The Feeding of Cats at Corona del Mar

Feral cats do not have a good life, contrary to the description given in the story about the cats of Corona del Mar (Nov. 15). The experience I’ve had with a group of wild cats living in a park near my home is that the life of these animals--also fed by a handful of caring people--is pathetic.

Adult cats have chronic eye infections or wounds and abscesses from fighting, but are too frightened or wild to catch and treat. The kittens I have rescued were all suffering from roundworms and tapeworms, and are emaciated and dehydrated. Others, their eyes glued shut with crust, constantly scratched at hundreds of fleas crawling on their tiny bodies.

A high concentration of cats in a public area can be a health hazard for humans. Cats get toxoplasmosis, an internal parasitic disease, from eating birds and rodents. Toxoplasmosis is highly infectious to humans who come in contact with cat feces and is especially dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause birth defects. The possibility of a rabies outbreak in a population of feral cats is high. Then the situation will no longer be cute.

Believing that the cats live in some kind of paradise by the sea may encourage people to abandon their own unwanted, unvaccinated, unaltered pets--leaving them for someone else to feed and worry about.

Tens of thousands of cats and dogs are born in Orange County every year. There are not enough homes for all of them. Most end up in animal shelters, where they are humanely put to sleep, or they are illegally abandoned.

Pet overpopulation is a serious problem that the public creates and the public can solve. Spaying or neutering a pet so that it cannot breed is the only solution. If cost is a problem, there are low-cost spay/neuter clinics, and animal humane groups often provide assistance.

If each pet owner would take this responsible step, then perhaps one day there would be no feral cats or overcrowded animal shelters or euthanasia.

KARIN CHRISTENSEN

Laguna Beach

Karin Christensen is president of the Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.