 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
'They have a right to live'
By ANNE LINDBERG © St. Petersburg Times, published December 24, 2000 PINELLAS PARK -- In the evening a car pulls into the City Hall parking lot and a woman gets out. Watching eyes in the woods pay close attention as she steps onto the grass and squats next to a manhole. From the cover of the trees, wild cats silently emerge as the woman steps away. Feeding time. These cats, otherwise typical of those found across Pinellas County, are among the first kitties to receive the attention of SNIFFS, a fledgling group that wants to change the way Pinellas controls its population of feral, or wild, cats. SNIFFS got its name as an acronym of the group's mission: Spay, Neuter, Inoculate Feral Feline Society. "They have a right to live, that's our belief," said Rita Bott, spokeswoman for SNIFFS. The idea is to catch the cats, hurry them off to a vet who will spay or neuter the animal, notch its left ear and give it a rabies shot. The cat is returned to the place it was caught and released. The ear notch prevents the cat from being caught again and also indicates to Animal Control that the kitty should stay put. The spaying and neutering keep the cat colony from growing larger. Returning the cats to the wild means the animals will be there to defend their territory and keep other cats away, thereby limiting the size of the colony. That's more stable than simply removing the cats and euthanizing them, Bott said. Doing that just means the cats that are taken away will be replaced by others that can breed and continue the cycle. "Because those cats are there, they fill up the space," Bott said. Taking the cats away, creates holes that "just fill back up. It's like trying to take water out of the ocean." It's a strategy that's at work elsewhere, such as Gainesville, under the guidance of the University of Florida School of Veterinary Medicine. It's also being tried in Orange County. A similar group is forming in Tampa. The mission of these groups in general and SNIFFS in particular, Bott said, is limited to feral cats, those so wild that they cannot be tamed and put into an adoptive home. There are organizations to watch out for those cats, but none in Pinellas County to watch out for the wild cats. "I think if any cat can be put into a home, that's wonderful," Bott said. "They have their mission, and we have ours. Ours is for the cat that can't be tamed, to give them a chance." SNIFFS is just getting started. The group has met twice and plans a third meeting in January. It is looking for members and volunteers. One of its first jobs will be to convince county officials to buy into the program and allow the neutered cats to remain where they are. "It's never going to work in a million years unless we get with the county," Bott said. "But if they know a volunteer army could be created" to take care of the situation, then it's likely that county officials would be more willing to give the idea a chance. "We need more soldiers," Bott said. Volunteers expect to meet with controversy. "Some of the other organizations will say this is terrible," Bott said. Others will complain that "it upsets the wildlife." What many people don't realize, she said, is that "some of these cats have become the wildlife."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
