Posted on 09/15/2006 8:09:32 PM PDT by mcg2000
(AP) RED BANK, Tenn. Police are investigating after a man wrote about launching a "feline jihad" to rid his Chattanooga suburb of stray cats.
Max Gerskin wrote a two-part series in the Chattanooga Pulse weekly publication, the first of which was published Aug. 9 and titled, "Madder Max: The Cat Lady and My New Dog." The second installment was published Wednesday and titled, "Feline Jihad: The Cat Lady, Part II."
In his commentary, Gerskin said the strays fed by a "neighborhood cat lady" have brought filth and disease to his home, and local Humane Society officials haven't been able to stop it.
As a result, he wrote, "I've officially become a trapper and it's time to take a walk to the river."
A neighbor, Jean Watts, said she feeds about 10 local strays and is the "cat lady" in the articles. She said Gerskin has set traps in his yard and posted signs in the neighborhood alluding to dead cats.
Watts also said some of the strays she normally sees have gone missing in recent weeks.
She believes the problem has more to do with a conflict with Watts about him setting off fireworks than about the cats.
"This is just as much about me as it is about them," she said. "He's mad at me, and he's taking it out on the cats."
Gerskin did not respond to requests for comment, but he posted an online response Sunday at http://www.chattanoogapulse.com. He wrote that he has not been trying to kill the cats and was using Humane Society traps to help get them to safe homes.
But Humane Education Society of Chattanooga director Guy Bilyeu said Monday there was no record that Gerskin was in possession of any of the organization's traps.
Bilyeu said he planned to meet with Gerskin to discuss the issue further.
"We can't pass judgment on a written article," he said. "This could just be somebody bragging. We don't know."
Red Bank police said Monday that they were investigating.
Oh boy....
Nothing wrong with killing stray cats, anymore than killing rats, IMO
Jihad is an inner struggle, according to all the Muslim "authorities". Leave this guy alone!
You are asking for a gaggle of PETAFreepers to come after you! LOL
Add a few ingredients to cover the taste and send the roadkill to the islamofascists with our blessings. MMMMmmmmm, good!
We have PETAFReepers? Must have missed those threads, :-)
LOL...I think a lot of those end up at Thai restaurants.
Yes. They are worse than the real PETA
Yum. Fresh pussy(cat)
That's better.
When reached for comment, the stray cats indicated that they hadn't intended to harm Mr. Gerskin, they just wanted to take a load off his feet.
Got a red X Joe.
Happy Friday and a good weekend to you! :-)
Aww, I love that picture.
PETA is a scurge. I can love animals, but still... let's have some commen sense shall we???
I know, I know.. it's PETA, there is no commen sense.
I like animals too. Specially with lotsa ketchup
LOL
I'd offer up the Psycho Dog but the marinating factor would be a real witch!
;-)
RS
I bait my No-Kill Tomahawk trap with some tuna and the next day I drive them down to the County shelter.
They're checked for an ID chip and if they can be socialized they're put up for adoption. If not......sorry.
I don't tolerate ferals. They're incredibly destructive to wildlife. People who feed them are irresponsible. If one doesn't live on a farm, your cat belongs indoors.
L
Does it taste like Pukin Dog?
Yeah, they are a distructive lot around here too. I completely understand. I hate to see it happen, but reality has to trump the "oh let's save them all" group.
Ferals are a huge problem in my neck of the woods. I call as I can, but they breed faster than the ASPCA can repond. And vicious, mercy are they vicious.
I try to keep Psycho Dog in the house when I know they are out, I don't want her bitten.
Spay and Nuter... these acts are your friends. (to the general liberal population.)
I am pretty sure not, but hey, I haven't tasted...ok, I haven't had enough gin to finish that comment!!! LOL
I have no financial relationship to them other than as a satisfied customer.
One other lady in the neighborhood traps them as well and was having them spayed or nuetered but after the first three the expense became too much for her.
Now she just does what I do and takes them to the County.
Before anybody calls me a cat-hater, I've got one myself. But I hate to see them killing the songbirds, small critters, using my backyard as a giant litter box, spreading disease, etc etc.
If folks were more responsible we wouldn't have to do this.
We've made a pretty good dent in the feral population. And when we catch one we know has been fixed...well ok we release those.
But for the rest we just drop them off and wish them the best of luck.
I don't want her bitten.
You certainly don't. Ferals carry some very nasty bugs. If you can stand to, try the trapping route. Be warned it can wear on you. I don't like knowing they're going to be killed but I really don't have a choice.
See if your County has a shelter. Perhaps they can help. Some shelters will even lend out traps at little or no cost.
Best of luck to you ma'am.
L
Thank you for the link. I will look into it.
I'd take them to the HSPCA, I can't afford to rescue every animal, although I wish I could.
I totally agree with the personal responsiblility. I couldn't imagine letting lose an aminal that hadn't been fixed.
We have a huge feral contingent, our neighborhood had very few outlets and people drop off strays and ferals in hopes that someone will adopt them. It's cruel in my eyes.
I protect the one that I already have sunk a fair chunk of money into, and she better live til she's 20!! The ferals, there is little hope there. I would rather a humane demise, than to imagine what happens on the street.
Psycho Girl is fixed and she is a home body, I would be most displeased if she were injured by a feral, so I keep a sharp lookout.
Thank you again for your links, I try to combine compassion with reality, I can't save them all, but I will protect mine to the best of my abilty, even if she is an anti-social pycho pup that likes rainstorms!
My sympathy lies with the animails that can not be found suitable homes, but not to the exclusion of what is right and what is wrong.
Pysho Dog is happy whith her nuerosis, I wouldn't want to change her mind now. :-)
Trying to change her now would most likely be an excersize in futility. I have three slightly crazy canines sharing the Lurker Compound, so I know how that can be.
My County runs an Animal Control Dept that also has an adoption service. You might want to see if something like that is available in your area. Ours doesn't charge anything to deal with ferals. If they can be adopted, then the adopting family agrees to bear a fairly nominal charge for shots and 'fixing'.
I try to combine compassion with reality
That dear lady is the mark of a well developed human being. You are to be commended.
Best of luck to you. Feel free to ping me if I can be of service to you.
I love your tagline btw.
Regards,
L
Relatives of the Pyscho Girl are they?? Useless creature that she is is.... cute though!
That dear lady is the mark of a well developed human being. You are to be commended. Best of luck to you. Feel free to ping me if I can be of service to you.
Thank you Sir. I may avail myself on your assistance, but as of now I think I have it under control. Please don't tell Psycho Girl as she will promptly make a liar out of me.
Should you need me, please ping me to a simailar topic and I will assist as best I am able.
As for now, Thena needs a rawhide, and I need to sleep.
Good posting kind Sir, I will see you on the threads, pet your contigent for me, and I will do the same,
Tell them you have a vague idea of who it belongs to and volunteer a phone number. Tell the shelter folks you wish to remain anonymous though.
After your neighbors get through paying to reclaim their precious kitty they'll most likely catch on. If not, repeat as necessary.
My town has fines on the books for folks who let their pets run wild. I'm willing to bet yours does as well.
I know what you mean about putting in work on a small space. I'm kidding about the 'compound' thing. Our backyard isn't large by any means but we've done a lot of work making it nice for songbirds, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
It bugs me no end to see ferals back there stalking and killing what I've spent good money and no small amount of sweat attracting.
Once your thoughtless neighbors drop a couple hundred bucks reclaiming their cat you'll see them change their ways.
Best of luck.
L
This Israeli Cat' knows how to deal with jihadis!
I know it's well intentioned, but don't take them out into the country.
That creates two additional problems: people who live there are stuck with the animals, and the animal is going to die out there, fast if a dog or coyote or raccoon gets them, or slowly if they just starve to death or die of cold. I'd much rather see them go to the local SPCA.
TOTALLY AGREE
State takes lead in cat-death case: 15 felines killed during fumigation
Sep. 9, 2006 (McClatchy-Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex) --
Don't mess with the cats at Ocean Reef.
The private community on North Key Largo goes to unmatched lengths to control and feed the estimated 500 cats that live contentedly in outdoor colonies there.
"The people of Ocean Reef have a remarkable love affair with the cats," said David Ritz, manager of the Ocean Reef Community Association.
"People view them as their pets and look forward to seeing the cats when they come down," he said.
That's why the report of an Aug. 8 incident in which at least 15 neutered and registered cats were killed in a fumigation incident caused such a stir.
"People are upset and mortified," Ritz said. "Ocean Reef spends tens of thousands of dollars every year - millions over the last decade - to humanely control the cat population. Then something like this happens."
Monroe County Sheriff's Office Deputy Mike Sharp filed a Sept. 1 report on a possible animal-cruelty case after he learned of the August incident and interviewed witnesses.
A commercial fumigation company based in Miami tented a store in a retail area at Ocean Reef's Fishing Village.
Officials of ORCAT, the Ocean Reef organization that runs a trap-neuter-release program for resident felines, told Sharp they alerted company employees to the presence of 16 cats living under the building.
ORCAT staff asked to be told before fumigation began so they cats could be moved, they said.
According to the report, the tent was sealed and filled with toxic pesticides while the cats were still inside. No one from ORCAT was notified, organization officers said.
Witnesses later told ORCAT staff they saw "cats jumping against the inside of the tent's wall in an attempt to escape but no one would let them out," Sharp wrote.
The case has been turned over to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates fumigation companies through its Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control.
An investigation has been launched, said Steven Dwinell, assistant director for the agency's Division of Agriculture and Environmental Services.
"We can't comment on an active investigation," Dwinell said. "The agency takes fumigation investigations seriously, so we definitely take a look at any incident involving fumigation."
Commercial pest control companies must hold licenses issued by the department.
"The company that did the work has been banned from Ocean Reef pending the outcome of the investigation," Ritz said.
A message left at the listed telephone numbers for Termite & Fumigation Division Inc. had not been returned as of press time Friday.
Fifteen dead cats were recovered from the site. The colony was believed to have 16 cats; the last one has not been seen since Aug. 8.
Ocean Reef resident Alan Litman, an animal activist, founded ORCAT nearly 20 years ago.
The organization has a paid staff to monitor the known cats in Ocean Reef, feeding them at a series of specially designed stations, and providing medical care when needed. All the cats are neutered and registered in the agency records.
Cats were imported to Ocean Reef decades ago to control rats in the community then under construction. But the cat population soared out of control, leading to periodic killings of large number of cats.
Litman believed the cats were part of Ocean Reef's heritage.
Ritz said the cat population has decreased naturally from a high of about 2,000 cats to about 500 today.
"The whole idea of the program, to which people donate time and money, is to humanely control and reduce a non-breeding cat population," Ritz said.
Newstex ID: KRTB-0066-10759591
Sometimes I feel like "Jihading" my nasty neighbors...then God tells me to knock it off 'cause He's on "revenge" duty, not me.
The neighbor spaying a couple of them really helped. I now only see one of them with any regularity and I've agreed to leave him alone as the neighbor has grown rather fond of it. The cat in question has also become used to being fed so he leaves 'our' wild critters pretty much alone.
An AirSoft gun goes a long way towards encouraging the little bugger to reside on his side of the fence.
I have also secured her agreement that once this one is gone she will not put out any more food for them. So for now, all is well.
Believe me, I took no joy from having so many of these animals destroyed. But if the problem reoccurs I will have no problem with resuming my practice of capturing them and having them euthanized.
L
I don't. When I trap one it goes straight to the County shelter to be dealt with. Releasing these animals into the wild causes many problems and I won't be a party to that.
L
Thanks for the posting.
Here in the upper Midwest winters can be pretty harsh so that seems to keep the numbers of these creatures down. But particularly hardy ones can generate literally dozens of offspring during their lives.
That many feral cats can devastate the local songbird and small animal populations. I particularly enjoy seeing the goldfinches and bluebirds congregating around our feeders and get very upset when I find their 'exploded' corpses littering my yard.
Since I live in a densely populated area disposing of them using firearms is strictly verboten. So I resort to the trap and remove strategy.
We've got 3 dogs. None of them can be considered large. One of them is over 17 years old so two or three ferals could easily overpower her. She's blind, deaf, and suffers from arthritis. I'm not going to allow some feral animals to get ahold of her.
I don't know about Houson, but my town actually has an ordinance against feeding ferals. It's not easy to get the PD to enforce it, but it is on the books.
In any event I wish you good luck dealing with your problem.
Regards,
L
I wasn't picking on you. A lot of people seem to think that, though. (dropping off unwanted animals on rural roads).
Regards,
L
De nada, chica.
Finally a common sense approach to feral cats. Thank you.
We had some neighbors that moved away and abandoned a whole litter of half grown kittens. They started coming to my house and trying to find food. We caught one of them and took him and got him nuetered. It wasn't expensive at all. The local vet did it for 22.00 because he was a stray. Realistically, we couldn't afford to do all of them but that one helped. Since he no longer wanted to stray and go "tom catting", we just took him in. Hes now a fat sassy housecat. I feel bad for the ones we couldn't save but our vet said if everyone would just live trap one cat or dog and get them fixed, the stray animal population would literally dissappear. I know alot of people would say, its not my responsibility, but its really a small amount of money well spent. If the vet is told it is a stray, many vets will do it at a discount. They did for us and this stray kitty.
My daughters sister in law was having trouble with the neighbors female cat having litters of kittens under her porch, so she took the cat to the vet and got her fixed without their permission. They probably never knew the difference.
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