"Managed" Cat Colonies in Hawaii

Ear-tipped Cat. Photo: ABC

Some cat advocates strongly oppose humane trap and removal of stray and feral cats if the cats will be euthanized. Instead, they favor trap/neuter/release (TNR) or "managed" cat colonies. TNR varies, but in general, volunteers live-trap the cats and take them to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered. The tip of one ear is usually clipped to easily identify a cat that has been altered (spayed or neutered). The volunteers then release the cats, usually at the trap site, and continue to feed them for as long as they stay in the colony. This could be a day, a month, or years.

TNR is highly controversial and strongly opposed by many conservationists, wildlife biologists, veterinarians, and animal welfare groups (see "Managed" Cat Colonies: The Wrong Solution to a Tragic Problem). It is often difficult to trap all of the cats, the cat food attracts more cats, and the colonies become dumping grounds for unwanted pets. The cat food also attracts other predators, such as rats and mongoose, that can spread disease and create a public health threat. Colony cats are not protected from: cars; fights with other cats or dogs, poisons; diseases and parasites; or exposure to hurricanes (see The Great Outdoors is No Plas For Cats). Well-fed colony cats still kill birds and other native wildlife.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater: Photo: Sheldon Plentovich

The TNR program in Hawaii was begun in 1993 by the Hawaiian Humane Society and the Hawaii Cat Foundation, and is supported by the Hawaiian Humane Society and the Hawaii Cat Foundation. The Foundation's volunteers had trapped over 5,000 cats for release through August 1999. Managed cat colonies occur wherever stray and feral cats have congregated, including public parks, beaches, and sites adjacent to sensitive wildlife habitat, such as seabird nesting colonies. For example, in 1999, researchers found that a Wedge-tailed Shearwater colony at Waiehu on Maui lost 23 adult birds to cats. A Shearwater colony at Hookipa lost 59 adults to cats and only 27 burrows fledged chicks. At a small Shearwater colony east of Kuau, six adult birds were killed by cats which caused the total loss of all chicks at five burrows. At Pauwalu, remains of Bulwer's Petrel chicks were found near a cat colony during each of three years, and there was no evidence that any chicks had successfully fledged from the colony during this time. According to researcher Dr. Fern Duvall, II, "Small colonies (of seabirds) were vulnerable to total failure and larger colonies to losses of returning adults and late-stage chicks and adults. Comparison of cat free Molokini islet illustrated cat predation has a sustained negative impact on established Maui native seabird colonies, expansion of colonies, and colonization of new areas by native seabirds. (See letter from Dr. Fern Duvall II, Feb 28, 2000; and Feral Cat (Felis cattus) Predation on Low Elevation Native Seabird Colonies on Maui Island, Abstract from August 2001 Society of Conservation Biology Conference, Hilo, HI.)

In 2000, the State Health Department of Vector Control proposed a ban on feeding animals in public areas because of concern that the abundant cat food at colonies was also supporting large numbers of rats. Cat advocates were outraged and succeeded in getting a bill introduced in both the state House and Senate that would have created, "a temporary managed cat colony task force to address health concerns related to the feral cat population." The bills would have delayed the adoption of any rules relating to feral animals, and any rules already in effect could not be enforced until the managed cat colony task force had made its recommendations. This could have been anywhere from two to five years. The bill was not passed by the legislature, but little has been done to prohibit cat colonies on state-owned public land.

Domestic Cats and Disease

Feeding time at a colony on the grounds of the University of Hawaii. Photo: ABC

Domestic cats can transmit diseases, such as cat-scratch fever, to humans through scratch or bite wounds. People can also contract parasites such as toxoplasmosis, roundworm, or hookworm, through contact with contaminated soil or sand. For more information, see The Great Outdoors is no Place for Cats. In 2001 five or six feral cats attacked a woman who was walking her dog near a restaurant in Honolulu where a colony of cats had been regularly fed. A colony of approximately 50 cats stray cats lives on the University of Hawaii-Manoa campus, and a recent outbreak of fleas from feral cats at the university's children's center temporarily shut down the preschool due to fears of murine typhus. (see also; Residents on guard after attack by feral cats, an article by Lisa Asato of the Honolulu Star Bulletin).

Related Links

Hawaii Cats Indoors! fact sheet and poster

Hawaii Cats Indoors! Power Point