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A couple who have been feeding strays seek help as they prepare to move. The Animal Services director says the cats are a health hazard.
By JENNIFER FARRELL
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 9, 2001
Eva and Ray Reininger are dog people.
Truth be told, they don't have much use for cats.
But when a tiny gray stray showed up at the door in January, they couldn't resist.
Eva started leaving milk and scraps in front of the couple's home on rural Mulkerin Drive in Royal Highlands, in northwest Hernando County.
Before long, they noticed the skinny cat with a scruffy coat and big yellow eyes was growing.
Into a mother.
And soon there were five new mouths to feed.
Now, eight months later, two more cats, both injured, have taken up residence in the yard, and the kittens are nearly grown. Their mother, meanwhile, is pregnant again.
"I didn't mind when it was feeding one," Eva said Friday morning as she put plates of cat food covered with milk in the driveway. "But now it's feeding nine."
As soon as she realized the cat was pregnant the first time, Eva said, she started calling area shelters for help.
But the answer was the same everywhere she checked: Too many strays, not enough room.
And when she tried Hernando County Animal Services, she was appalled to find workers would likely euthanize the animals within five days of collecting them.
"I've been taking care of these things for eight months now," she said. "For what? I can't bear to have them trapped in a cage, taken away and traumatized, then killed."
Jim Varn, director of Animal Services for the county, said the cats are a health hazard. Because none have been vaccinated, they could have been exposed to rabies, he said.
"Basically, you've got wild animals out there that are used to being fed," said Varn. "If we don't get them out of there, they will multiply to hundreds in just a short time."
Varn said projections show that left alone, one female cat and her offspring, producing two litters a year, could multiply to 11,606,077 cats at the end of nine years. And that's assuming just 2.8 cats per litter survive.
"A lot of these feral animals have three litters a year," he added.
He said feral cats have become a serious problem in some parts of the county and blamed well-meaning animal lovers who often don't know what they are getting into when they start feeding strays.
Varn said Animal Services has been called to homes with as many as 40 feral cats.
Most are unfit for adoption, he said.
"We're not going to adopt a wild animal for somebody to take on and get scratched and get bit," Varn said. "It's not ethical, and it's a tremendous liability."
By putting out food and water, though, people become de facto pet owners, according to Varn.
"They are theirs if they've fed them for over five days," he said.
Varn said there is no law to that effect, but Animal Services uses a five-day timeline as a guideline for holding people responsible for strays they may be feeding.
Anyone who wants to get rid of feral cats should call his office, and workers will provide free traps, he said.
But the Reiningers cannot bring themselves to send the cats away to what is certain death.
Lifelong animal lovers, the couple moved to Florida two years ago from Bergen County, N.J. They settled first in Woodland Waters, then moved to their current house last October. It is their first experience with country living.
Ray is disabled and has been out of work after a lung infection and related complications kept him in the hospital last year for several weeks. The couple have two small children, four dogs and a pile of medical bills.
Eva works at a local cemetery but said she is hard-pressed to keep up with household expenses and make a dent in Ray's medical bills, which the couple estimate at $70,000, after insurance.
Because of Ray's health problems, the couple are looking to sell their home and move to North Carolina, where they hope it will be less humid and easier for him to breathe.
Eva hopes to find homes for the cats so potential buyers won't be scared away. She said she is willing to pay for the animals to be spayed and neutered if someone will give them good homes.
She already spends about $30 a week to feed them, so the surgeries would be cheaper in the end, Eva said.
"I'm not going to turn my back on these guys because nobody wants them," she said.
"We're stuck in a bind because we love animals," Ray said.
- Staff writer Jennifer Farrell covers Spring Hill and can be reached at 848-1432. Send e-mail to farrell@sptimes.com.
Anyone interested in adopting the cats may call Eva or Ray Reininger at 597-4200.