City leaders back program to stem feral cats
Ontario police are promoting
the new concept

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Thursday, June 4, 2009 9:58 AM PDT

ONTARIO — While some cats are cute, cuddly valued pets, feral cats running wild in neighborhoods are a real nuisance for many Ontario residents.

In an effort to combat the problem of feral cats in Ontario, the Ontario Police Department is trying to spearhead a program borrowed from Baker City, with the support of local veterinarians, that could help control the feral feline population.

The Ontario Budget Committee signed off on a proposal to set aside $5,000 in the Ontario Police Department budget for a community-run program to trap, spay or neuter and then release feral cats. The only requirement is a $5,000 match must be provided from the community in order to implement the program.

Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee said he grew interested in the idea after talking about a similar program with Baker City’s police chief.

Baker’s chief pointed out a feral cat sitting on a fence near the police department. The cat had a notched ear, indicating it had been neutered and released. Kee said, after hearing about Baker City’s success, he decided a similar program could benefit Ontario.

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“Well, we get calls all the time, and it’s usually from residences, and it usually has to do with cats destroying somebody’s property,” Kee said, adding complaints also center around the smell of urine from cats marking their territory.

“So we get complaints like that all the time,” he said.

He said, all the research he has read, and from what he has learned talking with Ontario Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Lindsay Norman, indicates it doesn’t do any good to euthanize feral cats because they will reproduce to fill the void.

Norman also explained the idea behind the program in a letter to city officials. She said the trap, spay/neuter and release program follows the idea cat numbers are based on population density.

“If cats are removed from certain established areas, other cats will move in to establish themselves,” Norman said in the letter. “Therefore, trapping and euthanizing only leaves a void that will be quickly filled. If cats are trapped, altered and reintroduced into their environment, or colony, they will not be replaced.”

Kee said, based on Norman’s opinion such a program would benefit Ontario — neutering male cats should also help reduce the problems of spraying — and the apparent success Baker City has had with its program, he is excited about starting one in Ontario.

“I just think this is a great program,” Kee said, but added the police department’s role is secondary. “We’re not going to run the program. The community’s got to want to have the program, and the city has pledged that if it’s important to the community, they’ll ante up their half of it, and if it’s not important to the community, nothing’s lost.”

Two city officials have already pledged to do their part.

Mayor Joe Dominick has committed $500 to the effort, and Councilwoman Charlotte Fugate has said she would donate $200, as well.

“I am tired of all the problems they’re causing,” Dominick said recently.

He said feral cats will mark or spray businesses, cars, homes and businesses, and, in some areas, it has become a problem.

He said cats have sprayed around his office and his home near the high school, and he has no doubt it is a nuisance in other areas as well.

Kee said the cat trapping would target areas where known feral cat colonies reside. He said there are some scattered throughout town, including one near Wal-Mart and the railroad tracks.

The police department will not be responsible for the trapping or transporting of the cats caught, however, and, in addition to community funding, the program also needs volunteers to assume those duties.

Kee said all three local vets have agreed to participate in the program for reduced fees once the community’s $5,000 is raised. He said, if successful, he is hopeful the program will continue in the long-term through community and city participation. He said, while the budget committee has pledged $5,000 for one year, if the program is successful, Kee said he will go before the council and ask for another $5,000 to continue it. He said, he is confident council members will agree.

“I know they’ll do it because they get the same phone calls that I do,” he said.

Anyone interested in making a donation, which are tax deductible, can mail a check out to the City of Ontario, noting on the check the funds are for the feral cat program, or people can take them into City Hall and obtain a receipt. Kee said, the donations will be kept in a separate fund, and once the $5,000 is collected, the program will begin. If not enough money is collected within one fiscal year — or until next mid-June — the program idea will be abandoned and the money returned.

Dominick said, while the trap, spay/neuter and release program could be a boon to the community, residents need to play their part in other ways as well.

“It all comes back down to taking care of your cats and being a responsible pet owner,” Dominick said, adding that means spaying or neutering cats and keeping track of pets’ whereabouts. “Responsible pet owners know where their pets are.”

For more information about the program, contact Kee at (541) 889-5312.