An editorial piece "straight from the horse's mouth".,,,,,,
Confession: I'm a dog person. It's not that I hate cats, I just like dogs better. (By the way, I like horses too!)
Photo: My dog "Ol' Blue". He's been with me through thick and thin for nine years now.
In a recent editorial written by the self-admitted cat-loving publisher of a competing online news service, lavish praise was heaped upon Hermann cat lovers and members of the Hermann City Council who have spent untold hours addressing Hermann's "feral cat" problem. I have read and re-read this particular editorial. I have thought about the Hermann "cat problem", but I come to much different conclusions than those stated by my journalist colleague. Maybe it's not so much that I have come to different conclusions than my journalist colleague. Maybe it's just that I wonder about a few things which seem to be of little or no concern to my colleague.
Let me elaborate:
- I wonder if our mayor, one of our aldermen, and the Hermann cat lovers led by Nancy Johnston have spent too much time on a "problem" which has been blown completely out of proportion relative to other more pressing needs of the city.
- I wonder if all of the excitement and hubbub of the past several months has diverted attention and energy which could have been more appropriately spent on municipal issues of greater import, for example: (a) the $6.2 million dollar sewer system upgrade project, (b) the poor condition of way too many city streets, (c) the poor condition of our city parks, (d) the poor condition of city sidewalks and (e) the remaining concerns regarding our utility rates.
- I wonder if any of the cats from other neighborhoods which are trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, detained and fed for a week or two, etc. will be released into my neighborhood in some sort of misguided cat population re-entry program. I just can't wait to have a few stray cats doing what stray cats do on my property!
- I wonder if I will be assessed a "cat tax" by the City of Hermann to pay for all of this silliness. Or will the cost of this program simply be buried in the budget for some other existing program? Who will pay for this new "feral cat" program? Will the cat lovers ban together to finance this new "feral cat" program? Or will the costs be "socialized" and payed for by all Hermann residents?
- I wonder just where in the hell all of these stray cats hang out. I'd like to see just one of these little buggars! I walk three to five miles everyday, and I have yet to see a "feral cat", much less even one or two legal, documented cats anywhere in the city limits of Hermann.
- I wonder why we don't have a "feral dog" problem in Hermann. Are dogs just simply more "adorable and loveable" than cats, so that their owners would never dump them out into the harsh city streets and alleys of Hermann to be trapped, spayed/neutered and despised?
- I too, like my journalist colleague, wonder what shall become of Hemann once we gain a national reputation as a "cat friendly" community. Will we become a national dumping ground for unwanted pussycats from all over America?
- I wonder if my dog "Ol' Blue" will be safe in a town that will soon be over-run with stray cats. Will "Ol' Blue" develop some sort of personality disorder in an environment of constant cat hissing, screeching and caterwalling?
Ah yes! I am truly a dog person! My publishing colleague across town says .... "Dogs are fine, but I prefer the independence and indifference of a cat. With the unflagging loyalty of a dog comes a sort of neediness that doesn't appeal to me. But if you are a dog person (and I think around here dog people outnumber cat people), nothing I can say will sway you. And I don't want to sway you."
Well my cat-loving colleague, you haven't! Your arguments against dogs are precisely the reasons why I favor dogs ..... their unflagging loyalty and warmth. If I preferred independence and indifference, I would have stayed with my cold-hearted ex. But I didn't. Nope, "Ol' Blue" suits me just fine! And those cat lovers here and about town had better not go to "re-distributing" those feral cats in my neighborhood!
One of the more reasonable and thoughtful positions on Hermann's "feral cat" problem appeared as a 'Letter To The Editor' (page 5A) in last week's Hermann Advertiser-Courier (4/28/2010 edition). The letter "Tabby Town? Put it on the ballot." was submitted by Neil Koch of Hermann, and I suggest that members of the Hermann City Council would do well to read Mr. Koch's letter before proceding with a new "cat ordinance" too hastily. I am reproducing Mr. Koch's letter as a comment to this posting. I hope everyone will read it and reflect upon what he is saying. Evidently Mr. is not a "cat lover". Perhaps he is a "dog lover" like me.
For a good report on the status of the "cat ordinance" along with the exact language of the proposed "cat ordinance" itself, go to: http://www.ngnn.com/65041/content/2010/apr/30/feral-cat-ordinance-moves-forward. Anna Wiegenstein of HermannNews.com does an excellent job of reporting the Hermann "feral cat" story. Well done, Anna!
Jimmy Oldsun
NDRIRSRWRAFTC & Editor
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Read this thoughtful and reasonable "opinion" regarding the Hermann "feral cat problem" ....
ReplyDeleteLetter To The Editor
Hermann Advertiser-Courier
4/28/2010, page 5A
Tabby town? Put it on the ballot.
To the editor:
In my opinion, this proposal by a small group of sincere but misguided individuals to trap stray cats, spaying/neutering them, turning them loose again, and hope somebody will feed them, is ludicrous.
Cats are naturally vicious predators, killing birds and any other wildlife they can get their claws on, and many times do not eat their kill, but kill for the enjoyment of it. There is nothing to suggest neutering/spaying changes this behavior, nor that it keeps a cat from defecating, occasionally where children want to play.
I do not believe that animals have rights, but I do believe that humans have to be responsible in providing humane treatment to animals. Humans have rights, one of which is to decide if you want to care for a pet or not. We should not be forced to tolerate the presence of a cat under our bird feeder, climbing on our vehicle, climbing trees to destroy bird nests, and pooping in our yard, and by the way, feed them also!
I do believe that the trapping of these strays should procede by a licensed trapper, taken to a shelter, and if not claimed or adopted in a reasonable amount of time, humanely euthanized. If the Hermann city administration had implemented such a policy when it was asked to as long as 15 years ago, we wouldn't be having this ridiculous TNR proposal before us.
After trying this TNR proposal, St. Johns County (St. Augustine) in Florida has concluded it is a waste of time and taxpayer money, and enacted a tough leash law, including cats, which has all but eliminated the cat problem. The same can be accomplished here, but it takes a willingness on the part of the local governments to make it happen, and not be derailed by a vocal minority who have a limited agenda which is not in the best interests of their neighbors.
I am of the opinion that if the voters of Hermann are given the opportunity to vote for, or against, having stray cats trapped, neutered, and released back into the community, and probably having to pay for this activity as well, they will reject that approach in large numbers.
Tabbytown is not a name Hermann, or Owensville, or Gasconade County needs.
Neil Koch
Hermann
I don't know if it's the feral cats or the coyotes, but I find that the wabbit population is way down in Gasconade County. And this is having a negative economic impact here in the county. Fewer shotgun shells are being sold, and my wabbit stew business is way down!
ReplyDeleteElmer
Will the stray dogs of Hermann be afforded
ReplyDelete"equal protection" under the law? In other words, will the ordinances of Hermann reflect the same approach for dealing with stray dogs? What about stray hamsters? Stray parrots? Don't forget about the stray boa constrictors! Oh, now boa constrictors would present a dilemna! If you're going to release the stray cats back into the community, then I suppose you'd have to release those boa constrictors back into the community too!
Perry Mason
Perry Mason