Following is a proposal sent to Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, President of the San Francisco SPCA. To date, she has not responded to this proposal.
April 25, 2019
Hi Dr. Scarlett,
So how’s this for a compromise:
For the rest of the kitten season, let’s say till the end of October, we keep the time-tested policy in place. You and Virginia at ACC agree that trappers be put in touch immediately with folks who call In about feral kittens of any age. The queens thus captured will be accommodated in volunteer foster homes (TKR has several) and the clearly still extant nursery capability at SPCA.
Laura is proud of her love for data; this will give her a chance to collect some real, highly relevant data regarding kitten survival rate and mom cat stress levels (this sort of data is impossible to collect if queens and kittens are left in the wild).
If the nursery gets over-taxed, or we run out of fosters willing to take queens, or some other unforeseen bad thing happens, then we’ll stop bringing in queens until the absorption capability improves.
At the end of the trial period we’ll have another meeting like the one we just had, and discuss what we’ve learned and how we can apply this knowledge going forward.
Although a mother cat’s stress level increases during the actual trapping process (as would anyone’s), our experience has shown that it ebbs to a more normal level once she has her kittens in a safe environment. It should also be recognized that there is a certain amount of stress for a queen trying to raise her litter in the wild. We may logically assume that this level increases markedly when a kitten falls victim to predators or disease. It is this concern for incremental increase in mom cat’s stress that is driving the regressive policy we are trying to prevent. In balancing that against the survival (as well as difficulty of catching and socializing potential) of the kittens, I really think it far more humane and in keeping with the TNR concept to opt in favor of immediate protection of the moms and nursing kittens.
Let’s give it a try. We can start with the lists Laura and Jenny are keeping of people who have called in and been told to wait 4 weeks; let’s put them in touch with trappers now. This does not need to wait until the May 1st meeting; it isn’t really a change but simply a continuation of a highly successful policy that has been in place for decades. One word from you is all it takes.
Laura began last night’s meeting by reaffirming our unanimous agreement that TNR is the best way to serve both feline and human interests in our community. So let’s not discard a key element of our TNR program by refusing to bring the queens in to safety (and certain spaying). That would be like putting a splint on a broken arm or leg without first setting the underlying fractured bone.
Thanks for listening.
Rocky
Posted by John Rockwell, volunteer trapper/foster parent since 2003