Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/516432
Not a week goes by that I do not hear someone talk about the feral cat problem in Tehama County. In many other areas around the world, for centuries ferals have compr ised a large por- tion of local stray animal populations. Tehama is no exception. All ferals are strays, but not all strays are feral. A stray may be someone's com- panion cat who became lost, or had been intentionally abandoned. These socialized cats are adoptable and can be reintroduced into a home. Adult feral cats are not so- cialized and are not consid- ered adoptable. They may be former pets who, over time, regressed to a wild state or they may be the offspring of felines who did not reunite with their guardians. Colonies are groups of ferals living together. They can be a combination of fe- rals and strays that share territory and a food source. Unfortunately, these colo- nies can grow from a couple of cats to hundreds as each new generation of kittens is born. If these kittens never have human contact, they will also grow into fearful wild cats. Unless a rescue is available to take the adults, an extremely high prob- ability for euthanasia oc- curs if brought into a shel- ter. However, feral kittens under eight weeks of age have an increased chance of not sharing the same fate if there are people readily available to socialize them. Ferals, avoiding humans, live in the shadows and hid- den spots of our community, and struggle desperately to exist. Food sources, of- ten provided by dumpsters and garbage or the rodents that feast on the same, are limited. Some ferals are lucky enough to receive food from benevolent peo- ple who do not wish them to starve. Unfortunately, as well intentioned as these people are, they may be in- advertently contributing to the overall problem if they do not concurrently spay or neuter. The community where the cats live often views them with disdain due to the cat's scaveng- ing, mating, and territo- rial behaviors. In addition, the perpetuated misinfor- mation about the effects on wildlife does nothing to aid these animals. Their life, like any other domes- tic pet who does not have a human guardian, is fret with illness, injury, starva- tion, and predation. For many, the way to deal with these woe-begotten creatures is simply to erad- icate them and the colonies in which they live. Research has shown us that this is not an effective fix. Even though the quantity of cats in a locale is reduced, the solution is temporary. Any survivors will continue to breed and other breeding cats will move into the va- cancy created. The only proven method to manage feral cat colo- nies is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR is not about rescuing or eradicating ev- ery feral. It is about reduc- ing the number of feral cats in a given area and lower- ing intake euthanasia rates. It is also about creating a better environment for both the cats and the peo- ple around them. With TNR, each cat in a colony is trapped and transported to a veterinary clinic. At the clinic, the an- imal is vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and ear-tipped (the ear is trimmed) to iden- tify them as ferals who were sterilized. Once recovered, the cats are returned to their original colony. Ide- ally, a "caretaker", who is either an individual or a committed group of peo- ple, provides food, water, and shelter to the cats. In addition, the caretaker monitors the cats for ill- ness or injury and also for any newcomers who would require TNR. A compre- hensive resource for care- takers, or those interested in TNR, is "The Neighbor- hood Cat TNR Handbook: A Guide to Trap- Neuter- Re- turn for the Feral Cat Care- taker". It is available to read or download at no charge at http://www.neighborhood- cats.org/article/HOME/142. Society, in general, would prefer that there were no fe- ral cats. Ways to help pre- vent ferals is to avoid the initial actions that per- petuate the situation. En- sure that pets are not only safely contained but, if lost, that they have some form of identification on them in or- der to assure their guardian is contacted. Do not aban- don domestic pets and force them to learn to fend for themselves in unfamiliar, unfriendly environments. In addition, do not let un- sprayed/unneutered cats roam free. Better yet, spay or neuter all your pets. Feral cats may never be- come beloved household companions, but that does not mean their life has no value. Both they and we are part of this community. It is up to us to find solutions to coexist. Next week, I will dis- cuss TNR in greater depth, along with its alternatives. RonnieCaseyisvice president of PETS — Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelter. She can be reached at rmcredbluff@ gmail.com. For more information about PETS, visit petstehama.org. PETS Countynoexceptionforferalcats Do you know a child, a pregnant woman or have a client with children who need dental care? The Mobile Dental Clinic is coming to the Corning Family Resource Center, 175 Solano St., June 1-5 and June 22 to July 3. Dental treatment for children ages one to seven and pregnant women will be available. Ask about fi- nancial assistance for those that do not qualify for in- surance or have a high de- ductible or co-pay. For more information, call 520-6913. HEALTH Mobile Dental Clinic coming to Corning The Senior Nutrition Program serves meals Monday through Friday at noon at the Red Bluff Com- munity and Senior Center and 11:30 a.m. at the Corn- ing Senior Center. The average cost of a con- gregate meal is $7.37, and $9.07 for a home-delivered meal. A minimum dona- tion of $3.50 is appreciated for seniors 60 and older. For those guests younger than 60, the charge is $8. A do- nation is not a requirement toreceiveamealifyouqual- ify for the program. Reservations must be made a minimum of one day in advance by calling 527-2414. One percent milk is served with each meal. Menu is subject to change. May 25-29 Monday MEMORIAL DAY CLOSED Tuesday ETHNIC Pork Chow Mein, Steamed Brown Rice, Stir Fry Vegetables, Apple Juice, Gingerbread Wednesday HEART HEALTHY Chicken Noodle Soup, Pickled Beets, Tropical Fruit Cup, Wheat Crackers Thursday Stuffed Bell Pepper, Basil Tomatoes, Water- melon, Wheat Roll Friday HEART HEALTHY Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, Marinated Pea Salad, Fruit Ambrosia, Whole Wheat Bread MENU Senior Nutrition Program menu The following informa- tion is compiled from Red Bluff Police Department, Red Bluff Fire, Tehama County Sheriff's Depart- ment, Corning Police De- partment, Corning Fire, Cal Fire and California High- way Patrol logs. Fire StoneAvenue,Gerber: Thecauseofacarfirethat spread to grass is undeter- mined, The fire was reported at 8:15a.m. Thursday and contained at 10:12a.m. to a quarter acre burned. There were no injuries. Stolen Comfort Inn, Sale Lane: A black 1999Ford F-350, California license plate 600223A, with a diamond plate tool box, 100gallon transfer tank and aluminum mesh back window protec- tor hitched to a black IDX dump trailer with a large dent on the front trailer box was stolen Thursday eve- ning. The trailer contained a grey Tekuchi compact excavator. Trespass The Home Depot, Main Street: A man sleeping in a sleeping bag next to the lumber doors was admon- ished a er being discovered about 5:30a.m. Thursday. Police Logs Sheriff Jud Boyd com- pleted one of the largest land deals that has been made in this county this year yesterday morning at the court house when he sold the Perrin lands, 34,000 acres of valuable timber lands lying west of Paskenta along the sum- mit of the Coast range, to Chas. F. Dillman, of San Francisco. Readers of the News will remember that Dill- man, who held a mortgage against the property for $65,000, recently brought suit in Superior court of this county to secure a judgement for the amount due him together with in- terest and attorney fees. The decree was granted by Judge Ellison and Mrs. Lilo M. Perrin was also awarded the sum of $53,000. The Sheriff was directed to sell the property at public auc- tion yesterday morning at the court house. — May 23, 1915 100 YEARS AGO... Boyd makes 34,000 acre land deal Ronnie Casey By Claire Lester Several members from Red Bluff FFA went to Shasta College Friday, May 8 to compete in the annual Project Competition. Project Competition is a great opportunity for members to share about their or Supervised Agri- cultural Experience Proj- ect. This year, Natalie Ren- froe and Kegan Richards presented in the advanced category. Amy Garrison and Danielle Mincer pre- sented in the novice cat- egory. In order to compete, the contestants usually pres- ent their project at the lo- cal competition that was held previously at Red Bluff High School thanks to local judges Jason Cro- man and James Miller. At Shasta College, the contestants went to a classroom where they pre- sented a roughly 10-min- ute PowerPoint before two judges from the agricul- ture industry. After their presentation, the judges had the opportunity to ask a few questions. Next, everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by Shasta College. At the awards cere- mony, Richards, Renfroe and Garrison received gold and Danielle Mincer was awarded silver. Everyone who com- peted did an amazing job and represented Red Bluff FFA well. RED BLUFF FF A ta ke s pa rt i n pr oj ec t co mp et it io n COURTESY PHOTO Pictured, from le , are Red Bluff FFA members Kegan Richards, Amy Garrison, Danielle Mincer and Natalie Renfroe. 527-2151 FAX 527-3719 545DIAMONDAVE.,REDBLUFF THE DAILY NEWS OFFICE WILL BECLOSED Monday, May 25 in honor of Memorial Day Retail advertising deadline: Tuesday, May 26 edition is Friday, May 22 at Noon. N EWS D AILY REDBLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY Mel'sPlace • Lingerie • Airbrush Tanning • Swimwear 332OakStreet Red Bluff (530) 604-4182 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saturday, May 30, 2015 10am-3:30pm Hostedbythe Red Bluff Community CenterAuxiliary What Do You Have For Sale? 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