Monday, August 16, 2010

Ferals and Not Ferals

First, a note of explanation - it is typical when doing Trap/Neuter/Release of feral cats to "ear tip" (remove a small portion of the tip of the ear) a cat that has already been altered so that one can tell at a distance if a given animal has been altered or not - truly feral cats can be VERY difficult to get close to. Truly feral cats also aren't too keen on petting. Although an "ear tip" typically indicates a feral cat, friendly and socialized behavior would be a clear sign that a cat is not feral - and shelter personnel should know the difference. There seems to be a lot of confusion at the AC&C as to what constitutes a feral cat - we have previously posted a video of a cat marked as feral who was clearly friendly and socialized.

An email from a cat rescuer about an incident at the Manhattan AC&C this past Thursday 8/12:

A young couple brought in a cat for intake. They said they had found the cat in Williamsburg. i noticed that the cat had a very light ear tip, and was very friendly. So, EITHER this cat was tnr'd and was a part of a colony and the trapper put her back outside even though she was friendly OR this cat was trapped by someone and then ultimately adopted and then dumped outside. Both scenarios are plausible, but it is more likely that the cat was owned because she was VERY CLEAN and very friendly and playful, totally used to being petted and held, and was rolling on her back in the carrier (none of my friendly indoor cats even do that). So, anyway, as they are taking her in, some director/manager/supervisor walks up and starts petting the cat... she then yells THIS CAT HAS AN EAR TIP. SHE NEEDS TO GO BACK OUTSIDE. SHE'S PART OF A COLONY, WE'RE PUTTING HER BACK ON THE STREET.

I let her go on like this for a good minute and then i interjected, "Actually, that is not the only explanation. it is more believable that someone trapped this cat, realized she was friendly, had her LIGHTLY ear tipped, as you can see, and then adopted her out...and that the adoptive home dumped her out in the street." She ignored me and kept on saying how the cat needed to go back out in the street. HOW NARROW-MINDED. She is clearly not a trapper or a rescuer. I AM. I have done this work for almost 7 years. I have adopted out DOZENS of ear tipped cats that do not belong out on the street, because sometimes when you trap a friendly cat, you make the decision to rescue it after it's been fixed and ear tipped, and often the trapper will request that the ear tip is LIGHT because they are aware that the cat is friendly. This woman was acting as though there is ONLY ONE explanation for this, and there is not. She was pompous in her false knowledge. i do not know what will happen with this cat. They named her Iggy. this person was clearly in charge, and if she has her way, and she was very pushy about it, the cat will be dumped out into the street as opposed to being put up for adoption or rescued through New Hope because she knew it all.

Would you perhaps suggest to trappers/rescuers that a new protocol should be implemented... that when we end up adopting out an ear tipped cat, that we should get him/her microchipped with the rescuer's name on it... this way, if the adopter ever dumps the cat out or in a shelter, the cat can be properly identified, and not just assumed that it is a FERAL that is a part of a colony and should be PUT BACK OUT ON THE STREET. I am not sure how this person at the shelter who is in a position of power couldn't figure out what i was telling her, but i am not surprised. Often these people are not rescuers and trappers and have very limited knowledge about animals, even though they have been commissioned to make decisions regarding their welfare.

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