Twin Falls has a very bad situation with wild cats. A recent story published by a local news channel highlighted the lingering problem of causing the flames to be fanned by many city dwellers.
There’s one constant when I put trash in the trash cans behind my house on Garbage Day and that is the presence of stray cats walking through lots that line the alley. I recognize some of them as strays in the region, others appear almost weekly with great regularity.
Our shelters are full of lost and abandoned cats. It has become a very serious problem that was featured in an Idaho News 6 story recently. The May 26 feature looked at the problem of the city’s wildcats and also provided some guidance on how we can help contain the increasing complications.
I see strays being fed every week. I understand that people who love cats don’t want them to starve to death on the city streets, but those who continue to do so are part of the problem. The problem is, most people can’t tell the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat. If feral cats find a source of food they can rely on regularly, they can continue to produce more and more kittens.
Wildcats breed near populated areas. If they cannot find food in bowls set up by humans, they will have to resort to small animals such as mice and lizards, which they often return to more rural areas. Cats that are not neutered or neutered can contribute to the birth of more than 20 offspring per year, according to havahart.com.
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To prepare for a possible incident, always have your veterinarian’s phone number ready, along with an out of hours clinic to call in an emergency. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center also has a hotline you can call on (888) 426-4435 for advice.
Despite all of these resources, the best cure for food poisoning is to prevent it in the first place. To give you an idea of which human foods can be dangerous, Stacker has put together a slideshow of 30 common foods you should avoid. See if there are any that surprise you.
