Feral Cats Attacks Texas Man

I am surprised in a small way to see this happen. I have caught numerous 20+ pound feral cats. They look like they are on steroids. I have no doubt they could kill small livestock.  I thought it would be another ten years or so before we started hearing about super ferals attacking humans. Despite the nature of the encounter here we got it happening right here in Texas. If it had been a elderly person or a child the ending may have been muy Muerto. Here is a link to a channel two story depicting a man attacked by a feral cats. http://www.click2houston.com/video/27832112/index.html. I have been attacked walking my dog numerous times by cats both singularly or in groups. Generally this is a diversion to let a young or pregnant cat get away 1st. despite the fact there was no threat. My Airedale made short work of these encounters but she is getting old to be chasing cats. Cats live on a high social order and they will protect the group. If we ever figure what cats are truly good for and teach them to do it, we should have good workers. Cats having a simple genetic structure we could probably put them in much simpler job than dogs if we ever train them for workaday use. In the mean time I suggest we all call Rep. Dennis Bonnen and ask him how a state wide problem can only be addressed locally. He says he is not on "that committee" when asked about anything he does not want to talk about. He never wants to talk about birds. Rep. Dennis Bonnen ,when asked to commit to a stand on trap neuter and release or the widely accepted scientific approach of the American Bird Conservancy's Cats Indoors program, he can't make a decision. The  American Bird Conservancy's program to restrict free roaming cats is called Cat Indoors. This program is endorsed by Brazoria county's own Andrew Sansom, former director of Texas Parks and Wildlife and the rest of the avian scientific community.  Like Hightower says, even dead things can go with the flow. That is what Lake Jackson & Texas has been doing.....making do with an outdated and unfair law that allows cats to roam under an exemption to the law.  In the richest bird area in America Lake Jackson and Dennis Bonnen side with the cats.  

What Would Andy Do?

     Long ago a timeless classic was created called The Andy Griffith Show. Among the many memorable episodes in  the one titled "Opie the Birdman" Barney gives Opie a slingshot. Andy soon comes upon a bird Opie has killed. Andy wonders aloud in sad amazement that "the neighbor's cat has killed one of Aunt Bea's song birds". He tells himself he'll have to tell the neighbor to keep their cat indoors. Opie raises the nestlings & all is well in Mayberry. In wonderful Mayberry fledglings are hardy & no cats run loose. Even by the 60's, Sheldon Leonard and his writers knew cats were a likely suspect in any bird death. We all know that cats running loose equal dead birds. These days the millions of free roaming feral and domestic cats kill hundreds of millions birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and other species in the U.S. each and every day. As a nation our society must now take stock of the fact that cats are a huge menace to our environment. Habitat depletion is the #1 reason for all new extinctions and invasive species are #2. Cats are our number one invasive species in the Texas killing anything they can in our environment. It is estimated by the American Bird Conservancy (abcbirds.org) the U.S. may have as many as 200 million cats. If we do not have that many cats now, we soon will. ABC estimates 120 million cats are feral and the other 80 million are owned or semi-owned. Cats are simple animals with about half the chromosomes of dogs and a small frontal cortex. It is estimated about 60% of all companion pet owners have cats & 60% of those owners have multiple cats. Only one out of three owners keep their cat indoors. Sheriff Andy Taylor would be weep to see the state of our bird decline in America. Birders of America should band together to protect the 800 plus song bird species in decline. Birders need to write their elected officials and demand sweeping changes in our policies for avian protection. We must demand bird friendly laws be enacted and enforced. Policy should support the laws that require restrictions for free roaming cats, licensing for breeding and sales. Mandatory registration is a must. We hobble our officers in the field if we do ont have registration. A big percentage of animal nuisance calls lead to felonies. Seesm how aperosn treats hteir aniamsl is a direct indicator of how they treat other folks or behave in general. Our other companion animals will benefit and many species will be protected when we break the paradigm that allows free roaming cats as the rule rather than the exception in our society. So remember the words of our favorite sheriff. Keep your cat indoors and push the appropriate elected people to protect our birds. I bet that's what Andy would do.

Lake Jackson Subsidizes Cat Owners

After years of complaints by desperate neighbors the City of Lake Jackson has began to subsidize cat owners. In a recent move the city fathers removed 46 cats from a home. The home of an elderly couple and their grown son was damaged by the two dozen cats living inside the home and the other cats roaming outside the home. The house was deemed uninhabitable by the city and the couple was moved to a temporary residence at the expense of the city. The cats were taken to the local  SPCA who put down the sick cats & gave the other cats to folks who let them roam free by law.The inside cats were treated and wait to be returned to the owners so they can re-start the process of passing parasites and disease to the neighbors pets & children or damaging private property at will. Boat owners look out-your cover is in danger. Lake Jackson is home of numerous bird sanctuaries, wildlife refuges, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, the Brazosport Birders and the Texas Sea Center. City officials have decided cat owners are a a lot scarier citizen than scientists or birders. The mayor recently said in council he has never seen a free roaming cats in his neighborhood full of high dollar homes on the lake lots wooded areas of Lake Jackson Farms.