Free-roaming owned and abandoned cats in Medford
Vox Pop
Cat owners, please don’t let them outdoors unleashed. (Yes, many cats accept leashing). Or if you let them out unleashed, at least make sure you can interrupt any of their attacks that may injure or kill any of the other animals who I care for. And please don’t abandon any if you find it difficult or impossible to provide the care they deserve. Instead, look for another caregiver, consult a veterinarian if any problems involve behaviors or contact the Taylor County Humane Society to investigate a surrender.
I’ve seen many cats roaming free in Medford during the past few months. Two had someone dead in their jaws and one of those passed within 20 feet of where I feed small mammals and birds. Because I refuse to tolerate that level of danger to those who come to this area, I’ve set a live trap there. Any cat captured will be taken to the Taylor County Humane Society.
Free-roaming cats threaten other animals year round. But this time of year, with so many new inexperienced lives outdoors, free-roaming cats are the animal equivalent of a shooter in a kindergarten. And every late autumn, just hours before the first sub-zero night, I’ll see one frantically searching for food and shelter. How much of this would be happening if Medford had a cat license ordinance, just as it has for dogs?
For those of you online, I used the basic Google search engine to find these resources that may make it easier to take action.
Google “leashing cats” for a wealth of info on the “hows” and “whys”.
To learn the “hows” and “whys” of keeping cats indoors, Google abcbirds.org>solutions>cats indoors. For a wealth of other info on this, Google “cats indoors”.
To learn of the benefits of spaying or neutering your cat, Google ww.hillspet.com, click on the magnifying glass icon at upper right, type in “cat neuter” and scroll down to the first heading.
To learn of the next opportunity for high quality, affordable spay/neuter surgery in the Medford area, Google thefixisin.org.
To learn about the life of free-roaming cats, Google AVMA.org>Resources and Tools>Policies>Freeroaming Abandoned and Feral Cats. Their lives are often extremely miserable, but mercifully short.
For a stunning image of a quote that may inspire you to take action or reward you for any action you take, Google “Henry Beston animal quote”, click on “Images” below, scroll down and click on the one in gold and yellow.
Michael Riegert, Medford
