HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter From Amber Millen of FCCTeral Cat Coalition
9528 Miramar Road, PMB 160
Son Diego, CA 92126
(619) 758-9194
www.feralcatcorn
April 5, 2011
Dear Mayor Morrison and City Council Members:
Thank you for considering our issue related to feral cats and the policies in National City. 1 received a
copy of Lt. Tellez's staff report this morning and must admit that I was very disappointed by the
information provided. Anna Brown, Josh Hirschmiller and I met with Assistant City Manager Leslie
Deese and Lt. Tellez in January and spent over an hour discussing the city's current policy and Feral
Cat Coalition's offer of support as an alternative to trapping feral cats for euthanasia. None of this
information has been included in the staff report prepared for your review,
I will first point out that the staff report reviewed the current National City Municipal Code as it relates
to anirnals, specifically cats, and the restrictions on numbers and control. However, according to the
code, the term "Cat" specifically excludes any feral cat, The code also states that the city shall
not be responsible for trapping or transportation, yet the Animal Control Officer personally traps
feral cats in response to various nuisance complaints. National City Animal Control is the only
municipality in all of San Diego County that traps feral cats. No other organization or agency traps
feral cats, unless the cats are sick or injured. Instead, callers are informed of the options available for
resolution of complaints, which include Trap -Neuter -Return (also known as TNR). TNR is currently
technically prohibited in National City due to the restrictions on feeding cats outdoors. The Feral Cat
Coalition has provided a proposal for revisions to the Municipal Code that would allow for the effective
management of feral cat colonies in National City, at no expense to the City.
Studies have proven that trap and kill does not work. The staff report indicated that the Feral Cat
Coalition's practice of TNR is e problem because cats leave waste and scavenge for food. TNR is the
internationally accepted method of feral cat population control, and includes provisions for managing
these types of issues. National City's method of eradication will not solve the serious animal control
problems within the City, I wonder if the residents of National City are informed that their calls result
in the immediate death sentence of the feral cats. Perhaps if they were made aware of the outcome
of their complaint, they may change their mind as to what nuisance complaints the one Animal
Control officer should be spending time and money on.
In regards to the incident mentioned in the staff report Feral Cat Coalition is aware of that colony and
had already spayed or neutered several cats and rescued several newborn kittens from that site. We
were unaware that the caretakers were soliciting donations from the public. Had we known, we would
have also informed the caretakers that this was inappropriate and we would have instructed them to
remove the signs. Those caretakers do not represent the majority of Feral Cat Coalition volunteers,
We do know that the majority of the trash and food remains at that location is from the homeless
population, not the feeding of cats. In response to this incident, Feral Cat Coalition pulled 7 cats from
the shelter which were trapped by Animal Control. The staff report indicates that the Animal Control
Officer allowed us to take those cats on the condition that they would not be re-released in National
A free trap, spaylneuter and return program to humanely
reduce the suffering of homeless cats,
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City, but that they would be relocated to other cities. What do the other cities think about this? Why
should they be burdened with another city's feral cats? There are an estimated 934,000 feral cats in
San Diego, with over 8,000 cats in National City alone. There is no way to keep feral cats out of
National City. There needs to be an accepted, cost-effective solution, which isn't trap and kill.
The Feral Cat Coalition works closely with all animal shelters in San Diego County, as well as many
shelter and private veterinarians. The Feral Cat Coalition is successful because it practices a humane
and cost-effective solution to feral cat populations. You will never find a group of volunteers to help
staff and finance the trapping and killing of feral cats. According to shelter statistics, 659 cats were
brought to the shelter from National City in 2010. 227 of those cats were feral cats. National City
currently spends excessive amounts of money on trapping and euthanizing feral cats. Information
obtained from the Chula Vista shelter indicates that National City pays approximately $252 for each
animal brought to the shelter from their jurisdiction. According to this information, almost $60,000 was
spent on the feral cats trapped last year. The Animal Control Officer does operate within the
guidelines of the current municipal code to address citizen complaints regarding feral cats. However,
National City could save an enormous amount of money by allowing Feral Cat Coalition to hold just
two spay/neuter clinics for National City feral cats. We are making our plea to the Council to consider
revising the code to allow TNR of feral cats in National City,
Thank you for your consideration of this issue.
Sincerely,
\G"
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Amber RA ilien
Feral Cat Coalition Board of Directors