Huntingtown Rabies Alert

[RPMDAD]

Got home from work yesterday, and this flyer was in our mailbox fro the Health Dept. Just a heads up.

http://www.calverthealth.org/_pdf/2012rabfm.pdf

Calvert County Health Department

 

[kwillia]

This cat was part of a group of feral cats that roam freely in this area and have been known to inhabit barns.

How does the colony of ferals get a "clean bill of health" or does an assumption get made that they are all possibly infected?

 

[Dakota]

This cat was part of a group of feral cats that roam freely in this area and have been known to inhabit barns.

How does the colony of ferals get a "clean bill of health" or does an assumption get made that they are all possibly infected?

The assumption is made that all are infected and if caught, they will be put down.

Do you remember several years back (@7 years ago) in Mechanicsville behind the ES there were more than 100 feral cats caught and killed?

A few of them had rabies and Animal Control decided to catch the rest of the group and all caught were put down. Several months prior to that happening, I found a 4 month old feral kitten & it is very possible that she was part of that grouping since I don't live far from that school. *IF* I hadn't taken her to the vets and would have dropped her off at the shelter instead, she would have been put down. At that time I was told....

"WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY ADOPTABLE, FRIENDLY KITTENS AND CATS THAT WILL BE PUT DOWN BECAUSE NOBODY ADOPTS THEM.... SO IT REALLY IS USELESS TO US TO SPEND TIME AND MONEY ON THE FERAL ONES.... "

In that same phone call I was clearly told the fate of the feral kitten if brought to them. I get it... I really do... But realistically, ferals don't have much of a chance. It is an awful lot of work to turn a feral into a pet and many of them will never be 'normal.' I can say that because I kept the little kitty and named her Molly. She has her fair share of issues.

 

[frequentflier]

The assumption is made that all are infected and if caught, they will be put down.

Do you remember several years back (@7 years ago) in Mechanicsville behind the ES there were more than 100 feral cats caught and killed?

A few of them had rabies and Animal Control decided to catch the rest of the group and all caught were put down. Several months prior to that happening, I found a 4 month old feral kitten & it is very possible that she was part of that grouping since I don't live far from that school. *IF* I hadn't taken her to the vets and would have dropped her off at the shelter instead, she would have been put down. At that time I was told....

"WE HAVE WAY TOO MANY ADOPTABLE, FRIENDLY KITTENS AND CATS THAT WILL BE PUT DOWN BECAUSE NOBODY ADOPTS THEM.... SO IT REALLY IS USELESS TO US TO SPEND TIME AND MONEY ON THE FERAL ONES.... "

In that same phone call I was clearly told the fate of the feral kitten if brought to them. I get it... I really do... But realistically, ferals don't have much of a chance. It is an awful lot of work to turn a feral into a pet and many of them will never be 'normal.' I can say that because I kept the little kitty and named her Molly. She has her fair share of issues.

Many feral cat colonies are being managed and the cats have been spay/neutered and tested for disease, vaccinated and ear tipped. The colonies I know about have volunteers that feed, water, provide shelter for and look after the cats.
Behind my new store, there are several that are fed 2X a day rain or shine, have fresh water and are vetted. There was one orange cat that was dropped off recently that needs to be neutered; if he hasn't been already by the people caring for them. They are all very healthy cats with very shiny coats. They are not too afraid of me but won't let me get too close.

 

[loriv]

RPMDAD - Thanks for posting - I live on Smoky and got NO notice!! I adopted two "feral" cats from Friends of Feline. They came from the managed colony at the landfill. Superb cats, easy to handle and only took about a month to warm up to us. Originally supposed to be barn cats... they are now porch cats who never stray off the farm. There are many strays in the area noted... would have been nice to get a nixle text about it.

 

[kwillia]

RPMDAD - Thanks for posting - I live on Smoky and got NO notice!! I adopted two "feral" cats from Friends of Feline. They came from the managed colony at the landfill. Superb cats, easy to handle and only took about a month to warm up to us. Originally supposed to be barn cats... they are now porch cats who never stray off the farm. There are many strays in the area noted... would have been nice to get a nixle text about it.

Are you going to do anything different now that you know about it?

 

[RPMDAD]

loriv, not absolutely sure who put it in our mailbox, could have been a neighbor who had heard about it and ran off copies. It was actually in the portion that the newspaper goes in.

 

[loriv]

Kwillia: I will. I will be sure to watch the strays that frequent my farm more closely. Usually I just try to run them off, I wil now observe them and, if they appear ill, set the trap out and call Animal Control. Will probably also lock mine in the barn temporarily until I'm able to confirm none of our stray visitors are infected. Mine have all their shots, but there's no point in tempting fate.

RPMDAD: Thanks, I'll check the paper boxes.

 

[kwillia]

Kwillia: I will. I will be sure to watch the strays that frequent my farm more closely. Usually I just try to run them off, I wil now observe them and, if they appear ill, set the trap out and call Animal Control. Will probably also lock mine in the barn temporarily until I'm able to confirm none of our stray visitors are infected. Mine have all their shots, but there's no point in tempting fate.

Cool. I was wondering how folks handle such news when they've got outdoor critters. I have an outdoor cat that adopted me about 1 1/2 years ago. I had him vetted and he is most certainly one of us now. Once in a while we get strange cats in our yard and he is protective of his territory so I'm always worried about him.

 

[loriv]

Mine just move to the other end of the porch and let the strays eat all their food. They really are nice cats... but you can't use "feral" in any sense of the word.

 

[Dakota]

Many feral cat colonies are being managed and the cats have been spay/neutered and tested for disease, vaccinated and ear tipped. The colonies I know about have volunteers that feed, water, provide shelter for and look after the cats.
Behind my new store, there are several that are fed 2X a day rain or shine, have fresh water and are vetted. There was one orange cat that was dropped off recently that needs to be neutered; if he hasn't been already by the people caring for them. They are all very healthy cats with very shiny coats. They are not too afraid of me but won't let me get too close.

The one behind Mechanicsville ES at the time was NOT managed - some resident back there was only feeding them... never had any of them vetted. Which is why they had a rabies outbreak.

A couple my husband and I have known for years also manage a feral colony around Pinefiled and another lady we know manages a feral colony by the sheriff's office in La Plata. Those tags on the ears are so very important because people often drop cats off in those areas. It helps them easily pick which ones have or have not been vetted. I do wonder in the 7 years since that happened, if it is required to report feral colony management to Animal Control??

The people we know work very closely with Animal Control so I've never asked that question.

 

[idiganthro]

Grrr...and my neighbor's cats keep churning out new batches of kittens. None get spayed/neutered (obviously) and probably have never seen the inside of a veterinary clinic. Makes me so mad! They walk around with draining noses and eyes. Not to mention the multiple dogs chained outside 24/7/365. What are they thinking??