Feeding Stray Cats Does More Harm Than Good

A lady suggested that I write a column about people who feed stray cats and the problems that can cause. It may be practically impossible to ignore a hungry cat on your back porch but putting food out will likely, in time, make matters worse. Word spreads quickly among the cat community about good places for handouts, and before long there will be several hungry cats hanging around. Better nutrition enhances fertility so eventually there will be kittens. Then, in about six months, the kittens will start having kittens. You may soon be looking at dozens of cats hanging around your back porch. A colony of unvaccinated cats is an invitation to distemper, feline leukemia, fleas, worms, and ear mites, and where there are tomcats staking out territory and competing for the favors of female cats in heat, there will be bite wounds, with infections and abscesses.

But what can you do about the stray cats that come around? First of all, don’t put food out. Like a fisherman who catches a big fish or gambler who wins at a slot machine, finding food once on your porch will keep a cat coming back for weeks, just to check. Don’t even put a water dish out on the porch. If a cat sees a dish on your porch, he will come and check it out. He will put it on his schedule of places to check out regularly.

If you catch a stray cat, what can you do with it? It may be someone’s pet. Many people have outdoor cats, or cats that spend some time outdoors, and few outdoor cats buy into the concept of staying within their own backyard. Your neighbor’s cat may be a nuisance to you, but do you really want to “do something” with someone else’s pet? Can you be sure that “stray” that keeps coming around your porch is not someone’s pet?

Some animal shelters will take cats. The city of Lewiston Animal Control Officer may take stray cats to the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter, if they have room. If you are a resident of Nez Perce County, Asotin County, or the Nez Perce Tribal Jurisdiction, and own a cat you can no longer care for, the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter will take it, for a $25 fee, if they have space available. The city of Clarkston and its animal shelter do not take cats, but they maintain a list of people, like farmers and ranchers, and others, who may be willing to provide a home for unwanted cats.

Sun Services Pest Control in Clarkston rents live animal traps. Veterinary clinics sometimes have live animal traps and fish and game departments sometimes rent or loan them out. But trying to trap a stray cat sometimes brings unintended consequences – like a skunk, for example. And again, are you sure you want to take a chance on trapping someone’s pet?

If you have cats, especially if you have outdoor cats, have them neutered or spayed well before they come into sexual maturity at about 6 months. Female cats do not come into heat once every 6 months, as dogs are supposed to do. A female cat is less predictable and more persistent. She may come in and out of heat every few weeks indefinitely until she gets pregnant. And male and female cats willingly travel over a wide range searching for love.

Finally, make sure your cat carries identification and contact information. I recommend a rabies tag with your veterinarian’s information, a tag with your information, and a microchip. These things may save your cat’s life.