Apartment Complex Feud re: Feral Cats

[snowleop]

I've somehow managed to become embroiled in a controversy at my apartment complex regarding the presence of feral cats. I rarely see the cats, myself, as they tend to hang out around a specific area of the complex where a woman named K. puts food out on her porch for them.

Unfortunately, K. has not successfully trapped and neutered enough of the cats to prevent the colony from growing. Her neighbor, M., has 3 dogs and has become incensed about the presence of feral cats which spray on her window (she's on the ground floor) and car. She also believes the feral cats could pose health risks to her dogs. She believes K. has not tried hard enough (if at all) to trap and neuter the cats she feeds.

M. (who is a friend/ acquaintance) visited K. the other day and told her that K. had two weeks to take care of the cats. After that, she would start trapping them herself and taking them to animal control to be euthanized.

K. came to me to complain about M. and to enlist my help in coming up with a solution for these cats. (This is how I got involved - groan). I talked to M. about us doing a TNR program with the cats but she is resolutely against this. If we released the neutered cats, M. said, it would have to be in an area other than the apartment complex, as M. will continue to trap them and take them to animal control. She firmly believes they are a hazard to her dogs and will not be convinced otherwise.

So, I don't know what to do. I wish K. would get the traps, herself, and set them up on her porch (since they go to feed there), but I think she's a bit clueless as to what to do from there because

1) neither of us can foster the cats when they are recovering from neutering/spaying surgery as we both have cats, ourselves, and live in very small one-bedroom apartments and

2) neither of us know where we would release the kitties that can't be socialized.


I'm not sure K. has even investigated low-cost places to get the kitties spayed and neutered.

Any advice here would be very much appreciated!

P.S. Trying to convince M. that a TNR program is better than her plan is futile. She is highly opinionated and highly emotional on this subject and just wants to have the cats put down. In her opinion, this is the most humane thing to do.

 

[tnr1]

Does M understand that if she traps and brings these cats to the ACO...that will leave a vacuum for more ferals to appear that are most likely intact?? If K continues to have food...heck if ANYONE in the area has any food out..the ferals will come. I would explain to M that TNR also includes vaccinations (including rabies) and that these cats once neutered will keep other cats from moving in. I would make a contract that states that any new ferals would be trapped as soon as spotted (I suspect M doesn't believe you will do this as K hasn't done it and the colony is growing). Be sympathetic to M, but explain the benefits to both M and her dogs if you are allowed to TNR. I would also contact some TNR groups in Georgia to see if they can assist you...how many ferals are we talking about?

Katie

 

[maverick_kitten]

also explain to M that the ferals are benifical to her dogs as they keep down the vermin population. creatures who could spread disease to her dogs! rats and mice also spread disease to humans such as leigonaires (spell?) and other nasties.

explain to her that for every feral cat she sees it means one less rat a night crawling over her car or fouling in her garden.

 

[snowleop]

Thank you so much, TNR1 and Maverick, for your advice.

I'm not sure what TNR groups are available in Georgia (I live in Dekalb County). Should I just do a Google web search on this to find out? Also, I don't know how many cats we're talking about here since I don't see the cats. M. told me that she estimated it at about 10-15.

I'm not sure if I should approach M. with your arguments for a TNR project (excellent points, I must say!) but I may give K. this information if she wants to try and persuade M. to try this method.

As much as I love cats and as much as I would like to help K. out with negotiations with her neighbor, I'm feeling like I may have to sit this one out. Both women are EXTREMELY stubborn and thick-headed and I think for this to work out well they really need to come to an agreement together -- however unlikely that may be.

M. used to work as an animal control officer and thinks she knows everything there is to know about homeless pets. Honestly, when I talked to her last night she was shouting at me on the phone. Even when I calmly tried to explain some of the benefits of TNR she wouldn't have it. She honestly thinks it's more humane (and convenient) to just have the cats put down. Also, she's reached the "freaked-out" saturation point where she's just convinced these cats are going to spread diseases to her dogs.

K., on the other hand, has been calling a lawyer in New York, and trying to think of ways to scare M. out of doing anything. When K. came to talk to me about the situation last Saturday, she told me M. had said, "I'll give you 2 weeks before I let my dogs start hunting the cats." This, of course, is highly illegal and K. told me to let M. know that K. could have the Humane Society confiscate M.'s dogs!

Of course, M. says K. distorted her words.

Honestly, I do not want to be the arbitrator here. I would like to help K. out with the cats but, ultimately, she is the one feeding them and the one who is responsible for them. She is also the one that needs to convince M. that she will take precautions to make sure the kitties don't harm M.'s dogs and that they will stay out of M.'s area altogether.

My apartment is on the second floor and don't have a porch to provide food or shelter for the kitties and, frankly, I don't think I would have ever let the situation escalate to this point. I simply would not feed feral cats if I didn't have a plan to neuter them, vaccinate them, and provide some kind of winter shelter for them. I am a bit upset at K. for letting this situation get out of control. She should have undertaken a TNR project long ago before she incurred the wrath of M.

Also, she's managed to make M. much angrier with the legal threats and M. is now more resolved than ever to "get rid of the cats."

Sigh. I don't think there is a happy solution to this situation.

 

[nano]

I am sorry but these people are crazy drama queens. I would back out of the situation and tell all parties to stop contacting you.

Some lazy slug who just feeds strays and apathetically watches them over-populate does not make a good collaboration partner, nor does some nutcase threatening to kill all of the cats. It is hard enough working with strays -- being around such negativity and divisiveness can make things unbearable.

I would suggest you pick a different rescue or TNR project where you either work alone or team up with positive-minded people who share the same goals. Sadly there are more projects needing attention than people to take them on...but this also means there are many avenues to make a constructive difference.

Good luck!

 

[jen]

Is this lady who wants the cats euthanized willing to listen to you and talk about it or will she not even listen? Sorry if you mentioned this already I just kinda skimmed over the posts, did you say she is your friend? She would probably be willing to listen at least. Anyways I don't have any new suggestions but I like the idea of making up a contract with the uncooperative lady. Don't people like that make you so mad?! Mention that when these cats are gone and the new ones move in, you and the lady feeding them will have to trap and neuter all the new ones and then again and again its just an ongoing cycle that will never end. Say you cannot afford all that, even if technically you are not responsible for the cats, just say that to try to make the lady feel bad.

If she will absolutely not let u keep your cats there; you can try to find a someone with a barn who is willing to have some or all of them relocate to it. I actually posted an ad for a cat I am trying to find a barn for on petfinder.com in the classifieds section and I immediately found a woman who is a vet tech email me back saying that she takes in cats like this. She has 300+ acres of nothing but corn and soybean fields and a big barn full of fixed cat who are all UTD on shots AND she has a 100lbs self-feeder bin that is full of cat food all the time. It was totally awesome, unfortunately it turned out to be over 3 hours from my house. But she said if I have no luck finding a place for this cat, she would be willing to take a day off work and come get him.

Anyways, I always try to promote petfinder.com when ever possible so there is my little story.

Good luck with your situation.

 

[snowleop]

Originally Posted by Nano

I am sorry but these people are crazy drama queens. I would back out of the situation and tell all parties to stop contacting you.

Some lazy slug who just feeds strays and apathetically watches them over-populate does not make a good collaboration partner, nor does some nutcase threatening to kill all of the cats. It is hard enough working with strays -- being around such negativity and divisiveness can make things unbearable.

I would suggest you pick a different rescue or TNR project where you either work alone or team up with positive-minded people who share the same goals. Sadly there are more projects needing attention than people to take them on...but this also means there are many avenues to make a constructive difference.

Good luck!

That's good advice, Nano. I think you're right. At least I've learned more about TNR by going through this process.

 

[snowleop]

Originally Posted by Jen

Is this lady who wants the cats euthanized willing to listen to you and talk about it or will she not even listen? Sorry if you mentioned this already I just kinda skimmed over the posts, did you say she is your friend? She would probably be willing to listen at least.

Well, she's a new friend and not really a close one. We just starting running together last summer (once or twice a week) and this tapered off to about once every three months once the fall arrived. We don't do much socializing beyond the occasional run together. I think I could talk about TNR with her when she cools down a bit, but I don't think she trusts K. to make any of that work and since K. is feeding the cats, she's a pretty important component.

Anyways I don't have any new suggestions but I like the idea of making up a contract with the uncooperative lady.

Yes, I think the contract is an excellent idea. I'm not sure K. would be willing to sign it though. I think, as Nano said, she seems to be a bit lazy as far as her responsibility for the feral cats she feeds.

If she will absolutely not let u keep your cats there; you can try to find a someone with a barn who is willing to have some or all of them relocate to it. I actually posted an ad for a cat I am trying to find a barn for on petfinder.com in the classifieds section and I immediately found a woman who is a vet tech email me back saying that she takes in cats like this. She has 300+ acres of nothing but corn and soybean fields and a big barn full of fixed cat who are all UTD on shots AND she has a 100lbs self-feeder bin that is full of cat food all the time. It was totally awesome, unfortunately it turned out to be over 3 hours from my house. But she said if I have no luck finding a place for this cat, she would be willing to take a day off work and come get him.

Anyways, I always try to promote petfinder.com when ever possible so there is my little story.

A great story and another great suggestion! Although I've decided to back off the "feud" for now, I may suggest this to K.

 

[ktlynn]

Hi Colleen - Just catching up with your thread.

What a frustrating situation, and how sad for the poor cats caught up in it.

Katie's right - even if these cats are removed from the area, new ones will take their place. If M is determined to call animal control if the cats remain where they are, it makes no sense for K to even attempt to trap and neuter the cats. However, it's also possible that M is all talk and no action and is just trying to intimidate K.

It would be challenging enough to find a group to help with the hands-on work of TNR and/or financial help with the S/N. But in this situation, you need the cats relocated and unless you're very lucky, that's a pretty tall order for 10-15 cats.

You might try convincing M of the effectiveness of TNR by giving her some literature from Alley Cat Allies. ACA is very much into educating about the merits of TNR and they put out some pretty convincing information. If she's unwilling to even read the literature, though, I don't think there's much more you can do to change her mind (or her heart).

Just my opinion, but if it were me, I'd seriously re-evaluate any potential friendship with this woman.

 

[kittenkiya]

I can feel for your situation. My park is giving me trouble too. But, I have found that if you simply remove the ferals that are there, you'd be surprised how fast others appear. If you TNR, the resident ferlas will help keep newcomers out of there, as they will protect their food supply. I have a TNR family of ferals and I see one other feral trying to move in, and even though he eats, he doesn't stay become the others drive him out. Hope this helps.

 

[snowleop]

Thanks, guys, for checking up on this. Unfortunately, the feud has escalated to a point where I really don't think I can be involved in a positive way. Both K. and M. have been calling the leasing office and making vicious complaints about the other. The apartment complex has pretty much sided with M. and said they will have animal control come get the cats. I don't know how animal control works in other places but I've heard that in my county they are VERY lazy so I'm hoping that will be the case, here. Also, M. says that it seems K. has finally taken some action and is starting to trap the cats. So, if any good has come out of it, it's that.

M. and I went running together on Friday and had a heated discussion along the way. She's just too emotional and neurotic on this subject for me to convince her of anything. I actually did print out many of the Alley Cat Allies recommendations but never gave them to K. or M. Honestly, they both scare me a little bit when it comes to this subject because they are both so emotional and stubborn and so overwhelmingly angry at the other.

I certainly have re-evaluated my friendship with M. after this. Her control-freakishness seems to have focused in on these stray cats and her feud with her neighbor has escalated this monomania into what seems to me, like a hatred of cats. Given how much I love and adore cats, I just don't think I can be friends with someone who hates them.

Thank you all so much for your help and concern. Hopefully, the next time I post here I'll be involved in a positive TNR project.

 

[pinkdaisy226]

Aw sorry Colleen! Good luck to you in your future TNR projects!

 

[vegansoprano]

What needed to happen (and still can happen) is for the cats to be trapped and fixed ASAP. This is even more critical given the time of year. Kitten season is already here and if there are no new kittens yet, there will be in just a few short weeks.

This also makes it even more important that the cats are trapped for sterilization immediately. If nothing else, this should make them somewhat trap-savvy and harder for someone else to trap (particularly if they go about it in the typical amateur's way, by opening a can of cheap cat food and sticking the whole thing in the back of an empty trap). Trapping and killing or relocating is even more inhumane at this time of year because of the number of nursing mothers who will inevitably be trapped. The kittens will be okay if Mama is returned after surgery (it's counterintuitive, but they can indeed survive for a couple of days without their mother if she is trapped for sterilization while they are still very young), but obviously if Mama never comes back they will starve to death, if they don't die of exposure sooner.

If M. isn't willing to trap the cats herself (and if she's as freaked out as you imply she is regarding the perceived health threat posed by the cats, I would fully expect her to be unwilling to trap), the cats are pretty safe. As you correctly pointed out, Animal Control rarely has the time or desire to round up a bunch of stray cats. At most, they'll trap one or two cats and pat themselves on the back for a job well done. It's very rare that Animal Control anywhere exterminates an entire colony unless they are under enormous pressure to do so. And we all know that this only means that the remaining cats breed until the numbers are as large as they were before.

Have you tried talking to Animal Control directly? It might be worth bringing up the subject gently and seeing how they react. If this goes well, you can try to talk them into not trapping eartipped cats alone unless there is a crisis situation involving the cat (e.g. hit by a car, etc). This is only the first step, of course, but it's an important one.