Cat advocates and officials in Manatee County report progress in reducing stray population
Debra Davis has cats who depend on her, but don't belong to her. There's a black and white one the 60-year-old named Tux. Most don't have a name, but sometimes she'll call the females Mama. A total of about eight stray cats make up a colony around Davis' home near Upper Manatee River Road.
"They love me and they only pretty much know me and my son," she said.
It was Thursday evening and the postal worker had just arrived home from work. Every evening, she fills plastic containers with dry Science Diet cat food, and bowls with water. And, every evening, the stray cats emerge from the protection of bamboo plants and bushes nearby to eat outside Davis' front door. Davis is a caretaker -- one of many who look after stray cats in Manatee County. It's something she has been doing for many years.
"They come to be fed and they live on their own and they seem to take care of themselves pretty much," she said. "Unfortunately, they're strays. Most of them were strays or kittens of strays and they've had no choice but to adapt to this is where they were born, this is where they grew up."
Some people call these cats free roaming, or homeless, or feral -- sometimes wild.
The overpopulation of stray cats is a nationwide problem. It is impossible to determine how many stray dogs and cats live in the United States, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Estimates for cats alone range up to 70 million, reports the organization.
With kitten season in full swing, advocates and officials in Manatee County say there's been progress in reducing the overpopulation of stray cats.
"These cats are there and what's the best avenue for them? The only proven method that has been working across the country is TNR -- reducing the population that way," said Manatee County Animal Services Chief Sarah Brown.
TNR stands for Trap-Neuter-Return, a method considered by the Humane Society of Manatee County to be the most humane and effective method available to end the severe feral cat overpopulation crisis faced by the U.S. It involves trapping stray cats, bringing them to a facility to get them sterilized, and then releasing them back to the area where they were found.
"TNR stabilizes the colony size by eliminating new litters. It also reduces the nuisance behavior associated with unsterilized cats," the Humane Society of Manatee County website reads. "TNR's most measurable effect is that fewer cats/kittens flow through animal shelters."
According to Brown, common complaints about stray cats that dispatchers with the Manatee County Animal Services receive include fear of cats, concern that the cats want to come into their home, and cats spraying on their property and defecating in flower beds.
Brown said communities around the country have had such great success through TNR.
"And this community is such a passionate community about animals in general," she noted of Manatee County. "It's really great to see a community so passionate about TNR and see that it actually is working. Even just looking at our numbers from 2014 to 2015, the numbers of cats that have come through our facility needing the TNR is reducing so we're seeing less intake of free roaming cats that are coming into our facility."
According to Manatee County Animal Services, in 2014 there were 685 cats that were brought into the division's facility to get neutered. In 2015, 421 cats were brought in.
"I think there's so many groups now really focusing on TNR aside from just what our efforts are," Brown said. "I would truly attribute a lot of that to the sterilization of these cats."
The Humane Society of Manatee County and the Gulf Shore Animal League are two such organizations that address this problem in the county.
"We partner with Animal Services and the Humane Society to get the cats so that the colonies don't keep multiplying," said Cheryl Wade, president of the Gulf Shore Animal League. "Everyday we get calls from all over the county needing assistance."
Since the organization partnered with the Humane Society and Animal Services, Wade said she and others have seen a decrease in kittens being born each year.
Over at the Humane Society of Manatee County at 2515 14th St. W. in Bradenton, there are plans through a grant to install what's called a feral cat porch outside the facility. Rick Yocum, executive director of the Humane Society of Manatee County, stood in the parking lot Tuesday afternoon and pointed towards a garage door.
"It's going to have an enclosure, it's going to have a roof over the top," he said. "There will be some ventilation. The sides are going to be all open. It's going to be wire mesh... and that might be a person you want to talk to right there about all that."
Sandy Snyder, a three-year volunteer with the Gulf Shore Animal League, had just arrived. The 60-year-old opened the trunk of her vehicle, revealing multiple cages nestled on top of stacks of papers. Snyder was there Tuesday to pick up cats who had been neutered to release them back to where they had been picked up. She and her husband, Rick Snyder, are cat lovers.
Rick said he wakes up between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. every morning to feed cats.
"I see them around meowing and they're hungry. It's just an opportunity to help a helpless creature," the 71-year-old said. "I'm retired and I find that most retirees become very self-absorbed and all they really care about is entertaining themselves and when is the early bird special. That's a horrible way to spend your golden years. I think it's very important that you be productive, so I try to do something."
Elsie Seese, 85, spent part of her Tuesday afternoon petting adoptable cats inside the Humane Society of Manatee County. Though the majority of the cats are there because they were surrendered by their previous owners, a few used to be strays. The Ellenton resident said she began volunteering there in 2008 when she saw an ad for cat cuddlers.
"I just come in and visit the kitties, cuddle them, play with them, whatever I think they want to do," Seese said. "I figure if the cats can put up with me, I can put up with them."
According to Yocum, controlling the feral cat population in Manatee County is going to pay dividends over the years.
"It will start to diminish through attrition because of the spay and neuter program," he said. "The other issue that happens here is the vaccines that are given to the cats when they're brought in, which ensures not only a healthier cat colony, but it also ensures a healthier environment for the human beings that the cats encounter because now they've got their rabies vaccine."
That can be an issue with a feral cat, said Yocum, because not all particularly cherish human touch.
"They want to be left alone... not all," he said. "Some feral cats can become domesticated."
Back at Davis' home, the cats she cares for took a while to step out of their hiding places. By 5:30 p.m., though, meows could be heard from behind the bushes and bamboo plants. Like she has for about 20 years, Davis entered her home and came out with a pot of dry cat food. She stood by her front door and bent down to fill the plastic containers with food. She called out to the cats to come and eat.
"Nobody's going to hurt you over there, nobody," she said to Tux, who looked up at her. "That's not going to happen. I know you guys are hungry."
Coaxed by Davis, Tux walked into the small entryway and began eating. Another black cat stood near some ferns, looking at the caretaker.
Feeding them makes her very happy, Davis said.
"I think it's something that we just all need to be aware of... that they're out there and we don't feed them or provide a meal for them," she said. "I don't have a problem coming here and taking care of them because it's rewarding."
Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.
This story was originally published May 8, 2016 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Cat advocates and officials in Manatee County report progress in reducing stray population ."