City says 'No feral cats at Wayside Park'
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Wild cats are quickly multiplying at the city's Wayside park, and officials are trying to remove them.

A gray and white feline poked its whiskered face out from behind what is left of the Pensacola Bay fishing bridge and sauntered over to a fresh bowl of cat food prepared by Gulf Breeze resident Kathy Stephan. The first cat, called Scratch, was followed by two more that emerged from the riprap under the three-mile bridge and several more from the bushes. Two black cats Stephan called Jose and Lazay watched the commotion from a safe distance underneath a park bench. Altogether, nearly 10 feral felines gathered early that morning for first dibs on fresh food and water.

Stephan said she has been stopping at Wayside Park in Gulf Breeze on her way to work to feed the growing colony of cats for the last five years. In that time, Stephan said their numbers have increased from 10 to between 30 or 40. She says the bulk of those arrived after Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Stephan and other concerned residents collect what cats they can find and have them spayed or neutered and vaccinated. Stephan relies heavily on charitable organizations like Jury- Duty and the Animal Protection League of Okaloosa County, which provide those services free of charge or at a reduced cost.

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Cats called Jose and Layzay watch nearby human activity with a cautious eye underneath a park bench at Wayside Park in Gulf Breeze.Wayside Park is adjacent to the bay bridge.

"If we can get them when they are babies, then they are just like domestic cats," said Stephan, who estimates she spends approximately $10 a week on cat food for the colony. "Organizations like the animal protection league and jury-duty are important to our community and can only survive with the support and monetary donations from all of us."

City of Gulf Breeze officials have received numerous complaints about the colony and have given citizens 45 days to relocate the animals from the park before Escambia County Animal Control is called in to remove them. The city's parks and recreation director, Ron Pulley, said the cats pose serious health and safety issues for residents who use the park. Not to mention the smell.

"In the meantime, if private individuals want to catch and relocate them they are more than welcome to," Pulley said.

Pensacola attorney Greg Farrar disputed Pully's public health and safety claims.

"These cats on the bridge do not pose any documented health or safety risks to the public," said Farrar, who is a regional representative of Spay USA and Spay Florida. Farrar co-directs Jury-Duty with his wife, Cynthia. "Free roaming cats are timid," he said.

There was one dead cat in the median adjacent to Wayside Park on the morning of May 25.

According to former Escambia County Animal Control Director Bruce Rova, a Gulf Breeze resident, the cats will be trapped and brought to Escambia's animal shelter located at 200 West Fairfield Drive, Pensacola. Rova said the animals would be held for five full business days, not including the first day, to determine if they are candidates for adoption. Animals not suited for domestic life would be terminated, Rova said.

"In 24 hours you know if they are feral [wild] or not," said Rova, who retired from Escambia Animal Control Friday, May 25 after more than a decade of service. "There's an obvious difference between feral and domesticated cats. You can see it in their eyes. They won't let you near them and they try to eat your arm off when you get near them."

However, some people say there are positive benefits to feral cat colonies. Pensacola Junior College (PJC) Police Chief Nancy Newland, also a Gulf Breeze resident, said a feral cat colony at the college keeps the snake and rat populations in check. Newland said the colony is not an official PJC project, but is maintained by caring individuals who work and attend school there. Newland added that she's also seen cats at Shoreline Park South and believes the colonies have a positive presence.

"I would like to see a trap, spay or neuter and adopt out option," Newland said.

Rova said he knew of another feral cat community the city allowed to exist in the early 1990's near the Beach Road Plaza Shopping Center on US 98. Rova said people couldn't be counted on to feed the animals after the principal caretaker moved. The cats were eventually captured and taken to the Escambia County Animal Shelter.

The Farrars said colony abandonment would be unlikely if caretakers followed their procedures and that cat populations would actually decrease due to sterile conditions. Jury-Duty requires sponsored caretakers to sign documentation stating they would not abandon the colony and would trap and treat any sick animals.

"We're trying to reduce the cat population through the humane process of sterilization instead of euthanization," Greg Farrar said. "If we'd been allowed to start our program five years ago there wouldn't be a cat problem at the park."

Pulley said the city's action is an effort to balance the interests of those who use the park with those who want to feed the colony. Stephan said she felt Pulley's proposed action was not a balanced response. She fees he has not listened to proponents who promote the benefits of feral cat colonies.

"It's not like we don't like the cats," Pulley said. "We want to make the parks safe and attractive for our guests who use them… We're giving individuals the opportunity to catch them and do something positive. Other individuals are not comfortable using the park with that size cat population. Even if they were spayed or neutered we'd want them relocated."