A stroke of success in sterilization scheme

Whether they are viewed as a nuisance or an asset, the issues surrounding the feral cat population in Newcastle is one that cannot be ignored.

Newcastle SPCA teamed up with Majuba Power Station in Mpumalanga to catch, sterilise and release the undomesticated cats in the area recently.

“The older, unhealthier feral cats were removed and the healthy, sterilised cats are reintroduced to the area. Although this keeps the feral cat population from increasing too rapidly, the cats are still able to control the amount of vermin in the area,” said Heather Gero from Newcastle SPCA.

Mrs Gero admits projects like this would be more feasible if the SPCA had their own ‘in house’ veterinarian. “Using a private veterinarian for a project like this is costly. For this reason, we expect the companies we team up with to cover all the costs.”

Cats are hunters by instinct; they will catch a rat if the opportunity presents itself. “We advise people not to feed the feral cats simply because it makes them lazy. Why would they catch rats when they know someone is going to feed them?”

The SPCA has received complaints from business owners who claim feral cats are gaining access to their properties and eating their frozen foods. With the number of undomesticated cats increasing every day, they simply cannot expect the issue to be resolved unless an attempt at intervention is made.

A few years ago, Newcastle SPCA joined forces with Dundee SPCA for a similar project. The team managed to trap 26 feral cats at Springlake Collieries near Hattingspruit. “The cats at Springlake were easy to catch because they were all in one area. This is not the case at Majuba Power Station. The station is incredibly large; there are cats everywhere”

The feral cats at the power station have begun associating the sound of a trap going off and the ‘meowing’ of the cat inside the trap, causing them to leave the area instinctively. “We concentrated on one area at a time and will return once the cats have settled again,” explained Mrs Gero.

Although the timeline for the project is indefinite at this stage, the SPCA has caught six cats to date. “We only reintroduced three of the six cats. The others were too unhealthy and had to be put down,” she continued.

Mrs Gero admitted catching these cats was quite a feat. “In the area we were concentrating on, there were eight cats in total. The other two disappeared and just wouldn’t come back.”

The SPCA is able to identify the cats that have already been sterilised and reintroduced. The fear of the colony size expanding in the meantime is an ever-pressing concern. “It’s an ongoing process, but the timeline in between population fluctuations is much longer.”

The lifespan of a feral cat is approximately ten years if the possibility of disease is taken into account. “If the cats are sterilised early enough, the cat and rat population will be under control for the next ten years. These figures cannot be faulted.”

The aim of the project is not to eradicate feral cat populations, but rather to limit the number of undomesticated cats in a particular area. “Sterilisation projects aren’t always as straightforward as they seem. However, they are effective if implemented sooner rather than later,” concluded Mrs Gero.

The SPCA encouraged companies from Newcastle and surrounding areas to seriously consider catch-and-release initiatives like this. In turn, this would create awareness on the importance of controlling the feral cat population.

Regardless of how we consider them, feral cats cannot be controlled without adequate intervention. It is the responsibility of the community to do their bit.