LIHU‘E – Not all cats are gray under the sun. While some well-intentioned beings go on increasing an already out-of-control wildcat population islandwide by providing them with food and sometimes medical assistance, others do help eventually decrease the population without
LIHU‘E – Not all cats are gray under the sun. While some well-intentioned beings go on increasing an already out-of-control wildcat population islandwide by providing them with food and sometimes medical assistance, others do help eventually decrease the population without resorting to euthanasia.
That is the mission of Kaua‘i Ferals, a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with compassionate individuals, the Kaua‘i Humane Society and local government to humanely control the feral cat population on Kaua‘i.
Committed to implementing long-term solutions to significantly reduce the population of unaltered, free-roaming and/or abandoned domestic cats on Kaua‘i, Margaret Sueoka founded Kaua‘i Ferals in 2009. She and about 8 volunteers go to specific places on the island to set traps and feed feral felines. “We hope to create a roster of feral caretakers so that we can work together, recruit additional caregivers and share resources,” she said.
The pro-active group of volunteers is dedicated to paring down the number of feral and homeless cats on the island using a technique called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). The first step of the TNR program consists in setting traps in strategic areas where feral cats abound, such as parks and commercial zones.
Through funding mostly provided from donations, Kaua‘i Ferals buys their traps from a mainland company. Once caught, cats are taken to the Kaua‘i Humane Society, which provides free spaying and neutering services in conjunction with available nonsurgical birth control methods.
KHS charges a comparatively small sum of $10 per microchip, said Sueoka. The third step consists of returning the altered cats to the same location, where they usually average a 5-year lifespan. Advocates claim that the procedure works by stopping the birth of new cats in the colony and letting the colony members live out their lifespan with their own group.
Kaua‘i Ferals advocates claim that the program’s ongoing responsible management is the most viable, long-term approach available at this time to reduce the feral cat population on Kaua‘i without raising any kitty-killing controversy.
According to KHS, responsible management of existing feral cat colonies should include humane trapping, sterilization, treatment for illness or injury and returning them to the same location where they were trapped provided they will not face imminent risks. Furthermore, responsible management provides lifelong care consisting of adequate food, water and shelter as well as regular monitoring of the colony for sickness, injury and the arrival of new animals.
Kaua‘i Ferals’ adherents believe that feral cat overpopulation is a community-generated problem and that every cat owner has a responsibility to work toward a solution rather than dispose of their pet when they no longer want it.
“The most populated area is around Walmart in Lihu‘e,” Sueoka said, adding that a large number of people who wish to get rid of their cats choose that area to dump the unlucky critter. Indeed at night, from the outer edges of Wilcox Memorial Hospital to the inner hedges delineating Kuhio Highway and Ahukini Road, more cats litter the turf than in a teeming zombies’ movie.
Opponents claim that TNR subsidizes a nonnative predator responsible for the deaths of millions of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians annually in the United States alone. In a 2011 interview, Maka‘ala Ka‘aumoana, vice chair of Hui Ho‘omalu i ka ‘Aina in Kaua‘i, stated that feral cats are “the most widespread alien predator in the world.”
While the feral cat population cannot be accurately estimated, a study concluded in 2009 by Michael Mitchell, then United States Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Project Manager for the Kaua‘i Refuge Complex, estimated feral cats eat one bird a day, which translated to 28,500 birds killed by less than 100 cats in 300 days. Sueoka chose to question the study as she believes that a spayed or neutered cat that is fed daily has no desire to hunt for food.
The wildcats releasing themselves in or nearby the shore causes serious environmental impact, as they have the potential of getting infected with toxoplasmosis, a parasite that has proved lethal at times. The highly infectious parasite is spread from infected meat in some cases, but more often by an infected cat’s fecal matter. “It’s not just a cute fuzzy story,” said Ka‘aumoana. “These cats are wild, they’re vicious, they attack you. Cats are not meant to live in packs, the way they’re handled is not natural. Each time they piss or poop they endanger our native fauna. The cats need to go.”
But Judy Dalton, Kaua‘i Sierra Club president and an advocate for Hawai‘i’s environment for the past 20 years, maintains that TNR works. She also questions the worth of any statement ever made about cats being a major threat to native birds. Instead, Dalton posits that rats are the problem. “Rats are and have been observed climbing trees to enter bird nests to consume eggs and young birds. Any harm that cats might possibly do,” she said, “would have to be off-set against the number of rats they prevent from preying on birds.”
“We are pleased to see a decrease in numbers of cats and no new births in the locations in which we are providing ongoing assistance,” Sueoka said. “I hope more people will join us in our cause.”
