THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610080160
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 09 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAWSON MILLS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 84 lines
Cat lovers David and Janice Benson of River Point in Norfolk report a sight that has become all too familiar.
A car glides briefly to a stop beside the neighborhood park across from their home. It speeds away, revealing kittens moving hesitantly in the grass. Another litter of felines has been ``dumped,'' joining the population of stray and feral cats that is burgeoning throughout Southside Hampton Roads.
Within a few days, other residents of the area, nestled between Granby Street and the Lafayette River, will confirm the Bensons' observations. Stray kittens, looking increasingly skinny and disheveled, will follow walkers and joggers, and take up residence on window sills and in parked cars. Over time, their appearances become less frequent. A tiny, furry corpse or two may turn up in the street.
``It's a growing problem,'' says Kristin Saur-Combs, education director of the Norfolk Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ``I'm becoming more and more aware of it. It's an unnecessary way to dispose of animals you no longer want. There are six animal shelters in the area, and a spay/neuter program is also available.''
Karen Pinneo executive director of the Norfolk SPCA, says,``We know that it is increasing because we're getting more calls from people reporting feral cats. They've probably increased 50 percent over the last three or four months.''
Before joining the Norfolk SPCA last month, Saur-Combs worked in the Virginia Beach SPCA for more than two years. The signs of an out-of-control animal population were also evident there.
Sharon Adams, executive director of the Virginia Beach SPCA said, ``We have seen a very scary, very upsetting increase in the population this summer. We saw our population going down three years in a row, but it's gone up significantly in June, July and August.''
The Virginia Beach SPCA took in 327 more cats during June, July and August of this year than the same period last year. She isn't sure if that number represents an increase in the stray cat population or is due to several area shelters restricting their intake of animals during the period. Currently, the Virginia Beach shelter is operating at full capacity.
Saur-Combs offers two possible reasons for the area's large stray cat population: Many people are unaware that most shelters will take unwanted animals. Others feel that releasing a cat in the wild is more humane than taking it to a shelter where it may be euthanized.
``The average life expectancy for an indoor domestic cat is 14 to 17 years,'' she says. ``Some live to 21. But the life expectancy of a cat on the street is two to three years. What happens to these animals is they starve to death, are hit by cars, poisoned, or injured by people or other animals. People have the perception that a cat can survive on its own but that's not the case due to domestication.''
In addition, stray cats can pose problems. Strays can transmit the feline leukemia virus, feline AIDS and parasites to domestic cats with whom they come in contact. They can contract and transmit rabies to other animals and to humans. Rabies, she points out, is on the rise in Virginia.
Stray female cats also can produce three litters a year, adding to the feral cat population.
Saur-Combs also noted that a study by Dr. Joseph C. Mitchell, an ecologist at the University of Richmond, and his colleague, Dr. Ruth Beck, found Virginia's 1 million cats may kill up to 3 million birds yearly, including songbirds that are in decline in the state.
It is, Saur-Combs said, more humane to bring unwanted cats to an animal shelter where attempts are made to place them using spaying and neutering contracts. If it is necessary to euthanize them, she continues, it is done humanely by the shelters, and is preferable to the death such animals suffer on the streets.
The success stories indicate the difference.
``My neighbor's cat, Hampton, was found in a parking lot,'' says Saur-Combs, ``where he had been left overnight. He was about 4 weeks old, a puff ball of orange and white fur, greasy from sleeping on a car engine. His life, if he hadn't been picked up, would have been one of constantly seeking food and warmth, living in fear. He's now tripled in size, is clean, and his biggest worry is `where to sleep?' '' MEMO: For information about dealing with unwanted animals, call the
SPCA chapter or the department of animal control in the city where you
live. For information about the spay/neuter program, call 623-SPAY
(7729). ILLUSTRATION: Photo by DAWSON MILLS
Kristin Saur-Combs, education director of the Norfolk Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, holds a stray cat at the
shelter. by CNB