On Cat Colonies and Kids Who Mimic Their Parents’ Diets
It's official. "Kids Mimic Parents' Diets From an Early Age.
The findings, reported in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, suggest that even very young children do not indiscriminately reach for candy when given the chance. Instead, they seem to already be forming food preferences — potentially lasting ones — based on their parents' shopping carts. . . .
That, the researchers say, means that the grocery store can be like a classroom, where parents teach their children that foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains take priority over snacks and desserts. . . .
"Nutrition interventions for children most often begin with school-aged children," Sutherland [Dr. Lisa, of Dartmouth Medical School] and her colleagues write. "This study suggests that preschool children are already forming food preferences and are attentive to food choices made by their parents."
This of course makes sense, as most kids will mimic the behavior and choices of their parents.
The update on the cat colony is that while the cats are quickly multiplying (climate change is helping to "fuel the kitty birthrate explosion"), the City of West Palm Beach says it's not their job to help in any positive way (they will trap and kill the cats, which I wasn't putting under "desirable outcome"). All but one local shelter won't sterilize ferals, and the one that will is right near me, which is great. The only problem is that the cats aren't near me–they're about 15 miles away.
Oh, and the shelter charges $55, which is outrageous.
Animal Care and Control's Spay Shuttle isn't in service and won't be for at least a month ($15/cat), and their satellite office in another part of the county (45 minutes away) isn't operational yet.
Oh, and the local TNR group has no funds (which isn't a problem, as I'll pay and fundraise) and isn't a 501c3 yet so evidently many people won't donate to them, which I find ludicrous.
I was referred to several people by Alley Cat Allies, but they either didn't return my calls and e-mails or never called me back after they said they'd call around. I was told by a woman with the TNR group that people keep rounding up the kittens and putting ads in the paper to adopt them, thereby preventing cats in shelters from being adopted (and surviving), and she prefers to return the kittens to the streets, which I thought was odd. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?
I've spoken to a dozen people, and none said they would be able to help (I wasn't asking for them to do everything, just to help). When I said I would pick up the cats and bring them in and pay for them, suddenly the stories changes and there were people available to at least trap the cats. Maybe. But I might have to do it all myself, they said (which is logistically improbable given my schedule).
It must be exhausting and depressing dealing with the enormous cat overpopulation problem we have here in South Florida, because everyone I spoke with sounding annoyed, devoid of hope and sad. That's one of the reasons why I don't do a lot of direct rescue work with animals–I don't think I could take it. I think I'd become despondent and misanthropic having to deal with the apathy (not to mention cruelty) of the human race. I have defined parameters for my activism based on the maintenance of my emotional and mental health, which might sound selfish, but it keeps me productive.
There's nothing more frustrating than identifying a problem and trying to find the most effective and efficient way to help, and getting turned down left and right–by the people who are supposed to be on your side.
Mary, I wish I had better advice for you about the cats. I have tried working with ferals for a long time, but the expense is often my largest roadblock.
I can understand a little about returning feral cats to the street. When I first encountered a family of feral cats I tried to find them all homes. It didn't work out very well, since the mother and two of the kittens were never able to adjust to being inside and ended up living on my screened porch and in my yard. I now return most to the street unless I'm positive they will do well in a home. I think it is more cruel to the cats to keep trying to place them and then move them again when it doesn't work out. It is probably better for the person and for the cats to just adopt a tame shelter cat who longs for a safe indoor home.
Quote: "I was told by a woman with the TNR group that people keep rounding up the kittens and putting ads in the paper to adopt them, thereby preventing cats in shelters from being adopted (and surviving), and she prefers to return the kittens to the streets, which I thought was odd. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?"
I do Mary. That's very much like saying that with all the dogs I rescued from the woods and roaming the back roads of North GA… I should have left alone and just tried to feed them, or take them…. fix them…and let them go back to the lives they had. That was never ever, nor ever will be an option for me. Half of my "pack" comes from the streets and woods. I adopted out most that I saved because I decided to stop and try to save them when nobody else would. With regards to the ones I adopted out, I think and KNOW they now have better lives than they did when they were just roaming and looking for their next meal. Shelters can sometimes be prison, yet it does not take away from the "problem" when one saves a dog or cat from the street and finds them a new home. Most shelter dogs/cats are "dropped off" by their previous "owners." That's a fact. The ones living on the streets deserve just as good a home as any.
The problem is not "taking away" from adopting out and finding homes for the shelter dogs/cats first… it's a problem with "disposable" pets. I know when I lived in Florida that there are many that live there part time. They take in, or buy a pet for the time the spend there (a few months)….and then…they dispose of them when they are ready to go back to their homes back up north.
ALL of the homeless need to be taken in and cared for. They ALL need GOOD homes. The problem that is taking place there (where you are) also has to do with ones that abandon their "pets" just as I mentioned above… They all don't become homeless that way, yet many do. With regards to the cats you speak of…if they are approachable by humans, it is most likely that they lived with humans before. Truly feral cats (or dogs) are usually afraid of us… maybe they SHOULD be. Somebody or some people treated them like crap before..but either way, they ALL deserve homes. Regardless of them being in a shelter or on the street, WE as humans have corrupted them as to where they can no longer care for and hunt for themselves. WE owe them a better life. That much I know in my heart…
-david
Heh, I'm reminded of the fuzzy, adorable kitten I wanted to "save" when I was a teen. She was a "stray" and I decided I would catch her and find her a home. But she wanted none of that. She tore my arm up.
That's when I really learned the difference between "feral" and "stray" 🙂
The likely reason is that people sincerely intend to get back to you, but are simply overwhelmed. I'm not clear how big Alley Cat Allies are, but if they're like most groups over here, they probably only have a small number of helpers on the ground in any one area.
Does the animal shelter you mention fully appreciate that these are not your own cats and that you're a private individual, not another rescue group? We would normally waive charges for neutering feral cats (only too delighted to have someone be proactive about bringing them in for spaying), but some of our staff might well appear a bit off-hand if they got the impression that someone was asking for free neutering of a "stray" they intended to keep as a pet.
Dave,
I agree. I thought it was so strange that this woman spends much of her time with TNR work and had what appeared to be a lack of compassion for the ferals (most are feral, I believe. They won't approach you and they're around from dusk on. But some will go up to people during the day, from what I hear, so they might do well in a home. And to put the kittens back on the street to save other kittens in the shelter is bizarre. They're all kittens, for chrissakes!
Rosemary,
The people Alley Cat Allies referred me to might indeed be busy. I've spoken to a handful of vets where the cats are and no one will waive their fees, nor will they work with ferals to begin with. The 3 people who do TNR work whom I did speak with said things are very slow and they're not doing ANY trapping right now because they don't have the funds. That's when I said I'd pay and fundraise. But there's still some kind of hesitation on their part, perhaps because they have no idea who I am.
I’ve heard TNR people talk about putting kittens back on the street so they don’t harm the adoption chances of older cats in shelters too. But hopefully they factor in climate. Leaving a kitten out in the brutal winter is leaving it out to die. When I lived in Michigan two years ago, I found a kitten in five degree temperatures who had eaten away its fur because of flea allergies. It had patches of frostbite all over and could barely move. Fortunately, after a few trips to the vet, it fully recovered and now has a home, but no way would it have survived otherwise. Adult cats *might* have the ability to make it unaided through a winter, but I doubt kittens do.
"There's nothing more frustrating than identifying a problem and trying to find the most effective and efficient way to help, and getting turned down left and right–by the people who are supposed to be on your side."
God, I know. I had a very unrealistic idea of the support I would be getting from activists when I went around Europe to meet them. I felt like I had to beg just to literally get a seat at their booth.
Sorry for all your frustrations Mary… I used to think the feral cat problem was only in N Florida… It's a rural area with lots of small pig farms – which store grain, which encourage rats, which encourage cats… And here in Central Florida I've seen the cat population dramatically increase because of all the groves that have been eliminated… And as David said – even the influx of vacationers contribute to the problem when they leave their animals to fend for themselves in a better climate than their originally "home".
In my immediate area there are two "shelters" – the very small one is no kill but here are their rules: the animal must be surrendered by the "owner" who is required to pay a fee. I think it's $95 for cats. And I tried placing a stray dog there once – the waiting list is very long… The whole "system" is horribly broken, sad and depressing.
So, it's not "selfish" to limit direct rescue efforts because of the emotional toil – it's survival.
My husband and I manage a feral colony, and foster abandoned kittens for adoption; we built an enclosure for ferals in our backyard when they received death threats from a few members of the community near the colony. (Other people in the area are generous with food on the occasional Sunday, and with emotional support.) We hooked up with other rescuers in the area who had formed a non-profit, and one of them- a force of nature- helped us and we've spay/neutered all the ferals etc. However, after attending a symposium at Best Friends animal welfare sanctuary (Utah) she realized the only way to make a dent in this problem- to recognize the horrible cycle people are speaking about here, of becoming overwhelmed and depressed and constantly seeking help with the constantly homeless animals- was to work on the spay-neuter problem directly. After a year of hard work, meetings, grant-writing, fund-raising, a group of us (I have to say I played a very minor role, but I was part of a team) opened a non-profit, low-cost, community-affordable clinic on May 1st and we are now way past our 1000th surgery. It is ONLY for spay-neuter. The Humane Alliance, based in NC, is the model for our clinic and sends support and a team on site once a clinic is in the planning/ready to open stage. Please see
http://www.humanealliance.org/HA2/ha-index.htm
PS Mary, we corresponded in an interesting exchange after my op-ed last August in the WaPo on ape empathy/ape rights. Thank you for this post and htis thread.
Hello Barbara – you should be very proud of your "minor" role… This Humane Alliance organization is really something to hoot about. Everything about it is attractive and should appeal to any community… Much better than to continue with the unacceptable "alternative". And Humane Alliance couldn't have opened in a more desperate state. I lost count of how many strays I saw in North Carolina. I'm glad that something is being done to help their very bad situtation.
I see that Humane Alliance has done a wonderful job providing tools and resources to help other communities to open other clinics too. Florida could certainly use one… To help with the grove cats and the kittens in abandoned buildings….
It would take a very dedicated and organized group to make it all happen – And of course, the money.
The irony is that untold Federal funds go to discover more ways to make evermore pigs, cows and chickens… Yet the "other" animals – and their precious lives, don't figure into a "Federal" budget at all.