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Saturday's Internet Edition, July 31, 2010.
Feral, abandoned cats in RM raise concern
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Photo courtesy to River Valley Times
A stray mother cat, thought to be abandoned, nurses her litter of six kittens after giving birth at the golf cart barn near the Rancho Murieta Country Club. The felines have been taken in by RM resident Gen Curran who hopes to find them a home.
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By Sheri Barile
River Valley Times Reporter
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Several residents in Rancho Murieta have expressed concerns in recent weeks about the issue of feral and abandoned cats in the community. Their concerns have been voiced in the wake of two incidents involving cats in the vicinity of the RM Country Club.
In the first incident, a small female that is believed to be an abandoned pet, gave birth to a litter of six in the golf cart barn after calling the dwelling home for a couple of weeks.
The second incident involves multiple sightings of a black cat with very severe injuries. The cat was spotted near the RMCC tennis courts on June 18.
Bob Lynn, a part-time employee in the cart barn, was among the first to notice the pregnant female cat that gave birth to the six kittens. “At first I thought she was feral,” Lynn said. “But this cat shows signs of being domesticated. I think she must have been abandoned.”
Lynn said that the cat gave birth to her litter around mid June in the cart barn, which she had been using as a sort of motel. “She would check in at night and then check out again in the morning,” he said. “She moved the kittens outside and made a bed for them in the ivy growing on the wall behind the pro shop. She’s a very good mother.”
But Lynn was concerned about the mother and kittens being exposed to wildlife, so he started looking for someone to take the feline family in. A mutual friend recommended RM resident Gen Curran, who volunteered to house the felines and help find them a permanent home.
Curran concurs that the mother cat is not feral. “She is such a love and adores people,” Curran said. And all six kittens are thriving. I hope to find homes for them all.”
Fostering is a first time experience for Curran. “This experience makes you realize the importance of spaying and neutering cats,” she said. “If just one person decides to neuter a cat - based on my experience - it will be well worth it. I hate to think of them out there hungry and trying to survive the elements.”
Rick Johnson, executive director at Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA), stressed it’s important to neuter both pet and feral cats. In a feral colony, populations can explode because the animals all tend to be fertile, and cats can have as many as three litters per year. “This is a major challenge we face in rural settings,” Johnson said. “That’s a lot of cats trying to survive. The number of ferals is overwhelming, and they suffer.”
Johnson added that an ASPCA $100,000 grant is aimed in part at addressing the problem. SSPCA is using the money to provide a clinic for trapped ferals, which they test, vaccinate and neuter for $15. “Bringing them to our clinics to be neutered is easy and affordable, and it benefits the community,” Johnson said.
RM resident Nancy Jackson has volunteered with SSPCA for four years and has participated in the trap/neuter/release program. She lives adjacent to a large common area and has always noticed lots of stray cats hanging around and then disappearing. Last Christmas, she asked for a cat trap. “Forget jewelry and designer bags. I wanted a cat trap,” she said.
Jackson has trapped and neutered nine cats roaming the common area near her home. One is a beautiful calico she calls Miss Kitty that still lives there eight years later. “I’m one of many people in RM who do this,” she said. “The important thing is to stop them from reproducing. The shelters are too overcrowded to deal with them all.”
Due to Jackson’s experience with capturing feral cats, she was the obvious person to call when a friend spotted the gravely injured black cat near the RMCC tennis courts. When Jackson responded, she was horrified by what she saw. “I’m sure it was a coyote attack,” she said. “One eye was hanging outside the socket and the other was so injured he had to be blind. There were very few areas on his body that didn’t have horrible wounds.”
Jackson said that all four legs were so injured the cat was limping and staggering down the street along the driving range. “I chased him for an hour before I gave up,” she said. “My intent was to try to capture him and take him to be humanely euthanized. The last time I saw him he was headed for The Villas.”
RM Community Services District Security Dept. logged several reports of this cat being sighted, and Jackson said she received several subsequent emails regarding his whereabouts in the days that followed.
Johnson said that stories like these in rural areas are far too common. “Cats are common prey, so it’s best not to leave them alone in the wild,” he said. “You’ve got plenty of predators out there - coyote, bobcat and mountain lions – not to mention road traffic. It’s very important as guardians to provide safety for pets under our care. At the very least, cats should always be brought in during evening hours.”
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