Stray cat infestation

[bluemingidiot]

Workers at animal rescues say they’ve never seen more stray cats on the streets of New York City, and that they think the rising cost of animal food and healthcare is driving the problem.

I wonder what the country would be like if the time and money spent on feeding stray cats was spent on getting them fixed?

[mogal]

Look at it this way. Unless the rats in NYC are enormous, maybe the cats could reduce rats then the urban coyotes could feed on the cats.

My father grew up in Boston and its satellite towns. He was about 12 when he developed what the doctors thought was spinal meningitis. Turned out it was rat bite fever (name my father used when he related this story). About the time of this incident, Boston was getting a lot of shipments of war materiel' since WWII was ramping up in Europe. The harbor had to reduce their quarantine restrictions and Boston's rat population soared. They've never really gotten it under control. I don't think I dreamed it but I seem to remember their wanting to expand subway service but feared the disruption of tearing down buildings, digging the subway, etc., would cause the rats to disperse even more than they were at the time. Maybe NYC should send Boston their extra cats.

[bluemingidiot]

"The feral-cat population has also exploded, per the New York Daily News, with estimates ranging from 500,000 to 1 million cats now living on the city streets."

If we caught a 1,000 a day that would be 500 days.

"Female cats can reproduce 2 to 3 times a year, and their kittens, if they survive, will become feral without very early contact with people. Cats can become fertile as early as 5 months of age, and the number of cats rapidly increases without intervention by responsible and caring people."

[bowdonkey]

Targets of opportunity!