Dear Dr. Fox:
I was disappointed in your recent response to G.L. in the District, the feral cat colony caretaker.
Instead of providing him with a link to Alley Cat Allies, www.alleycat.org, a nonprofit group dedicated to helping cats, you persisted in providing antiquated arguments for the death of cats. The Web site has an entire section that would have answered G.L.’s questions much better than you did, which was to advocate he euthanize his cats.
You also maintain that cats kill birds and other wildlife. My feral cat takes out the moles that destroy my yard, kills copperhead snakes and keeps down the mouse and other rodent population. Take out the cats through your plan, and these creatures have no natural predator and their populations explode.
I would suggest you educate yourself before giving the public outdated information. You have lost credibility with me for perpetuating stereotypes. I hope you can inform the public in a future column that there are better ways and better answers than what you wrote.
M.D., Labadie, Mo.
DF: Although I appreciate what Alley Cat Allies is doing to help increase public awareness about the plight of free-roaming lost and feral cats, I am not alone in my opinion.
Many in the veterinary profession, as well as other wildlife biologists, question the wisdom and humaneness of trap-neuter-release and people maintaining colonies of feral cats. Your statement that I advocate only euthanasia is incorrect.
By your own admission, your cats are killing wildlife. The moles are part of the natural environment you occupy, and I, for one, welcome them. They were here on Earth long before we humans became an infestation. In many cases, they benefit the soil. Copperheads and other snakes are natural rodent controllers, which helps control the viruses rodents transmit, such as the hantavirus.
According to the American Bird Conservancy, only about one-third of the 77 million pet cats in the United States are kept indoors exclusively, while free-roaming cats kill an estimated 500 million birds annually — a staggering figure. Fledglings that have just left the nest are especially vulnerable to predators.
Domestic cats have no place outdoors, and our compassion for these homeless animals should not trump common sense and sound science.
agitated when bound
Dear Dr. Fox:
We have an 18-month-old German shepherd/Lab/Akita mix. She is very smart, and I have trained her in good manners and many tricks at our house.
My main problem is that she acts aggressive and hostile when she cannot get to another dog when she’s on a leash.
She is fine at the dog park and has playdates with a neighbor’s dog. When she is on the leash and sees another dog within 40 to 50 feet, she becomes almost unmanageable. She growls, snarls, lunges and acts like she wants to kill the other dog.
Once the other person lets me come over and after sniffing the other dog, my dog is fine and we can walk together.
I have used the clicker for training and used lots of treats on walks. But she ignores me when she sees another dog. I do not know how to stop this behavior.
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