Feral cat debate continues
BY VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

Porto

At the Gulf Breeze City Council meeting last Monday, several citizens presented concerns about the city's feral cat colony during the Open Forum.

"We have 18 inoculated, spayed and neutered cats in a colony in Pensacola," said Elizabeth Irby, Pensacola resident and animal protection proponent. "We started with 50 cats and as they have aged and died naturally, the colony has decreased to a more manageable number. In the mean time, they feed on the rats and snakes in the area."

Mayor Lane Gilchrist asked how they tracked the cats to determine which was neutered and inoculated, and Irby replied that they tip the cat's ears to show which had been trapped and treated.

"I like cats, but we have a leash law in this city and we are tasked with applying the laws," said Council member Carl T. Hoffman.

Gulf Breeze resident Natasha Porto expressed that many communities consider feral cats to be wild animals. "These cats are not stray, they are wild We don't trap raccoons or foxes. Why can't we be progressive like cities around the country and consider a managed colony? In six months when these cats are gone, others will move in. There is a food source and space. Will you kill them, too?"

Casey

Deer Point resident Celia Casey commented that the cats had been characterized as diseased killers and asked that the council please reconsider their policy to enforce stray animal ordinances on the feral cats.

"I am here to ask you to reconsider your posture on having Animal Control trap these animals and subsequently euthanize them," entreated Porto. "In what I consider to be an idyllic city, safe, progressive and responsive to its citizens, it is shameful that the end of the line for most stray animals here is too often Animal Control. It is a disorganized, overcrowded facility whose staff is brusque, rude and non-compassionate. And too often, animals are treated with cruel indifference. Surely in this era of animal welfare and no-kill shelters, the city of Gulf Breeze can find better alternatives for these cats."

"I am an animal lover," assured Mayor Gilchrist. "I have had as many as four cats at one time in my home. I am not so sure that these animals living at the edge of a very busy road is a humane choice either. We are going to be very lenient on the timing of this process, but we do not want a managed colony, these cats could be adopted."

Sonya Ferguson, former Gulf Breeze business owner, said she and her sister had visited and fed the colony frequently and continued even after they relocated their business.

"I know Jury Duty has stepped up to give these cats shots and spay or neuter them, and we just ask for some compromise," Ferguson said. "Please let these cats live out their lives."

Boundary questioned

During the forum resident Elise Evans also questioned council if a regulation 15 ft. buffer zone between her home and the Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church could be used by the facility. "

"Is it a complete buffer or a partial buffer?" she asked.