Let’s Chat: Ruffling feathers
By Linda Tooth on November 22, 2023.
I would like to clarify a few points regarding a recent submission published in last week’s Ticked Off/Tickled Pink in the Medicine Hat News. Yes, I am an animal lover. When I started this public journey of wanting to bring a Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) program to Medicine Hat my end goal was to have feral/community cats spayed or neutered to help curb the number of kittens born every year. Shelters are at capacity and can not take any more cats or kittens as there is simply not enough space. When cat owners do not spay or neuter their pets and then let them run around outside, the results are pregnant cats who give birth to numerous kittens every year. People are then faced with agonizing decisions as to how to deal with one cat and her litter. Sadly, the options seem to be letting them loose, dumping them in garbage bins or within an existing colony and hoping for the best. I do realize feral cats are a concern within our ecosystem as they are hunters and will kill other animals so they can survive. This is why we as cat caregivers donate our free time and resources to feed these feral cats and kittens so they will leave other animals alone. I have yet to see a dead bird or other remnants of a dead animal when I am out feeding. Here is a fun fact for those of us living in southern Alberta, the Great Horned Owl is common all over Alberta. Some of the animals they are known to eat include mice, rabbits, ground squirrels and even other birds like geese and ducks. This is called the cycle of life and our ecosystem depends on it. So, to publicly call me out and say all feral cats should be put down is ludicrous. What about those who work tirelessly to help rabbits and ground squirrels? Should the Great Horned Owl be eliminated from our ecosystem to help save those populations? Again, that is just ludicrous. If you are so concerned about feral cats and what they appear to be doing in your yard, why not volunteer with us to make this a better place for that species? Or better yet, let’s just eliminate all predators within Alberta boundaries, just like the rats… Linda Tooth is a communications instructor at Medicine Hat College 12-11
