Recenty the Petworth listserve has been aflutter with a debate about feeding stray cats: some folks from PetMAC, a local pet adoption center, have been feeding a bunch of them in an alley and asked for help, while others say that’s bad.
One commenter said they’re a public health issue that can transmit rabies and eat local wildlife, and that animal control should be called. Other folks disagreed, saying they aren’t rabies threats, and both cited some statistics.
Others said PetMAC’s feeding program is a good one, they trap and neuter the cats and works to find homes for them and only feed the cats once they’re neutered. There’s the worry that feeding cats might encourage more strays to hang around though.
What do you think? Do you feed strays? It does seem like feeding them to be nice isn’t a good plan, it’s much better to trap, neuter and find homes for them, like PetMAC is doing.
(And my favorite Catillac Cat was always Wordsworth.)
