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Sep. 17, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Neutering to replace practice of euthanizing wild cats

By SCOTT WYLAND
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A wild cat sits Tuesday by a culvert where it lives near Harmon Avenue. A new county code regarding feral cats seeks to curb their population without euthanizing them.
Photos by John Gurzinski.



Local video director Joanie Spina feeds wild cats Tuesday. Clark County aims to curb the feral cat population without euthanizing them.

Those who have tended feral-cat colonies in the shadows can now openly feed, sterilize and vaccinate the felines without fear of being fined.

The Clark County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to create a "trap, neuter and return" program to replace the decades-old practice of simply rounding up strays and euthanizing them.


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    • Advocates outnumbered the program's opponents by roughly 4 to 1 in the audience. The supporters applauded and whooped loudly when all seven commissioners marked a "yes" vote.

    Joanie Spina, a local video director, said she's glad that she and others like her will no longer be punished for helping strays. She cares for two dozen wild cats, some of them a result of people not sterilizing their pets.

    "I don't want to feel like a criminal for doing something good and trying to clean up the mess that irresponsible people have created," said Spina, who produced the video "Born to Die" about feral cats being euthanized.

    Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who spearheaded the new code, argued that it was a more humane and effective way to curb the cat population than killing the animals. If the cats are sterilized, eventually the colonies die off, she said.

    It is now legal to tend feral cats in urban areas, she said, noting that the ban will stay in effect in rural areas to protect birds and other vulnerable wildlife from the cats.

    One wildlife official wasn't swayed.

    As natural predators, feral cats prey on migratory birds, including endangered ones that nest within urban areas, said Janet Bair, an assistant field supervisor with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

    "We're especially concerned with the destructive effect that feral-cat colonies might have," Bair said.

    Some studies show that cat colonies set up in other parts of the country have proved lethal to birds, she added.

    But Shirley Braverman, who oversees Spay Our Strays, said that only two types of endangered birds can be found within the Las Vegas area.

    Citing her own research, Braverman said cats tend to kill sick and dying birds that can't fly away.

    Giunchigliani said she will soon propose a rule that would require pet owners in the county's jurisdiction to spay and neuter their pets. That would be vital in curbing the feral-cat population, which has swelled to more than 200,000 in the Las Vegas valley, she said.

    The trap-neuter-return program will be run mainly by animal-welfare groups, such as Spay Our Strays, with the help of local humane societies, Giunchigliani said.

    Caretakers will work with a "sponsor" -- a humane society or animal welfare group -- to ensure the cats are sterilized, vaccinated and properly fed. Cats will have the tip of one ear clipped as an identifying mark.

    The program was modeled after similar ones in cities across the country, Giunchigliani said, noting there's even a manual on the subject.

    Grants, rather than tax dollars, will pay for the program's costs. Sponsors and other volunteers will apply for the grant money, she said.

    A chief goal will be to spare as many cats' lives as possible. Shelter workers must notify a program sponsor that a feral cat, especially one with a clipped ear, was brought in and will soon be euthanized if it's not picked up.

    John Hiatt, who chairs the Enterprise Town Advisory Board, said most of the board's members opposed the code. The Red Rock Audubon Society also expressed grave concerns about fostering wild cats that hunt birds, Hiatt said.

    Some national research, he said, refutes the claim that the feral cat colonies die off when managed under trap-and-neuter programs.

    But one humane society volunteer argued that the program would reduce the cat population and, in turn, decrease the current threat to wildlife.

    "The cats are out there," Christina Santoro, a volunteer with the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society. "This might help manage it."

    Nikki Corda, a videographer, said there's one great benefit to the cats' predatory ways.

    "No one mentioned that feral cats keep the rodent population down," she said.

    Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.

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    Help the Animals wrote on September 19, 2008 02:34 PM: EDUCATING the public is what everyone needs to do when it comes to any animal...everyone needs to learn spaying or neutering is the way to go..that way there is less of a problem with unwanted animals. Hoever now another problem has arisen and that is all these people who are losing their homes because of the ARM loans, are leaving their animals behind and that is adding to the stray and unwanted animal problem. Just a tidbit of information for you.


    KrazyKatKilla wrote on September 19, 2008 03:40 AM: You are totally right Judi with more education I would have been able to miraculously know that your feral cats have been fixed. What I was missing was that tidbit of information that you expected us to somehow know. When you leave out information you can not expect others to "understand" what you are saying.


    judi wrote on September 18, 2008 08:36 PM: Thank You suckit. As for you KrazyKatKilla your missing something but i'm not sure what. The cats have been all fixed, they can't have babies. What do you not understand? Go back to school and get some education.I'm glad for everyone out there that does understand. People just leave the cats behind when they move and let someone else clean up the mess.(THE CAT LADY)


    laura wrote on September 18, 2008 11:28 AM: There is nothing wrong with cats roaming the neighborhood as long as they are fixed. I have the coolest cat in my hood that is the most innocent and sweetest animal. He is always there to greet you when you come home from a hard days work, and he has a better personality than many people. I can't understand why anybody could ever hate him. To think he could do any damage to to a yard or anything is so ridiculous. Any cat lover needs to make sure they have a collar and even a chip if they are an outdoor cat. Some of you who say you want to hurt cats are seriously messed up in the head.


    Cats indoors 101 wrote on September 18, 2008 09:08 AM: Here here Barbara J. You go girl. Keep our cats indoors, problem solved. Next step is mandatory spay and neuter of all cats, gets at the root of the problem (no fear kitten lovers, their are plenty of kittens available at the pet stores and at lied animal shelter). Society needs to come to grips that cats are highly prolific breeders and not to mention predators. Whats next feral dog colonies?


    BarbaraJ wrote on September 18, 2008 08:10 AM:
    Its really hard for cats in the house to kill wildlife. Just putting up your hands and saying it is in their nature abdicates the responsibility people have for having introduced an invasive species such as a cat into the wild. Every day there are inspectors at the ports of every country trying to prevent the accidental introduction of a foreign species that could possibly take over a native population. It takes vigilance, and this whole thing with cats (which are invasive species) being allowed to thrive and wreak havoc on their environment is incredibly irresponsible of everyone who is a part of that decision. It is difficult to take away the freedoms of a cat who has lived its life outside freely, just as it was initially when we started leash laws for dogs. Eventually everyone including the pets adapt. Since the leash law for dogs we are not seeing packs of dogs running wild. We need to take the same stance with cats as we did with dogs.


    Cat feeder wrote on September 18, 2008 06:18 AM: I was just trying to make a point, People are complaining about the cats killing birds, that is just what cats do, ferel or not its in their nature just like their counterparts that are in the wild they hunt that is what cats do. Its very hard to take an animals natural instinct out of them.


    barbaraj wrote on September 18, 2008 12:27 AM: I had to crack up when Cat feeder was comparing these ferrel domestics to Lyons. For one thing the animals that coevolve with Lyons have evolved survival techniques that allow them to manage their numbers in the presence of Lyons. There are ways that the Lyons are kept in check in nature. Nothing like that exists here for these feral cats, so stop comparing them to Lyons. The animals that these cats decimate are often in decline. No such luck with these domestic cats. It is the feline plague.


    KrazyKatKilla wrote on September 17, 2008 11:49 PM: Judi/aka Crazy Cat Lady

    These cats are not feral? just wait until they have a few batches of kittens. When your three cats turn into twenty will you then realize that you are part of the problem and not the solution?


    China Joe wrote on September 17, 2008 11:39 PM: "Citing her own research, Braverman said cats tend to kill sick and dying birds that can't fly away"

    Well, citing my own research I do not know what all the concern is about. I live in China Town and we do not have a ferral dog or cat problem. Where are these animals a problem? Please let me know. We own a resteraunt and would be willing to come to your neighborhood(s) and set up traps. We do not tolerate feral animals............


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