I was horrified to read on the Feral Cats Ireland site, that there is widespread poisoning of feral cats going on in parts of Dublin, where I live. 

Bubbles_looking_in_kitchen_windowI really cannot understand why anyone, even those who dislike cats, would want to actually kill them.  They are living beings and have as much right to be born and live as any other living creature has.  Even my other half, who is not a cat lover, would never resort to doing this to them. If the feral cats can be trapped, then neutered so that they cannot keep reproducing, they can be a great aid at keeping mice and rats at bay.  In fact, many farmers go out of their way to feed them and keep them around for this very purpose.

It can also be very therapeutic to have feral cats around the garden. One old lady that I know loves to look out her window each morning to see them frolicking together in the garden.  I myself find the cats in our garden fun to watch as I sip my cuppa at the kitchen window.

Many people think that feral cats or wild cats as they are sometimes called cannot be tamed.  I knowMolly_looking_in_kitchen_window different.  While some may always remain a bit distant and aloof, many of them can become quite affectionate and loving.  Out of the nine that frequent our garden now, at least three of them come into the house sometimes (when the other half is not around!), two let me pet them and one now lets me pick her up and cuddle her.

Cat_with_nipped_earI am glad to see that some of the visitor cats which are not from our colony have recently started to sport nipped ears.  This means that someone else has trapped them and that they have been neutered.  I didn’t have this ear nipping done to our ferals but in hindsight I probably should have.  This nipped ear is a clear sign to people that these cats have been neutered and will not reproduce.  This hopefully will prevent anti-cat people from having them taken away or even worse, poisoned.

As far as I am concerned, there is always a better solution than poisoning the cats.

The accompanying photos show what a cat with a nipped ear looks like and the other two pictures are of two of my feral friends Bubbles and Molly peeking in my kitchen window!


Check out the website below to see ways in which you can help:

http://feralcatsireland.org/Feral_Cats/Feral_cat_crisis.html

Bio:
 
Claire Hegarty B lives in Ireland with her husband, son and adopted feral cats.  She is on a career break from her job in Tourism to care for her son and mother. In her spare time she likes to write, pet-sit and practice yoga. She writes four blogs, one of which is to showcase the feral cats she cares for and to highlight the plight of their peers.
 
If you'd like to visit her blog, check out the following:

 

 

A Morning Kiss

A morning kiss, a discreet touch of his nose landing somewhere on the middle of my face.
Because his long white whiskers tickled, I began every day laughing.

Janet F Faure

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