Time to deal with feral cat situation

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To the editor:

It is time for our elected city and county leaders to do something about the feral cat infestation in our midst

I suggest:

1. All cat owners must purchase a license for their cat annually. — Just as we must now for dogs.

2. All cat owners must have their cats tested annually by a veterinarian for the Toxoplasma gondii parasite.

3. The license tag and vet tags will be attached to a collar on the cat. That way if the cat ends up at the animal shelter, the owner can be notified. All cats must be in a confined space, or on a leash under the owner’s control.

4. The funds from the license can be used to pay a bounty for all cats delivered live to the animal shelter.

5. Those cats can then be tested and evaluated to see it they should be euthanized, or sterilized and put up for adoption.

6. To adopt a cat from the animal shelter, the first year license, vet testing cost, and the cost of sterilization have to be paid.

Some would object that the cost of adoption would limit them. Evidence shows that when an item has high emotion and financial cost, better care will be taken of the item.

Feral cats are a public health issue. When they trash our flower beds and knock over our vegetable plants, they like to defecate in the soft soils of those locations. When you tend those plots, you chance contracting the parasite from the cat feces. If a pregnant woman contracts the parasite, she can pass it on to her unborn child and cause it to have sever eye problems and in some cases, mental health problems. Some of these issues may not show up in humans for decades. There is no known cure for the parasite. Maybe the Center for Disease Control has grants to support the bounty program.

Larry Grieshop

Sidney

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