Colusa County Sheriff’s Office News Release
unsocialized and afraid of humans. To survive independently, they will find their own food sources through means
of hunting. Image by Takeshi Hirano from Pixabay
Colusa County, CA (MPG) -Following in the steps of other similar agencies, as of August 1, 2023, Colusa County Animal Control will no longer be accepting public surrender of stray or feral cats.
This change in practice has been necessitated by increased sheltering requirements accompanied by limited staff and resources. From 2020 to present, the Colusa County animal shelter has taken in 1,890 cats. Each cat must be held for 72 hours to give owners a chance to claim them. In fact, only four were claimed by owners, and only 333 were rehomed.
Holding stray and feral cats, many of which are dangerous and/or ill, exposes adoptable cats to disease and exposes staff to stress and possible injury. The intake and care for each cat takes away valuable time and resources that could otherwise be used finding homes for adoptable cats and dogs or providing crucial field services to the public.
Colusa County Animal Control recommends the public refrain from feeding stray and feral cats. Feral cats are unsocialized and afraid of humans. To survive independently, they will find their own food sources through means of hunting. Feeding them conditions them to depend partially on humans who are not taking full responsibility for them. They can become a nuisance to people and a threat to the health and well-being of owned cats.
Colusa County Animal Control also recommends spaying or neutering owned cats. This prevents unwanted litters of kittens and reduces the interaction of owned and stray or feral cats.
What to do with a found cat? If the cat is friendly and healthy, it may be owned and should be allowed to return home on its own. If a cat is found injured, Animal Control can be called to assess the situation.
Many kittens are picked up during “kitten season” (June to August), although their mother is still caring for them. Mother cats leave their young for up to six hours at a time.
Removing kittens or keeping close watch may result in unnecessary separation of kittens from their best resource for survival: their mother. Concerned citizens can monitor kittens from a distance before Animal Services is called.
One strategy for addressing community cat populations is Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) programs, which can be effective at finding a balance between the needs of community cats and humans. In TNRM programs, registered colony managers trap cats; bring them to a designated clinic for spaying/neutering, ear notching, vaccination, and microchipping; return them to their colony; and care for and monitor the cats.
For TNRM to be effective, cat colonies must be carefully managed and monitored by responsible citizens. Any individual interested in managing a cat colony in their neighborhood is welcome to contact Animal Control (530-458-0229) to discuss how this might be done.