challenges of herding cats. So how do you catch a stray?

Not easily. That's why only about 60 cats showed up out of the 100 that were expected.

Here's how the traps work: Residents put food at one end of the cage and leave the other end open. When the cat walks into the cage to eat the food, it steps on a lever that shuts the other end.

That is the theory, anyway. Some wily cats had apparently figured out how to sidestep the lever, Lyons said. Or they moved along to someone else's house for food, unwilling to engage this unfamiliar contraption just for a little salmon. Or the cages trapped some other unlucky animal.

Nancy Evans, a Port Richey resident, pulled up to the event Sunday with an empty cage. Her skittish male stray wouldn't get near it.

He keeps a distance, sneaking up for food or for a brief glance through the sliding glass door at Evans' female cat. He is a handsome fellow, she said, and has been respectful of the feline lady of the house, so far.

Jodie Tillman can be reached at (727) 869-6247 or jtillman@sptimes.com.

FAST FACTS:

Q&A

Did any cats die in surgery?

One cat died before the first incision. It appeared that the cat had a bad reaction to the anesthesia for some reason, said Lisa Centonze of Land O'Lakes, who is a veterinarian for the Animal Coalition of Tampa and volunteered at the Pasco event. That is more common with feral cats than with house cats, she says. Because they have not been to a veterinarian before, she said, they may have other diseases that complicate the effects of anesthesia.

Did any patients escape?

Yes. One.

Will they hold another Operation Cat Snip event?

The county has no immediate plans for another one. But given the positive reviews for the effort Sunday, said Rosemary Lyons, education coordinator for Pasco County Animal Services, officials would like to do it again.

How do I know if a stray in my neighborhood is one that was treated Sunday?

Vets clipped the tip off one ear to signify that the cat has been vaccinated and sterilized.

How can I help?

Friends of the Shelter, a new group forming in Pasco, is working on ways to improve the county's Animal Services programs. If you are interested in becoming a member, call Lyons, the group's liaison, at (813) 929-1212.

[Last modified June 18, 2007, 07:09:51]