My position as a pet owner is my concern while I do take excellant care of all my animals. As for helping with the bigger problems, well i do that almost every day. As for cats pooping in planter boxes, well lifes hard. Cats are hunters by nature. While some live in harmony with birds and other wildlife that people want to want make pets out of, they are food for the rest. Not my rules, complain to mother nature. And being an american citizen gives me an others the right to criticize, agree or dispute what they choose to. Its called democracy and i served 25 years defending it.

Please remember that not only is thievery against the law, so is ANIMAL ABUSE, our law's are supposed to cover animal abuse, but with quoted "budget cuts' that is never going to happen. Yes there should be citations handed out not just for cat's, but to the cat owner's who continually abandon their pet's when they vacate a property. Animal abandonment is also against the LAW. The people paying the salary for the animal enforcement officer, should be the "tweakers" who abuse and abandon and shoot animal's, including cat's. It is NOT the cat's fault, there would not be a cat PROBLEM if people spayed and neutered their cat's. People get cited all the time for animal cruelty, they just don't always pay their citations. CHeck with the police department's about that, and check with Lane County Animal Authority about that. And taking a cat to the "pound" so to speak, good luck with that one, there is a 3 month waiting list at Greenhill, LCAS and even the humane societies in Portland.

This is one problem that can actually be solved, IF people would just do the right thing!

If everyone had their pets altered, there would NOT be any unwanted puppies/kittens.  There WOULD be homes for all pets. 

One teenager collected pop cans and did odd jobs to get enough money to get a colony of cats altered.  She tamed and adopted out some, and the others were returned to the colony.   A teenager!  If she has enough gumption and initiatve to do the right thing, what about all the adults out there that gripe and complain about all the cats --- surely adults can do as much as a teenager!    (and this is in Oregon).

Animal cruelty leads to human violence.   When we discard animals, abuse them, neglect them, we are showing our children our disregard for decency and letting them know it is all right to be abusive.  Adults HAVE to set the example.  Or perhaps in this case, a teenage girl is setting the example.

Another woman, in a year's time, had trapped and altered over 50 cats, adopting out some, and returning some to their place of capture.  One woman.  What if everyone who is reading this were to get 50 cats altered in one year?  What about ten? 

Think how many unwanted kittens would NOT be born to suffer and die a terrible death?  There is so much help now for spay/neuter. Contact www.feralfix.org, call Greenhill Humane Society, the Willamette Animal Guild, Lane County Animal Services, the Humane Society of Cottage Grove, Feline Assistance Network. 

Lane County can truly become a pet-friendly county, IF everyone works together.  But until cities, property managers, landowners, and pet owners/guardians act responsibly, the animals pay a terrible price.

"bekindtocats"

 

 

 

Dear Bekindtocats:

HERE HERE, very well said....on that note, let us let the Springfield citizen's know that every other Monday at 7 pm, at Springfield city hall, there is a council meeting for folks to voice their concern's. There are folks from Cottage Grove and Creswell attending the meetings, but where are all the Springfield folk's who have the cat petition going? Where are they? If the problem is so bad, get those landlord's and apartment and mobile home park tenant's INVOLVED. Yes that teenager is 16, lives in North Portland, and she trapped 70 cats, had them all spayed and neutered, socialized most of them and tamed them, and she raised the money by collecting soda cans, mowing lawns, selling scarves that she knitted and asked for some help from friend's and family. She received the GOLD PAWS award, and it honor's Oregon Humane Society youth volunteers. And her name is Nikki. GOOD job Nikki, if only other's could follow in her footsteps.
Calico

thanks for the kind words, Calico.

And you are absolutely right.  Springfield residents HAVE to attend the city council meetings and respectfully state the facts re; the huge cat problem in Springfield, and ask the hard questions:

Why isn't Springfield contributing to Greenhill, Lane County Animal Services, Eugene, and the Veterinary Association in their joint project of altering ferals on Sundays (see www.feralfix for more details).

Some of us are hearing from more and more property managers/residents of Springfield that they are being told by the city to take the cats and dump them - which is animal abandonment - which is against the law - and which is totally cruel and inhumane.  How can they be doing this?  Is it true?  Several people state that is what they were told.  (animals paying a horrific price because people, who are supposedly civilized, are not accepting the responsibility of doing the right thing)

When are the residents of Springfield going to form their own  Humane Society or Animal Care organization?  The 2nd largest city in Lane County certainly needs something.  Instead, you are basically the black hole of the county in regards to cats, and that is tragic.  And unnecessary.

bekindtocats

My daughter brought home a stray cat. i would like to get her spayed but due to current economic pressures need to find somewhere that does it for free or very cheap. I agree with what has been said about this program.

to Postalone:

Willamette Animal Guild - 345-3566

Greenhill Humane Society - 689-1503

You can check with their prices, and see if they have any financial help as well.

I believe Lane County Animal Services 682-3645 have some vouchers for s/n - I personally don't know how they work - you can call and find out, unless someone can  post here and educate all of us!  If you are in the South Lane area, you can go to the Humane Society of Cottage Grove This 'n' That Corner Gift Shop at 33 N. 8th Street and inquire about s/n assistance.

bekindtocats

Thanks for rescuing the kitty and being responsible.

 

POSTALONE:

My position as a pet owner is my concern while I do take excellant care of all my animals. As for helping with the bigger problems, well i do that almost every day. As for cats pooping in planter boxes, well lifes hard. Cats are hunters by nature. While some live in harmony with birds and other wildlife that people want to want make pets out of, they are food for the rest. Not my rules, complain to mother nature. And being an american citizen gives me an others the right to criticize, agree or dispute what they choose to. Its called democracy and i served 25 years defending it.

Why do you consistently focus on cat excrement as if it is the ONLY argument against free roaming cats?  There are more important issues regarding the matter but you seem to ignore those or blame them on "Mother Nature." 

"Cats Are Not a Natural Part of Ecosystems!  The domestic cat, Felis catus, is a descendant of the European and African wild cats.  Domesticated in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago, cats may be the most widespread predator in the world. In the U.S., cats were not abundant until the late 1800s when they were brought to help control burgeoning rodent populations associated with agriculture. Some people view cat predation of rodents as beneficial, but native small mammals are important to maintaining biologically diverse ecosystems. Field mice and shrews are also important prey for birds such as Great Horned Owl and Red-tailed Hawk.

Cats compete with native predators. Owned cats have huge advantages over native predators. They receive protection from disease, predation, competition, and starvation—factors which control native predators such as owls, bobcats, and foxes. Cats with dependable food sources are not as vulnerable to changes in prey populations. Unlike many native predators, cats are not strictly territorial. As a result, cats can exist at much higher densities and may out-compete native predators for food. Unaltered cats are also prolific breeders. In warmer climates, a female cat can have 3 litters per year, with 4 to 6 kittens per litter.

Cats transmit disease to wildlife. Unvaccinated cats can transmit diseases, such as rabies, to other cats, native wildlife and humans. Cats are the domestic animal most frequently reported to be rabid to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cats are also suspected of spreading fatal feline diseases to native wild cats such as mountain lion, the endangered Florida panther, and bobcat." (excerpt from "Domestic Cat Predation on Birds and Other Wildlife" from www. abcbirds.org)

I appreciate that you take excellent care of your pets.  I also appreciate that you served this country for 25 years.  I agree that you have the legal right to speak your mind but does that give you the moral right?  I follow God's laws not just US laws, so I treat others with respect.  Perhaps you remember the "Golden Rule - Treat others as you wish to be treated?"  My point was merely that just because someone does not agree with another does not mean they should express their views in a rude manner.  It is possible for people to disagree and still be polite to one another. 

If you fully understand the reasoning for this petition and do not truly believe it is simply about cat excrement, then I cannot understand why you feel it is your cat's right to roam free.  If, however, you do not fully understand the reasoning for the petition, I suggest you check out www.abcbirds.org to further your knowledge.

The first part of your argument in your very first post was focused on cat poop. I understand that the need for spaying but not for the reasons you first cited.  not to many hawks or owls in the city or your rabbit in the back yard would be dust. On a personal note, get over yourself and get off the box.