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Got love for the Church Hill Street Kitties?
Need good hyperlocal cat photos? Rebekah Bajari has a set up Churchillstreetkitties to document “the backbone of the Richmond, VA mousing community” and her work with these kitties.
Can you help support the work of taking care of these street cats? A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover the feeding/neutering costs →
When I moved to Richmond I was so excited to find such wonderful neighbourhood then I started seeing cats. Cats in the back yard, under the neighbour’s porch, across the street, under the bushes, CATS EVERYWHERE! Why are there so many cats?
Then I found sick kittens and had to help. I learned about Trap- Neuter-Release. I neutered Apricot, her 2 sisters, her mama, her auntie, her papa, and her uncle. I started patroling the alleys and parking lots .
I found 30ish cats hanging around a dumpster….I got about 15 of them before construction scared them off.
When ever a new cat moves in I stalk it….follow it around. Find where it lives. I talk to all the neighbours to see if they know the cat. Have you seen this cat? Which way does it go? When do you see it.
Do you mind if I set a trap near your porch? Friday nights are for tracking, Saturday nights trapping, Sunday and Monday’s are for neutering. Tuesday -Thursday are for rest and recharging. I love it. That’s my story. It’s not glam but it gets the job done.
Please donate. Keeping the cat population in check is important as they hunt birds and can spread certain kinds of disease. Rebekah is doing it in a very humane way.
I see what you did there, Eva. You got patches?
Very nice!
For the record, I like cats.
But, TNR does not work because there are not enough people doing it and not enough funds to fulfill the demand.
People need to keep their cats inside and stop feeding strays.
Domesticated cats are responsible for the extinction of 33 bird species.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/06/cats-tnr-birds-feral
Habitat destruction and pesticide poisoning are much more responsible for bird loss than feral and domestic cats.
Daniel’s Mother Jones article links to only one actual study, which examined only one species of bird (catbird), and noted that “Rats and crows were also found to be significant suburban threats to fledglings.” – threatening primarily to baby birds.
A similar study has not been done in an area without housecats (woodland etc) and baby birds already have a very high mortality rate.
There is much pontificating on the subject of feral and domestic cats killing birds but no studies have applied accepted scientific methods, so this is speculation masquerading as fact.
@Bryan
Show some evidence with your “Habitat destruction and pesticide poisoning” theory.
The literature and research regarding domesticated cats/feral cats and their impact as an invasive species is overwhelming……
Here’s one from the Smithsonian:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/feral-cats-kill-billions-of-small-critters-each-year-7814590/
here’s one from the Huffington post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-knapp-phd/cats-as-invasive-species-_b_9320262.html
here’s one from Australia’s Government website:
https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/publications/factsheet-feral-cat-felis-catus
here is an article from the NewYork Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/science/that-cuddly-kitty-of-yours-is-a-killer.html
Here is one from the Hawaii states website:
http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/feral-cats/
@ Eva / #1 – I hope you meant “The Church Hill Street Kitties,” rather than “Trap Neuter Release”
I think humans are the greatest threat to any species on the planet
Higher pressure on bird populations results from a multitude of man-made factors, among them landscape alteration, chemical proliferation, and yes, the introduction of non-native predators (domestic cats). It’s exciting to see Rebekah working on this – glad I could donate!
Cats have been around a really long time – at least a couple of hundred years, but maybe more. The bird population is still around as are the insects, etc. How can they still be considered invasive at this point? Yes, I see all your links, but I just don’t buy it.