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In support of feral cat sterilization
To the Editor:
We, of Fix Our Ferals, A Spay/Neuter Program for Homeless Cats, read your article about Fairview Street.
The Kaufers' issues with their next door neighbor at 1408 Fairview are not all cat-related. However, Fix Our Ferals has in the past been called upon to deal with neighborhood concerns regarding feral cats. These cats are a separate issue from the tame cats, which are all confined on her property.
After looking at the history, it is clear to us that the resident at 1408 Fairview has drastically reduced the population of free-roaming feral cats. By feeding, monitoring and sterilizing all the feral cats in her neighborhood, she put an end to the specter of sickly dying kittens on that street – and to the spraying, fighting and yowling that accompany mating behavior.
Continued feeding of a feral cat colony is the only effective way to monitor the colony for any new unsterilized cats that may appear. We would love to show you an article that appeared in the current issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Association, that substantiates and quantifies the phenomenon that feral cat experts have long known intuitively: Sterilization of a cat colony reduces the numbers of cats substantially in a very short time.
Dairne Ryan
Linda McCormick
