Solutions

Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!
Theophile Gautier

WATERBURY, Conn. – Robin Kane likes Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. When she gets her hands on a large Styrofoam cup of it, she lets the warmth and aroma of it soothe her soul.

That is, until she needs its caffeine jolt to jump-start her day.

Kane, of West Hartford, is the director of the H.O.P.E. clinic. H.O.P.E., which stands for halting overpopulation, preventing euthanasia, is a low cost and high volume nonprofit clinic performing only

The non-euthanasia rule is not absolute; terminally ill adult ferals and fetal feral kittens are euthanized image: STM

sterilizations for cats and dogs.

Feral cats are a priority at the clinic says Kane. For $45 the cats are sterilized and vaccinated against rabies and feline immunodeficiency virus. There is no waiting list for ferals like there is for dogs says Kane.

No small feat considering the clinic churns out an average of 30 surgeries per day.

Build It and They Will Come

Kane identified a need in the community, an alternative to the practice of euthanasia as a means of pet control, and hasn’t looked back. An ardent animal rights advocate, she would prefer to spend her free time not with friends but with her nine cats.

With financing from private donations, Kane opened the clinic on August 11, 2009. Up to March 25, 2010, the clinic has performed 1,306 cat spays. Of that total, 992 were fertile. Kane says 90 percent of the female cats admitted for surgery are feral. Considering a feral female cat can get pregnant up to three times per year and averages four kittens per delivery, it is estimated H.O.P.E. stopped close to 11,000 feral cats from ever roaming around Connecticut.

H.O.P.E. Spay/Neuter Statistics data: RKane

“We’re doing all we can to end this vicious cycle but the numbers don’t even reflect the fact that a cat can get pregnant at just six months old,” Kane says.

Numbers like those make the clinic a Mecca for the network of feral cat providers in the state. Volunteer caregivers from organizations such as the Greater New Haven Cat Project, Castaway Cats in Shelton and Forgotten Felines in Clinton visit the H.O.P.E. clinic. Kane purposefully chose a central location in the state such as Waterbury, and one close to major highways, to make it easy for rescuers to reach her.

Neutering a feral (click photo) image: STM

Future plans include expanding the clinic into the vacant space next door says Kane.

For the Birds

Sterilization plays an essential role in a managed feral colony. Lori Montresor, the clinic’s only veterinarian, says euthanasia or starving the cats doesn’t work because it simply creates a vacuum enabling more cats to come in.

“If there’s a reliable source of food somewhere, then a persistent and hungry cat won’t be far away,” Montresor says.

Critics of feral cat colonies such as the American Bird Conservancy in Washington, D.C., and the Wildlife Society headquartered in Bethesda, Md., take issue with the idea of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR is where feral caregivers trap cats, get them sterilized and then return them to where they were captured. Critics say it doesn’t

Feral room; cats remain covered to diminish stress (click photo) image: STM

keep the population from growing.

The Wildlife Society further argues, in its blog “Making Tracks,” feral cats have a deleterious effect on fauna such as small birds and rodents.

The American Bird Conservancy recommends placing ferals in shelters or creating sanctuaries for them.

Cindy Socha, who volunteers at the Trumbull Animal Shelter, says shelters are designed for dogs and not cats. She says most shelters are small and can only hold a dozen animals at a time.

Kane says shelters in Connecticut are maxed out. “Kill shelters will euthanize a feral the minute it lands on their doorstep,” Kane says.

The Bottom Line

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is also involved in controlling the pet population problem. Its Animal Population Control Program distributes vouchers worth $70 for female cats to be spayed. The vouchers are intended for volunteers who work with ferals as well as fixed-income pet owners.

The program is not without its limitations, however. The number of vouchers is limited and even those could be in jeopardy because of Connecticut’s budget crisis. Money earmarked for the feral cat program has been reabsorbed into the 2010 general budget.

“Our society is set up to favor dogs. They’re licensed. They have animal control. Shelters are built with them in mind,” Kane says. “You hear about cats only when it pertains to cruelty or rabies and

Domestic females are tattooed to identify the spay for other veterinarians; all ferals have their left ear tipped to signify those no longer needing sterilization image: STM

both those laws were made with dogs in mind.”

“TNR works. Our numbers prove it. That’s the bottom line,” she says.

For more information about services, or to make an appointment, call the H.O.P.E. clinic at 1-203-437-7955.

Scenes of H.O.P.E.

WARNING: GRAPHIC SCENES OF SURGERY

About the Video: Filmed on location at the H.O.P.E. Spay/Neuter clinic in Waterbury, Conn., on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. Shot in high definition. Veterinarian: Lori Montresor. Veterinarian technicians: Stephanie McCoy and Heather Wasielewski. Patient: Feral female pregnant with four fetal kittens. Behind the Scenes: Some interesting observations about the clinic – It has its own laundry area due to the amount of soiled linen generated; a microwave oven is used to heat athletic socks filled with rice which are then placed near the animals post-op to keep them warm; the procedure to neuter a male cat was similar to shelling peas; the surgery scenes did not induce the most stomach churning, it was the smell of the feral post-op room from all the urine.