Shooting Feral Cats Causes Caterwauling In Iowa Town

JEFFERSON, IA — A central Iowa town has put a controversial program to shoot feral cats on hold amid strong public outcry and recommendations of more humane ways to manage out-of-control feline populations. Jefferson has several large colonies of feral cats, which naturalists say pose a great risk to songbirds and also health concerns.

From the city's perspective, what it comes down to is this: A bullet costs less than the combined costs of boarding cats in the city shelter and euthanizing them by more humane methods, such as drugs or gas, which can run about $35 a cat.

About once a month, police officers have shot and killed feral cats after residents captured them in city-issued traps. The cats that were shot had been deemed “unadoptable,” while cats that appeared to be healthy were taken to the town’s animal shelter and offered for adoption.

The city code says officers can “humanely destroy feral cats,” but questions have been raised about whether shooting them is considered humane. The code says the practice should not be considered routine.

But the Animal Rescue League of Iowa said the practice of shooting feral cats has become routine, despite prohibitions against that in city law.

“If it’s their policy that you judge a cat you pick up to be unadoptable, that becomes routine,” Scott Wilson, the ARL’s animal welfare coordinator, told WHO-TV.

Some Jefferson residents told the station they didn’t know the policy to shoot cats existed.

“Kinda cruel, I think,” Sue Taylor said. “I just thought they always took them to the animal rescue, but, no, I don’t think they should shoot them.”

The ARL was asked to look into the situation after a community complaint, and Wilson told Patch city officials deserve credit for a "really fast response."

"Thank you to city of Jefferson for being so receptive to our concerns, and being willing to work toward a longterm of humane solution," he said.

Jefferson City Councilman Matt Wetrich, a naturalist, told KCCI-TV the feral cats pose a danger to the ecosystem, killing 1.3 to 4.0 billion songbirds a year, according to national research. But he also understands why residents are morally uncomfortable with the idea of shooting cats, a preferred pet for many in America.

“I think the issue with the idea of shooting a cat is tough in the fact that it seems violent because we think of shooting as violence, and that’s an entirely reasonable thought,” Wetrich told KCCI. “I think that’s a pretty natural reaction.”

He told WHO the idea of shooting cats is “certainly not ideal, and I think if you would ask any of our great officers, that’s not their favorite thing to do, or what they’d prefer to do.”

The ARL’s Wilson said euthanizing cats, whether by shooting them or using more humane methods, doesn’t solve the feral cat problem.

“If you take the cats out of the community, more cats are going to fill the void; it's just a natural function,” he told WHO. “If there's a good environment for cats, cats are going to come in, [but] if you have an existing colony that is not breeding, it'll keep new cats from entering the colony, but the colony will slowly, over time, die out.”

Jefferson officials are moving forward to adopt the recommendations of the ARL to put a spay, neuter and release policy into effect. But that could take up to 18 months. Assistance will come from Bethesda, Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies and Animal Protection and Education, a Payton, Iowa-based nonprofit that has helped a handful other Iowa communities in Payton, Iowa, set up community cat programs with low-cost spay and neuter programs, vaccinations and microchipping.

Community cat programs like the one Jefferson is adopting are already established in the Iowa communities of Panora, Boone, Winterset and Churdan, all of which are seeing a decrease in the number of feral cats and kittens coming into shelters, which Wilson said is a good indication that the program is working. It does take some time for feral populations to dwindle, because cats are allowed to live out their natural lives, but he hopes more communities will adopt the program.

Jefferson City Administrator Michael Palmer did not immediately return Patch’s call seeking comment on the policy.

Photo by Joseph M. Arseneau via Shutterstock