Like many of the best things in life, tending a cat colony begins with an act of kindness. With luck, there is a TNR group working in the area so that feeding can evolve into proper caregiving by giving all the cats a better life.
But even when the population has been stabilized and everything is done right, what happens to the colony when the caregiver is no longer able to care for the cats?
I had an email today about a situation where the colony caregiver has passed away and his heirs are selling the farm. Sadly this is not the first time I have seen a story like this.
What happens to a colony when the land they live on is sold? It is the very rare purchaser who would be willing to take on such a commitment. Rescues and shelters are already full of socialized house pets and simply do not have the resources to tackle anything like that.
I've blogged before about the need to make some sort of provision, if possible, in our estate planning for our pets. Anyone who has worked rescue for any time at all can rhyme off an endless list of unhappy tails that occur when pet owners assume that their heirs will care for their pets as much as they do.
( The rant about how if we love our pets enough to care for them during our life .... we should love them enough to find a couple of caretakers willing to assume their care if we become unable to do so .... is a subject for another day.)
At some point, everyone involved in any way with animal rescue dreams of opening an animal sanctuary of some sort. Gosh .... even this middle aged granny would love to have the wherewithal to open a senior pet sanctuary. But here in the real world, like everyone else, I do what I can with the resources I have at hand.
So would a feral cat sanctuary be the solution? For a limited time .... right up until it filled up.
For the time being, I have started a new bit to the homeless pet site - Working Cat Listings in the Private Adoption section. Like everything else in the Private Adoption section, listings must be referred through a reputable rescue, an SPCA branch, a vet clinic, an AC or a TNR group. In the interests of simplicity, listings may be submitted to workingcats@nshomelesspets.com
So .... if you know anyone who has a farm or a warehouse or a business and is looking for an environmentally friendly form of pest control, send them to the site for a look see.
I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do.- Helen Keller
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Kitty Cat Day
With three dogs, four indoor cats and now the two kitties who make up the world's smallest cat colony, a trip to my vet is not out of the ordinary. Today's jaunt should have been as simple as pie .... the follow up boosters for Oscar and Dora's Fel/L vaccine.
And if they were indoor cats it would have been. At first I thought I hit paydirt because Oscar was close enough to the front step to be out of Dora's line of sight. As soon as I picked him up, he knew something was afoot but was in one of the cat carriers out in the workshop before he could complain loudly enough to alert Dora.
Now at some point Oscar was somebody's dear pet ..... he's just a big sweetie pie and was already neutered when he showed up here. Dora... now she's different kettle of fish entirely. She is a true feral and the only reason I have been able to tame her as much as I have is because she was so very young when she first showed up here.
So she smelled a rat right away .... and it finally took changing into my funny old yard parka with the dangly strings to coax her in for a cuddle. After getting tucked into a carrier and making the 15 km trip each way to and from the Berwick Animal Hospital .... well I expect that it will be at least a day or two before she comes within arms reach of me.
Its been a day for cats ..... most of my friends are animal lovers and the tale of the Harbourville Cats has crept into most conversations today in some shape or form.
For those of us who live out here, the chat was as much about the other end of the stick for ferals .... the many cats that are dumped out here every year. For every Oscar and Bear, who were already altered and socialized, there are so many more juveniles that will become Momcats long before they should. ( The subject of why the many benefits of Early Age Spay Neuter should be more widely advertised is a separate rant for another day )
Out here most folks aren't just full up ... they are fed up. As individuals they are generally responsible pet owners. As individuals their pets are altered and properly cared for . As individuals, most have already taken in more strays than they ever intended. But most of all, as individuals they would like to be able to point a finger to find someone to blame for the river of cats.
The particular finger that I choose to point is deterrents, such as stronger legislative penalties. When I first moved out here, it was pretty common for most of the fellows around here to drive around with an open two/four on the front seat beside them. Why did they do that? Because they had always done it. Because they could. Because it was a rare occasion to see an RCMP car out here. And of course, even if they did get caught, it really wasn't much of a big deal.
You don't see that happening anymore.... not even out here. Why is that? More patrol cars? Tighter legislation? Strong public relations campaigns by groups like MADD? Most of the fellows I know would still be driving around like the old Irish Ballad - "he was never quite drunk, but never quite sober" if not for all of these changes.
When the big dogs and I go for a hike up the Rocknotch Road, there are signs all along the gorge stating that there is a $5000 penalty for dumping garbage along there. Would it help to have signs like that stating that dumping a pet is against the animal cruelty law?
I never make a new recipe for company. Why would I think that way , with all my years of experience as a cook? Because I know first hand that the only way to test a recipe is to actually make it ..... so if I don't believe in animal testing I'm certainly not going to 'test' with my friends : )))
There are a lot of good ideas out there from a wide variety of interested animal lovers and rescue groups. But we won't know if they'll work until we put them to the test, hmmm?
And if they were indoor cats it would have been. At first I thought I hit paydirt because Oscar was close enough to the front step to be out of Dora's line of sight. As soon as I picked him up, he knew something was afoot but was in one of the cat carriers out in the workshop before he could complain loudly enough to alert Dora.
Now at some point Oscar was somebody's dear pet ..... he's just a big sweetie pie and was already neutered when he showed up here. Dora... now she's different kettle of fish entirely. She is a true feral and the only reason I have been able to tame her as much as I have is because she was so very young when she first showed up here.
So she smelled a rat right away .... and it finally took changing into my funny old yard parka with the dangly strings to coax her in for a cuddle. After getting tucked into a carrier and making the 15 km trip each way to and from the Berwick Animal Hospital .... well I expect that it will be at least a day or two before she comes within arms reach of me.
Its been a day for cats ..... most of my friends are animal lovers and the tale of the Harbourville Cats has crept into most conversations today in some shape or form.
For those of us who live out here, the chat was as much about the other end of the stick for ferals .... the many cats that are dumped out here every year. For every Oscar and Bear, who were already altered and socialized, there are so many more juveniles that will become Momcats long before they should. ( The subject of why the many benefits of Early Age Spay Neuter should be more widely advertised is a separate rant for another day )
Out here most folks aren't just full up ... they are fed up. As individuals they are generally responsible pet owners. As individuals their pets are altered and properly cared for . As individuals, most have already taken in more strays than they ever intended. But most of all, as individuals they would like to be able to point a finger to find someone to blame for the river of cats.
The particular finger that I choose to point is deterrents, such as stronger legislative penalties. When I first moved out here, it was pretty common for most of the fellows around here to drive around with an open two/four on the front seat beside them. Why did they do that? Because they had always done it. Because they could. Because it was a rare occasion to see an RCMP car out here. And of course, even if they did get caught, it really wasn't much of a big deal.
You don't see that happening anymore.... not even out here. Why is that? More patrol cars? Tighter legislation? Strong public relations campaigns by groups like MADD? Most of the fellows I know would still be driving around like the old Irish Ballad - "he was never quite drunk, but never quite sober" if not for all of these changes.
When the big dogs and I go for a hike up the Rocknotch Road, there are signs all along the gorge stating that there is a $5000 penalty for dumping garbage along there. Would it help to have signs like that stating that dumping a pet is against the animal cruelty law?
I never make a new recipe for company. Why would I think that way , with all my years of experience as a cook? Because I know first hand that the only way to test a recipe is to actually make it ..... so if I don't believe in animal testing I'm certainly not going to 'test' with my friends : )))
There are a lot of good ideas out there from a wide variety of interested animal lovers and rescue groups. But we won't know if they'll work until we put them to the test, hmmm?
Another News Story about the Harbourville Cats
From this morning's Herald,
Harbourville’s feral cats disappear
Local rescue group had planned to deal with colony humanely
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporter Tue. Apr 14 - 5:38 AM
( pbrooks@herald.ca)The furry feral felines in Harbourville, Kings County, have disappeared, leading some to believe they’ve met with foul play.
"There’s no confirmation, but it looks like some people may have taken steps into their own hands and, unfortunately, wiped out the colony," SPCA spokesman Sean Kelly said Monday.
On Friday, The Chronicle Herald published a story about the possible rescue of the 12 to 30 cats living in the colony just north of Berwick.
The cats’ habits raised the hackles of local fishermen, who complained for the last two years about the felines’ fondness for fish remains and garbage on the boats and around the wharves.
A local animal rescue group wanted to trap, neuter and release the healthy animals as a humane way to control the colony and eventually wipe it out.
The provincial SPCA even sent a letter in support of the program last week to Kings County councillors and the animals got a reprieve from death row, Mr. Kelly said.
But over the weekend, the cats vanished.
"There have been a few people out looking around for the animals and, unfortunately, they haven’t seen any," Mr. Kelly said. "There’s no carcasses or anything along those lines, so . . . without making any false accusations, we don’t know what happened. The animals were there a couple days ago and now the animals are gone."
There was a report that volunteers with the Homeless Animal Rescue Team found one carcass Saturday, but group president Laurie Wheeler could not be reached Monday to confirm that information.
A local woman who feeds the cats regularly also could not be reached Monday.
Mr. Kelly, who heard that one person spotted a small animal trap in the back of a truck belonging to an unidentified fisherman, said the SPCA hasn’t officially ruled out the possibility that someone may have rounded up the cats.
But that would be a "huge undertaking," and it would typically take a couple of weeks to perform such a feat.
"It is possible that somebody went out there and trapped all the cats; it’s just not probable," Mr. Kelly said.
"They would have to use some other means (to remove the colony) and I shudder to think what means they would use."
Belle Darris, president of the Kings County SPCA, has no idea what happened to the cats and said: "I can’t see animal control getting involved over the weekend, as they had been told to stop until everything was decided."
The plan to trap, neuter and release the animals "could’ve been a viable solution" to the feral cat problem in the area, Ms. Darris said, and every grant proposal her group has submitted to council has included a trap-neuter-release program.
She hopes the SPCA and the municipality will continue to work together to provide this program in the future.
The Kings County branch is prepared to assist the provincial office in its investigation, Ms. Darris said.
The Nova Scotia SPCA, which is mandated to investigate animal abuse, has heard a lot of rumours about who might have done what to the colony.
"They’re just rumours and I certainly wouldn’t act on any bad rumours — that’s how bad relationships develop," Mr. Kelly said.
"But we will certainly be investigating those rumours to ensure that, if those rumours are correct, we will act on them and we will act on them in a very severe manner
If there is any upside to this whole sad story is that it has highlighted some of the best changes that have happened with both the provincial society and the Kings County Branch. This time last year, there would not have been any effort made by either to improve the lot of feral and stray cats.
Anyone acquainted with TNR can tell you that removing the Harbourville cats has created a vacuum that will continue to be filled.... so there will be another chance for the residents of Harbourville to pick a more humane path.
Harbourville’s feral cats disappear
Local rescue group had planned to deal with colony humanely
By PATRICIA BROOKS ARENBURG Staff Reporter Tue. Apr 14 - 5:38 AM
( pbrooks@herald.ca)The furry feral felines in Harbourville, Kings County, have disappeared, leading some to believe they’ve met with foul play.
"There’s no confirmation, but it looks like some people may have taken steps into their own hands and, unfortunately, wiped out the colony," SPCA spokesman Sean Kelly said Monday.
On Friday, The Chronicle Herald published a story about the possible rescue of the 12 to 30 cats living in the colony just north of Berwick.
The cats’ habits raised the hackles of local fishermen, who complained for the last two years about the felines’ fondness for fish remains and garbage on the boats and around the wharves.
A local animal rescue group wanted to trap, neuter and release the healthy animals as a humane way to control the colony and eventually wipe it out.
The provincial SPCA even sent a letter in support of the program last week to Kings County councillors and the animals got a reprieve from death row, Mr. Kelly said.
But over the weekend, the cats vanished.
"There have been a few people out looking around for the animals and, unfortunately, they haven’t seen any," Mr. Kelly said. "There’s no carcasses or anything along those lines, so . . . without making any false accusations, we don’t know what happened. The animals were there a couple days ago and now the animals are gone."
There was a report that volunteers with the Homeless Animal Rescue Team found one carcass Saturday, but group president Laurie Wheeler could not be reached Monday to confirm that information.
A local woman who feeds the cats regularly also could not be reached Monday.
Mr. Kelly, who heard that one person spotted a small animal trap in the back of a truck belonging to an unidentified fisherman, said the SPCA hasn’t officially ruled out the possibility that someone may have rounded up the cats.
But that would be a "huge undertaking," and it would typically take a couple of weeks to perform such a feat.
"It is possible that somebody went out there and trapped all the cats; it’s just not probable," Mr. Kelly said.
"They would have to use some other means (to remove the colony) and I shudder to think what means they would use."
Belle Darris, president of the Kings County SPCA, has no idea what happened to the cats and said: "I can’t see animal control getting involved over the weekend, as they had been told to stop until everything was decided."
The plan to trap, neuter and release the animals "could’ve been a viable solution" to the feral cat problem in the area, Ms. Darris said, and every grant proposal her group has submitted to council has included a trap-neuter-release program.
She hopes the SPCA and the municipality will continue to work together to provide this program in the future.
The Kings County branch is prepared to assist the provincial office in its investigation, Ms. Darris said.
The Nova Scotia SPCA, which is mandated to investigate animal abuse, has heard a lot of rumours about who might have done what to the colony.
"They’re just rumours and I certainly wouldn’t act on any bad rumours — that’s how bad relationships develop," Mr. Kelly said.
"But we will certainly be investigating those rumours to ensure that, if those rumours are correct, we will act on them and we will act on them in a very severe manner
If there is any upside to this whole sad story is that it has highlighted some of the best changes that have happened with both the provincial society and the Kings County Branch. This time last year, there would not have been any effort made by either to improve the lot of feral and stray cats.
Anyone acquainted with TNR can tell you that removing the Harbourville cats has created a vacuum that will continue to be filled.... so there will be another chance for the residents of Harbourville to pick a more humane path.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Somebody has killed the Harbourville Cats
Do you live in Kings County? Did you have a nice Easter Dinner? Lots of Chocolate? Family and Friends? Maybe you even went to church?
While all that was going on, someone was killing the Harbourville Cats.
I received a tragic email from Laurie at HART that all the feral cats at Harbourville have been killed.
There is just no way to sugar coat this :
April 7th : Laurie from HART sent out an urgent appeal advising all interested parties of the plight of the Harbourville Cats. At that time they were preparing to do a TNR for the cats.
April 8th: The Nova Scotia SPCA had sent an email to all the Kings County Councillors when they initially became aware that Kings County AC planned to catch and kill the Harbourville Cats.
April 8th: The Kings County Councillors passed the matter on to Gary Smith, who is in charge of Protective Services. Assurance was given that trapping of the cats by AC would cease until all other options had been reviewed.
April 12th: Scott Saunders, the VP of HART sent an email to Gary Smith details that from April 7th to April 11th, the number of cats observed decreased daily
April 13th: There is no sign of any of the cats .... less than five days after all parties concerned were led to believe that no cats would be trapped and killed until " all options were considered"
Five days? How VERY convenient for this to happen on the Easter Holiday weekend, when municipal offices would be shut down and unavailable for a four day stretch.
So while everyone was all comfy in their homes.... while everyone was sure that the Harbourville Cats had enough of a reprieve to be safely TNR'd..... while everyone was trying to decide the best approach to educate the Harbourville residents about TNR and why it is such a success ....... someone was killing the Harbourville Cats.
The questions just roll ...
While all that was going on, someone was killing the Harbourville Cats.
I received a tragic email from Laurie at HART that all the feral cats at Harbourville have been killed.
There is just no way to sugar coat this :
April 7th : Laurie from HART sent out an urgent appeal advising all interested parties of the plight of the Harbourville Cats. At that time they were preparing to do a TNR for the cats.
April 8th: The Nova Scotia SPCA had sent an email to all the Kings County Councillors when they initially became aware that Kings County AC planned to catch and kill the Harbourville Cats.
April 8th: The Kings County Councillors passed the matter on to Gary Smith, who is in charge of Protective Services. Assurance was given that trapping of the cats by AC would cease until all other options had been reviewed.
April 12th: Scott Saunders, the VP of HART sent an email to Gary Smith details that from April 7th to April 11th, the number of cats observed decreased daily
April 13th: There is no sign of any of the cats .... less than five days after all parties concerned were led to believe that no cats would be trapped and killed until " all options were considered"
Five days? How VERY convenient for this to happen on the Easter Holiday weekend, when municipal offices would be shut down and unavailable for a four day stretch.
So while everyone was all comfy in their homes.... while everyone was sure that the Harbourville Cats had enough of a reprieve to be safely TNR'd..... while everyone was trying to decide the best approach to educate the Harbourville residents about TNR and why it is such a success ....... someone was killing the Harbourville Cats.
The questions just roll ...
- starting with where did they get the live traps because it certainly wasn't from any of the TNR folks?
- Did Kings County let the Harbourville residents know that the SPCA had contacted them and that the county Protective Services had agreed not to catch and kill the cats right away?
- Did the county talk to the fishermen who had made the complaints?
If you live in Kings County and would like some answers - Click Here to send a message to all Councillors
If you live anywhere in NS and would like to lend the strength of your voice to the many questions that I am sure that the society has for Kings County Protection Services , the appropriate email is animals@spcans.ca
What time is it? Its time to recognize that animal cruelty to stray and feral cats is still animal cruelty.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Update on Its Time to Row with Both Oars
This has been a beautiful morning to be outside, but its still chilly enough that I'm making a little brown rice and vegetable pilaf for lunch. Its not quite ready, but in if I have learned anything in thirty years as a cook, it is that watched pots may not seem to cook, but they also never burn.
While I was waiting, I popped online for a quick looksee and found the nicest little surprise in the Board member candidate profiles now available on the society webpage..... Nova Scotia's very own Cat Man, Pierre Filiatreault, is on the candidate roster for a Director Position.
‘Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.’ Robert Kennedy
While I was waiting, I popped online for a quick looksee and found the nicest little surprise in the Board member candidate profiles now available on the society webpage..... Nova Scotia's very own Cat Man, Pierre Filiatreault, is on the candidate roster for a Director Position.
‘Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.’ Robert Kennedy
Every Journey has to start somewhere
From this morning's Herald Feral felines gain champion
Animal rescuers trying to save cat colony
By GORDON DELANEY Valley BureauFri. Apr 10 - 4:46 AM
The Homeless Animal Rescue Team in Aylesford has rescued hundreds of cats, including this little one, named Avalon, who was recently placed in a good home. The non-profit group is now attempting to rescue a colony of feral cats at Harbourville. (GORDON DELANEY / Herald)
Laurie Wheeler isn’t getting much sleep these days.
That’s because she and members of a registered, non-profit animal rescue group in Aylesford are facing their biggest challenge — rescuing a colony of feral cats from certain demise.
Fishermen at Harbourville, a short drive north of Berwick, have been complaining about the cats for two years. It seems the cats are attracted to fish remains on the boats and garbage around the wharves.
No one knows how many cats there are in the colony, but estimates range from 12 to 30.
"The fishermen want them gone because they’re defecating all over their boats," Ms. Wheeler, the president of the Homeless Animal Rescue Team said Wednesday.
"But euthanizing them is not the answer. If you take a cat colony away, it’s going to be replaced by another colony because there’s a food source there."
Kings County council referred the matter to its animal control officer Wednesday. Animal welfare people now fear the cats will be trapped and euthanized.
Warden Fred Whalen confirmed the cat problem had been referred to animal control, but he did not know of any order to euthanize the felines.
Ms. Wheeler wants the cats trapped, tested for disease, neutered or spayed and returned to Harbourville.
Her group is trying to set up a meeting with the local fishermen.
"We need to find out how many cats are there." she said.
If there are kittens, homes could possibly be found for them, she added.The job is huge for a small group that operates on donations and occasional fund-raising events, "but we can find a way," she said.
Her group’s position was supported by the Nova Scotia SPCA. They circulated a letter to Kings County councillors, Wednesday, asking them to allow more time for the felines to be trapped and relocated.
In the letter SPCA director Mary Hill said humane efforts should be undertaken, particularly through trapping-neuter-return programs.
Euthanizing is an ineffective means of controlling feral cat colonies, she wrote.
"It can exacerbate the problem by allowing more cats to move into the area once occupied by the colony."
Returning sterilized cats will work better to reduce unwanted colonies, she added.
Since its inception a year ago HART has rescued four dogs and 245 cats. Almost all of those cats have been tested for disease by a veterinarian, vaccinated, spayed or neutered and placed in good homes.
(gdela ney@herald.ca)
For anyone who is unacquainted with the issue, or who wants to brush up so they can explain the facts to their friends and neighbours, there is a wonderful article from the Feral Cat Activist, which is published by Alleycat Allies, http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=336 . It backs up the principles of TNR with solid scientific evidence that has been compiled in the last two decades.
Closer to home, feral cat activists in NS have been very pleased that SPCANS came out with an official position of support for Feral Cats and TNR Population Control Programs . This might not sound like a big deal, but when the situation arose with the Harbourville Cats, it gave the society the authority to send the letter from SPCANS to the Kings County Councillors. It also gave the Kings SPCA branch the support and credibility they needed to work with the Kings County for this and other feral cat situations.
Or to quote a friend of mine, "Isn't it lovely to see our provincial SPCA finally acting like an SPCA?"
What time is it? Its still only the start of the journey.... but at least the boat has left the wharf.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Its time to row with both oars
From today's Coast http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/port-of-halifaxs-cat-fix/Content?oid=1102067
Port of Halifax's cat fix
People call him the crazy cat man.
"I don't care," says Pierre Filiatreault, digging into a greasy Ziploc of boiled and cubed Costco beef. "It won't stop me from doing my work."
Crazy cat man he may be---it's a by-definition by-gone for a guy who looks after 40 cats---but Pierre Filiatreault may be the most sensible voice in feral animal control in HRM.
And in two languages, no less.
"Vient manger? Charlie? Charlie Brown...Charlie...come here..."
Charlie Brown, a burly orange and white tabby who will dance on his back legs for a treat, had popped out from behind a building when he heard the engine of Filiatreault's Blue Ford Ranger XLT.
He was probably waiting for his breakfast. Cats have enviously (and irritatingly) accurate internal clocks and Filiatreault is there every weekday at 6:30am to feed the cats their morning meal. On weekends he sleeps in and arrives at 8. The cats must hate that.
D-2 is next, approaching the now-stopped truck's open door with a caution reserved for---and perhaps characteristic of---wild cats.
Out of the truck, there's a timid flood around 48-year-old Filiatreault. Or, at least, in a 15-foot radius of the bottom of his Levis. Weaving, observing, narrow-eyed and always-guarded cats loom. Captain Binou, Orancina and Trixy arrive---all of the 40 cats here are three or four years old, most have thick coats and, says Filiatreault, "some people say they are chubby."
More felines saunter in, a dozen in total. The Puffy Brothers---White Puff and Puffy Tail---don't show today. There are 19 cats in all in the North End Gang, living on the waterfront roughly around the latitudinal base of Young Street.
Farther south, under a leg of the Macdonald Bridge, is the Catty Shack Gang---another 11 live in that gentle mob. Other cats, the ones not accepted in those cliques, live scattershot around the Halifax Dockyard, a Department of National Defence property that extends from the Irving Shipyard to the Casino. This is where Filiatreault has worked since 2005. He's taken care of the cats, with the blessing of his bosses, pretty much since he arrived.
And if he didn't care for the cats? "I'm sure [they] would survive but"---he shrugs---"they wouldn't be as healthy-looking. And their lives? They would probably be two years max. Three years."
That's it? That's why he spends on cats what is, added up, probably the equivalent of another full-time job?
"I've done a lot of things in my life to help people," he says. "It's time to help animals who cannot help themselves."
The cats all know their own names, but that's the closest to domestication most come. A handful gets close enough to Filiatreault that he can put Revolution---a flea medication---on their necks. But only three of 40 understand what it means when he flicks a toy on a string; "Mou-Mou?" Filiatreault says, "It took her two years to learn to play." There are shows of affection, though. Or at least gestures of alpha-cat surrender; they leave Filiatreault mice and rat offerings once or twice a day.
"If you can gain the trust of a feral animal," says Filiatreault, who only has one cat, Zorro, at home, not to mention a very supportive wife, "that means a lot."
The Dockyard swallows a huge chunk of prime waterfront real estate in Halifax, but instead of defining the city by its geographic heft, the Dockyard's inaccessibility to average Haligonians makes the base functionally invisible. It's like the city ends at Barrington Street, rather than the water's edge.
Filiatreault's cats are almost invisible, too. "Some people say 'We have cats in the Dockyard? I have never seen them. And I've been here 20 years!'" he says.
And yet, the cats have always been there too, just like similar colonies lay claim to other parts of the city. "Every neighbourhood has cat problems," says Timberlea-Prospect councillor Reg Rankin. "I don't think if we reduce the numbers the cats would be greatly offended."
And the Dockyard, since Filiatreault began his compassionate crusade four years ago, has seen just that change in its feral cat gangs. There are fewer joining. And the ones there are healthier.
"All it takes is one female and a couple of males," Filiatreault says. "Abandoned by humans. They make their way by eating what they can. She gets pregnant. Those become feral cats. The males look for love elsewhere and the population explodes. Halifax is full of them. Dartmouth is full of them."
But not the Dockyard. Not anymore.
That's thanks to Filiatreault, who carves three or four hours out of every day to run his trap-neuter-release (TNR) program.
It works just like it sounds. Filiatreault sets live traps and brings the cats to a vet. (He won't say which one offers the partly donated services---"he will be flooded with people needing help and he's already overworked.") If they're in good health Filiatreault's society (Pierre's Alley Cats Society, or PACS) pays to have them spayed or neutered. After recovery, they go back to their colony.
Pierre Filiatreault's program works. "I haven't had kittens in three years," he says.
And he wants to expand.
"No meddling with licenses," he says. "I want [council] to give me money to sponsor a TNR program for the city."
And 300,000 people scream: not the cats again.
Roaming cats have been on council's agenda who-knows-how-many times in the last who-knows-how-many years.
Cat-talk dominated Halifax Regional Council chambers---and certainly council media coverage---for a healthy stretch of 2007. A year after the latest cat debate was put to bed. (The upshot? Cats would not have to be registered.) Halifax's mayoral race saw cat-chat claw to the surface again, symbolizing all that was wrong with council members and their leader, mayor Peter Kelly. During the October 2008 election, council was criticized as a gaggle of small thinkers in a big city, who focused on spraying strays when they could have been tackling crime, transportation and downtown development.
Cats. They're a real flash point for us.
Eighteen councillors, including the mayor, were voted back to their seats in October. Mayor Kelly---duly chastised---has since been working to reign in off-on-a-tangent councillors.
Pam Berman covers municipal affairs for CBC Radio in Halifax. She says since the election Kelly has been acting like a stronger chair at council sessions. "He got the sense from the community that enough is enough. Get a grip on things down there. We don't want [council] endlessly talking about inane subjects."
Councillors took their own warning---can it on the friggin' cats.
As a result, on the topic of a city-wide TNR program, these days some councillors resemble Filiatreault's Dockyard felines. Meowing on the sidelines but reluctant to engage.
Here's councillor Reg Rankin, who knows there are problems all over the city with "cats that don't have an address":
"I'm very much in support of the trap-neuter-release program."
And here's downtown councillor Dawn Sloane, who's currently feeding a large "lackadaisical" unneutered feral feline (her nickname: David Puddy) who visits her front step:
"I've asked for TNR ever since we started talking about the cat bylaw."
And, she adds, "I noticed that Jim Smith is now on board."
Sloane makes mention because north Dartmouth councillor Jim Smith is known as the anti-cat guy. He was an outspoken supporter of the struck-down portion of the so-called cat bylaw that would have required licensing and which gave Animal Control officers the power to trap, and in some cases euthanize, roaming cats.
But Smith says he's always been game.
"I've brought it up in council a number of times, but no one wants to put any money on it."
Maybe that's because since the cat bylaw kerfuffle "no one wants to talk about cats," as councillor Sloane puts it.
But it's more than that. Despite mayor Kelly's attempts, keeping council on point is a bit like, um, herding cats.
"What council is maybe fearful of," Rankin says, "is that this will go off in another direction...Are they going to talk about the shelter, are they going to talk about fines, are they going to talk about cats at large?"
Smith agrees. "When you bring something forward like this, it gets bent all out of shape."
So to do it, Rankin says, "takes a little bit of courage."
Reg Rankin, who asked city staff for a report on the feasibility of a city-wide TNR program in the very thick of the cat debate, is the closest now to dipping in his toes. "If several councillors give me a call and they are in support, then maybe we can take something concrete in."
To Rankin, TNR is common sense. "Government," he says, "is there to do the things for people that they are otherwise unable to do."
Unless, of course, they're Pierre Filiatreault.
Filiatreault is inside the Catty Shack.
It's a portable shed---the kind out in the parking lot at the Bayers Lake Kent. But this one is heated. It never goes below 10 degrees. "It's nice," Filiatreault smiles, "when you park out there and it's minus 15. And you see them warm in the window."
There are sturdy plywood shelves along the interior walls of the Catty Shack with tidily folded blankets set up as cat beds; there are bags and cans of food and containers of hand sanitizer. The floors are swept and disinfected. There are toys and treats, a litter box, scratching posts---all donated.
"It smells like a cat house," he apologizes. "Or, a cat shelter. To me, I'm French, so 'cat house' doesn't mean anything." Filiatreault met George Canyon in the autumn at a concert, "He said, 'Pierre, what do you do?' I said, 'I run a cat house down at the Dockyard.'" Filiatreault laughs. "He has very good humour. Maybe he'll do a benefit concert for a TNR program."
The cash would be a boon for Filiatreault, who spends not only his time but his own money on the cats.
In the Catty Shack, Filiatreault stands up to stir scoops of Viralys L-Lysine powder into a bowl of wet and dry food. The medicine helps protect the cats from feline herpes, a common upper respiratory virus. The container costs $97.
Filiatreault keeps his cat resources in the black by getting food donations and collecting recyclable bottles around the base. He produced a benefit calendar for 2009 with photos of the cats (and sold out 700 copies). A little girl he knows got kids to come to her 11th birthday party last year with gifts for the Catty Shack, instead of her---food and kitty litter. Pierre's Alley Cats Society accepts donations through the Bank of Montreal, but so far, he has only had two. He also has a small budget from the Department of National Defence.
"The previous admiral was aware and was very supportive of what I did," says Filiatreault, who is a marine engineer and has been in the navy for 31 years, since he left Montreal as a 17-year-old. "I think if I had started at the bottom of the chain of command---'can I have a shelter?'---it would have been: 'Are you crazy?'"
"Right now," he says, "I am stable in the Dockyard and that's why I want to reach out and help other people."
Filiatreault is talking about the other TNR programs he helps support around Halifax. One example: PACS got $5,000 last year from the city to run a TNR pilot in Dartmouth.
Councillor Jim Smith remembers the grant. "It was a project on Myrtle Street. I don't know how that worked out, but for $5000, you can only [spay and neuter] 30 or 40 cats."
And how many feral cats are there in HRM?
If only they had thumbs and could fill in a census.
A 2007 report on TNR programs pegs the number of domesticated, owned cats in HRM at either 39,000, using a model developed by the city of Calgary which extrapolates on a cats-per-house formula, or, the report indicates, there could be a whopping 93,000 cats here, if cat-counters put faith in a 2005 HRM-commissioned consultant document that relies on cat-per-person extrapolation.
Superintendent Robin McNeil, who is the go-to cop for animal issues, was the man on these numbers. In his staff report, he couldn't determine which were accurate. Today he suspects, "it's somewhere in the middle there."
Wishful thinking.
"I do have a number for you," says an expectant Andrea MacDonald, HRM's manager of Animal Services.
According to an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in Halifax in September 2008, which determined the number of cats per household, there are 109,362 cats in Halifax.
Remember, these are owned, domesticated cats, as councillor Rankin might call them, cats with an address. But the number is relevant for our discussion here. Based on Robin McNeil's research---and MacDonald says it's likely accurate---the housed cat population matches the feral and stray numbers cat-for-cat.
McNeil determined TNR surgery and recovery would cost, at minimum, $300 per cat. That's 33 million bucks.
Those aren't all first-year costs, and, heck, maybe the number of cats isn't even that high. But there's no getting around it: $33 million is a terrific figure.
But Filiatreault looks at it this way. Right now most feral cats are either left to reproduce and die early (which doesn't cost anything directly, but compounds the problem) or, they are captured and euthanized and cremated, which isn't free.
Trapping is part of the equation either way. Euthanization and cremation may be less expensive than surgery and recovery, but ultimately, Filiatreault says, destroying cats doesn't solve the problem.
It's reproduction 101.
In the '90s at the Dockyard, the feral cat families were rounded up and exterminated. "But they came back," he says. "They will always come back."
Councillor Jim Smith agrees. "There's a lot of evidence that [TNR] works in the long run. If you just take the cats out of their wild environment, other cats will replace them. So, you do it through attrition. Spay and neuter them and let them go, and eventually the colony will shrink in size naturally."
And so will the cost to the city. And so will the misery of sick, cold, wet cats. "It's all politics," Filiatreault says. "Because it costs money."
Petit-Loup pokes a nose into the Catty Shack. Then, deciding it's safe, starts to wolf down the medicated food.
Filiatreault will retire from the navy in June. Then, he says, "I'll have nothing else to do but play with the cats."
Or, maybe, run the city's TNR program.
Gosh I can't think of a better candidate for sure. When I was first setting up the TNR section on the homeless site, Pierre very generously provided me with some wonderful pictures of his kitties and their housing, which you can find at PACS.
Even out here, on the 'foot of the mountain', my burly bearded flannel coated buddies have heard of TNR, thanks to the CBC interview with Pierre that aired on the radio and the interviews lately on tv.
Closer to home, he has been the soul of patience with my technical questions as I refurbish the old garden shed into snug safe quarters for Oscar and Dora.
Thanks to people like Pierre who have been tirelessly working for the kitties, word is finally starting to get out about TNR.
Sure the startup costs look steep. But if you talk to Jill Brideau of Team TNR, she will be the first to tell you that every year the number of cats needing TNR will naturally decrease ... and she has the numbers to prove it because part and parcel of Team TNR's municipal funding is providing Annapolis County with a record of how their support money was spent.
Its even starting to look more promising in Kings County, with both the Provincial SPCA and the Kings County SPCA branch going to bat for the kitties.
I know I sound like a stuck record, but the way ahead is always paved with voter feedback. Wherever you live in NS, take the time to contact your municipal councillors and your MLA's to let them know that TNR is important to you as a voter.
What time is it? Its time to recognize that the skills and expertise of the TNR groups in NS are only one oar on the boat, and that we'll just keep going around in circles until our elected representatives provide the other oar - which is of course the funding.
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