Randolph, The Little Town That Could

May 7, 2008 : 6:01 PM

Once reviled as a cat crusade in the making, Randolph looks to humane solutions

But first! Feral Cats make National news, and Iowa is mentioned in the first paragraph, click here to read the story!

This week in Randolph, Best Friends staffers Shelly Kotter, manager of the Best Friends Feral Cat Program and Anna Gonce, associate director of Community Programs and Services are making sure Phase II goes smoothly. They are meeting the owners of the relocation farms and opening up the dialogue with the local farmers about what the feral cats mean to them and what long term care will look like.

“The general consensus seems to be very supportive of the program. Today we’ll be transporting as many cats as possible to the clinic at Hearts United for Animals to get them spayed and neutered, and either returned or relocated to either foster care or to one of the farms we’re working with.” Shelly said.

Another location that has accepted cats, is Scarlett home?

“As we were checking in on the relocated ferals one farmer, James Gregory, was very excited and proud to be part of the program. He’s got a large farm, way off the beaten path, where he is feeding his 6 ferals in the morning, and following directions perfectly. He kept the cats in the barn for the 7 day holding time, and he has been checking up on them regularly to see how they’re doing. So far he has seen 5 of the cats, and he seemed concerned about the missing cat. We let him know that so far it’s all perfectly normal, he may not see the 6th cat, because true ferals are so elusive. We could tell he felt relieved knowing he was doing the right thing.”

James Gregory and Shelly Kotter talk cats!

James gets regularly checked by the Environmental Protection Agency, and during a recent visit the EPA agent asked him what he’s using for rodent control? He said cats! The EPA apparently balked, but James was undeterred – he just told them that he likes cats and that they’re an environmentally friendly and effective method to keep the unwanted critters out of his business!

As you may recall, Randolph was the eye of the storm a few months ago when the media glommed onto a “bounty” being offered for unwanted cats. Best Friends contacted the Mayor, and made the inroads to turn the situation around (click here to read back story).

As of today, Best Friends in conjunction with the other local organizations, have fixed enough cats to have prevented almost 100 kittens in this tiny Iowan town! Twenty-seven cats have been fully vetted and unwanted cats have found proper placement. Best Friends is working with groups willing to take in kittens and friendly stray cats, while at risk cats are being relocated to farms in the surrounding area.

In addition, the veterinary clinic in the neighboring town has found that they are busy performing spay and neuter surgeries, and an influx of cats needing vaccines and microchips. Seems the area has been bitten with the healthy pet bug!

The Best Friends team will be on the ground for the full duration of this process, working with caregivers, assessing the progress, visiting the colonies and trouble shooting any problems that might arise. They are also planning to hold a town hall meeting to address any questions the community might have!

How You Can Help
Support the effort in Randolph, click here
Check out the Feral Cat Resources to learn how you can help the free-roaming cats of your community!
Join the Best Friends Feral Cat Community on the Network for breaking news and take action!

by Denise LeBeau, Best Friends staff
images by Anna Gonce, Best Friends staff

Comments

May 14, 2008 at 3:22 PM
posted by: horsey55

A great TNR group which headquarters out of Willow Springs, IL is called TripleRPets. They helped 7 of the colony now live safe lives. Anyone close by look them up on the web. It's www.triplerpets.org. THE BEST.

May 14, 2008 at 2:08 AM
posted by: TNRdoesNotWork

There are a lot of terrible things going on, which is precisely why we should not place a further strain on native wildlife. What you have stated is a typical response when someone mentions that cats do serious harm to wildlife. We can talk about all other causes, but not the cats. We can discuss habitat loss (the number one challenge), pesticides, wind mills, climate change, communication towers, etc., but any time the cat issue is raised, well, there is (apparently) something worse.

Not so. In some places cats have been second to habitat loss. A local cat colony can render an area sterile for breeding birds.

Heart disease is the number one killer of US women. That does not mean we ignore breast cancer.

In short, the management of colonies IS habitat destruction. Whether you clear cut an acre of woods or stick 50 cats there - the habitat has been destroyed.

As I stated before, I am not suggesting that we use pesticides, but cats are most certainly not environmentally friendly - that is just delusional and ignorant.

Cats are not 'evildoers'. I don't blame the cats. They hunt, that is what they do. Humans are responsible for their actions.

I blame anyone who lets his/her pet loose, dumps an animal, and I blame anyone who releases/returns/re-abandons to the wild. Cats do not belong outdoors and putting them back is yet one more HUMAN induced impact to Mother Earth.

May 13, 2008 at 1:45 PM
posted by: Tiegosmom

Ummmm, there are a lot worse things going on out in the world that are man made which are horrific environmentally, to the earth and to humans.Coal mining in Virginia, over fishing off our coast, clear cutting swaths of forest, non - stop building on open land.... thus habitat destruction for the owls you are referring to....... I am sure the breeding rate of the rodents you are concerned for allow them to will repopulate rapidly. These cats are not the "evildoers", remember, poison doesn't discriminate either. Just my two cents worh.

May 13, 2008 at 1:32 PM
posted by: D_Wolfe

I grew up in Dairy country, having barn cats were something that every farmer had and were a great asset to the farm. I think it's great that this tradition is still happening in other areas and to the benefit of saving previously unwanted cats.

May 12, 2008 at 2:05 PM
posted by: TNRdoesNotWork

http://www.tnrrealitycheck.com/

May 12, 2008 at 2:02 PM
posted by: TNRdoesNotWork

Environmentally FRIENDLY? What a joke. Cats kill much more than just non-native mice and rats. They do not distinguish among the species they kill. They can kill rare, threatened, endangered species or species of special concern, as well as common species (some of which are also in decline according to the last Audubon report about 20 common species).

There is NOTHING environmentally friendly about using a non-native invasive predator for rodent control. How irresponsible.

Farmers wanting rodent control should do so the natural way - use native species. Erect platforms to attract great horned owls or provide roosting and/or perching spots for barn owls.

All too often the native field mice suffer while the non-native mice and rats thrive at cat colonies cause of artificial food sources.

See here for study:

http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/adjunct/snr0704/snr07042l.pdf

Look at the results on page 3, the discussion on page 4 and the chart on page 7.

Not to mention, toxoplasmosis:

Cats are the only species that shed this parasite in their feces. Many TNR advocates state that we are more likely to acquire the disease by eating raw meat, but cats are still the source. The cats defecate on the grain, eaten by the cows that we then eat. Toxo can wind up in vegetable gardens and in run-off contaminating waterways.

Cat colonies have affected marine life off the coast of CA.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9560048

Listen to the four minute audio above about this parasite. The title is: Sneaky Parasite attracts rats to cats.

I am not suggesting using pesticides and I am not outrightly suggesting to euthanize the cats, but they need to be enclosed where they do not pose a public health risk or a detriment to native wildlife. If enclosures or sanctuaries or socialization are not possible, then euthanize the cats. This guy explained well the self-indulgence of TNR:

http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg200503160743.asp

TNR has not been scientifically proven to be effective and most certainly is environmentally IRRESPONSIBLE!

More info here:
www.TNRrealitycheck.com

May 11, 2008 at 4:11 PM
posted by: mikmaqsquirrel

Also kudos and thanks to the town of Randolph,if only the towns of Cook county GA. would follow your lead.

May 11, 2008 at 4:08 PM
posted by: mikmaqsquirrel

Way to go, James Gregory knowing what you did redeemed an otherwise awful week. Kudos to all at Best Friends.What you accomplish on behalf of non-human peoples never fails to astoundme and fill me with hope, thank you mr Gregory and thank thank you thank you Best Friends

May 11, 2008 at 1:32 PM
posted by: marys

Yeah!! This is wonderful! Randolph and everyone involved in this great answer are to be congratulated! Go Shelly!

May 11, 2008 at 7:13 AM
posted by: cambridgeratmom

See, killing animals isn't the solution. There are usually people around who will be happy to help out if they know what's going on and what needs to be done. Randolph can be very proud for listening to an alternative solution and giving it a try.

James, you are awesome for standing up to the EPA and telling them you have a great rodent control solution. And they purr, too.

May 9, 2008 at 11:30 PM
posted by: scratchtopaz

rescuerCalifornia - thanks for the editing tip! It's been such a long week, I read your comment and thought "what's wrong with 'at risk'" LOL ;-)

May 9, 2008 at 9:48 PM
posted by: rescuerCalifornia

It's nice to know that at risk "cars" are also being relocated. Just kidding. Maybe somebody should fix that typo. This is an amazing story though and very inspiring!

May 9, 2008 at 12:27 PM
posted by: crazysleepingcatlady

WOW! Thanks for the update on the Randolph Ferals. I've been wondering how well the program was going and I certainly got my answer........... wonderfully!

I have to give the leaders and residents of Randolph Iowa a lot of credit for being open minded about T~N~R. This just goes to show the rest of the nation, and the world, that there are humane options for these special felines.

Given a choice I'm sure these cats would not necessarily have chosen life as a feral. They did not ask to be in this situation, they are feral simply because of mankind.....and that's why it's our responsibility to fix what mankind broke.

I hope to see additional updates on this program in Randolph. Way to go Randolph, Iowa....you rock!

May 8, 2008 at 8:21 PM
posted by: Squeakie42

James, you're a man after my own heart! Thank you so much for giving these critters a safe haven. So many people think they have no right to live among us -- never realizing that the cats didn't plan it this way. Thanks for being a part of the solution to a cruel dilemma that seems to have grown tremendously since I was a kid.

May 8, 2008 at 7:50 PM
posted by: mschneider

Go Shelly!

May 8, 2008 at 6:34 PM
posted by: kiticat

WHAT A WONDERFUL "PROGRAM!" WHAT GREAT EFFORTS! GIVE MR JAMES G. A BIG THANK YOU AND HUG! TRULY COMMUNITY TEAMWORK FINDING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS AND COLLABORATING FOR THEIR COMMUNITY ANIMALS AND PROBLEMS...KEY IN BENEFICAL CHANGE FOR YOUR "OWN" BACKYARD<>