Buckling under public pressure from animal supporters Tuesday night who called a proposed animal ordinance inhumane, the Antioch City Council delayed the approval of an animal ordinance that would have strengthened Police and Animal Services ability to enforce city code.
According to the City Staff Report, most of the Animal Municipal Code has not been updated since the early 1980’s. The staff report also states the intake of animals at the Shelter is trending higher each year and 50% of calls for service that are handled by Animal Control are for “dangerous animals”.
The meeting had 20-public speaker cards where all but two speakers opposed to the ordinance change which the city says is consistence with state law.
Here are some of the comments (paraphrased)
Doug Knowles – very familiar with the issue of feral cats, I am concerned that someone is going to have to euthanize these cats. Suggests possible feeding space that leads them away from downtown and manage colony and monitored. It’s a commitment
Penny McCartney – the ordinance will not work. It’s an outdated approach. She challenged how much research was done by the city with other shelters and cities.
Nancy Fernandez – I am for this ordinance because we have been victimized by all these animals. It stinks, cannot play in parks or grow our vegetables. I understand the feelings of the other folks but we need to work on this the best way we can but we must do something, this city speaks, walk downtown, it stinks.
Bill Cohort (spelling) – does not believe this ordinance not to be passed because it’s not constitutional. It’s not good to the City’s reputation. I believe kindness towards animals is good and be the public policy. You have alternatives
Joanne – ask that an animal welfare committee be formed to help find solutions for the challenges we face. Why not give it a chance?
Julie Linford – abandoned cats are an epidemic everywhere and it’s a problem. Wanted to work with community to peacefully reduce the population. Encourage them to not pass the ordinance.
Elizabeth Dodge – recommends that everyone who has a dog or cat be spayed or neutered unless they are a registered breeder. Asked that feral cats be fed on public property or permission be given to feed on one’s home. Also asked that anyone feeding feral cats be working with a group.
Barbara Sobalvarro – would like to see delete the two sections regarding limiting households to 5-cats and remove the restriction on feeding cats on public property. Feral cats would be inhumane to stop feeding them and providing water. Accused the Dec. 10 meeting being well-timed and during the holiday season when no one
Fred Hoskins – I am all for this ordinance. When you start feeding feral cats, what are we doing with, absolute nuisance. If these people want to live with the nuisance, let them live with it and not on public property. I would like to allow the Animal Control Services to gain additional tax and income for the city through this ordinance.
Jessie Wilson – Its misguided of the ordinance to go after the cat ladies for doing the work of the shelter by taking them out of business. If you want to go after animals, go after the puppy and kitty mills. Don’t go after the people doing good work, go after the people creating the problem. Don’t penalize the people trying to clean things up.
Richard Stirrat – It’s a proven fact that bans do not work. It ruins it for good citizens. The council should work with the city for a positive solution and ask to rescind the ordinance. Limits on dogs/cats limits fosters and want an exemption made for families involved in rescue groups.
Upon completion of public comments, police Lt. Diane Aguinaga corrected some of the myths stated in public comments.
She explained that there will be no roundup of any of the animals and groups can still trap, spay and release because they do not have the money to do that. She also stated that the policy on bees and bunnies have not changed in 10 years. Puppy and kitty mills is what they are trying to solve by requesting permits so they know where to inspect. She also said people can continue to feed the feral cats as long as it’s on one’s property and not on public property.
Mayor Wade Harper asked a series of questions to staff.
We do not have a trap and release program? Staff answered “No”.
Can cats still be fed on private property with permission of property owner? Staff said “Yes”
So cats are considered free roaming animals? Staff said “Yes”
Will Animal Control be impounding Feral cats? Staff explained “only if sick or injured then animal control will go to help.”
Are rescue organizations still able to trap and rescue to bring to one’s own property? Yes as well as bring them into adoption programs.
After 5 dogs what happens with foster organizations? Foster organization or rescue you have up to 30-days to have more than 5 then after you have to renew that.
Comment that this ordnance is unconstitutional. Is this unconstitutional? Legal answered that they are unaware of anything that would make it unconstitutional.
Mary Rocha wanted to explain that people want them to join the county program. She stated that it was the community years ago who asked us not to join the county and they chose not to so now they are paying for both.
Monica Wilson asked about the idea of seriously entertaining an Animal Welfare Commission.
Police Chief Allan Cantando provided some background on that idea which died in the past. He explained that when he and former Mayor Jim Davis discussed it, it would require additional Animal Control staff hours, staff would be put on another commission and the conclusion drawn at the time was animal groups could have their own meetings and actions and bring them to the council for action.
Tony Tiscareno thanked the community for their input but stated he wished they would have spoken up at the December 10 meeting so more discussion could be heard. He suggested that the council delay action so they can work with groups and find solutions.
Mary Rocha stated that she agreed that the feral cat issue is a real problem and the city needs to have a trap and release program. She did state that local animal groups have a lack of organization and coordinators who are not bringing these issues to the city to help solve the problem.
“This meeting today is wonderful; we are having your issues come to us to understand. At the same time, we have to care about the city,” said Rocha.
Mayor Wade Harper agreed that it would have been nice if those who spoke out against the proposed ordinance spoke out in December because it was posted online, in the media as required by law. He asked that this issue be delayed so the conversation can continue.
“We need to ask what type of staffing is needed in Animal Services and the cost of a Trap and Release Program. We also need to work with groups trying to help us with the program,” said Harper.
Highlights of the proposed Animal ordinance
- It’s unlawful to keep more than 5-cats without a permit.
- It’s unlawful to feed feral cats off one’s own property
- It’s unlawful to allow a dog to bark unabated
- It’s unlawful to keep a roster without a permit.
- Redeeming impounded animals: Animals will now be micro-chipped before release to an owner and now will include a $22 fee. For a second offense, the dog or cat must be spayed or neutered before release to an owner.
- Multiple Pets or Kennel Permit: Animal Control will notify adjacent property owners and tenants within 300 feet of the applicant’s property. Adjacent property owners and tenants will now be given 10-days to provide Animal Control with any written/verbal comments regarding any animal nuisances. The applicant may now appeal the Animal Control Supervisors decision to deny a permit. No more than 10-dogs are allowed.
- Barking Dog: a dog that barks, bays, cries, howls or makes noise for 30-60 minutes within a 24-hour period may be impounded by Animal Control.
- Updated the Authority, Entry on Private Property, Procedures, Violations and Remedies for Animal Control and Antioch Police when going onto Private Property.
- Keeping Animals & Bees
- Number of dogs – unlawful to keep more than 3-dogs that are required to be licenses
- Number of cats – It is unlawful for a person to keep more than 5-cats without a permit
- Number of fowl – its unlawful for a person to keep or maintain more than 10 each of ducks, geese, chickens or other fowl. No person may keep a rooster without a permit under section 6-1.601.
- Number of rabbits – no more than 10 domesticated rabbits may be kept on any parcel within the city.
- Bees – Bees may only be kept in an agricultural or open space zoning district and with a permit from the Animal Control Supervisor.
29 comments
One step forward, one step back.
So nice of the City Council to vote on something in Dec. and instead of sticking to their guns they listen to a bunch of animal lovers. To put this in perspective, imagine if those 20 people had not been at the meeting and instead were out cleaning up poop or trapping cats maybe we can get somewhere. Until people of these groups stop focusing on rescuing and focus on cleaning up the mess they create, I want this ordinance in place ASAP. I am tired of all the problems that come with these cats and smell of poop and pee on hot days. I bet once this issue dies, we never see or hear from a majority of these people again. And watching the video, the council let people from outside Antioch influence their decision.
The problem is not the people at the meeting defending these poor animals. The problem is the idiots that don’t spay and neuter the pets they want, then when they are no longer cute and cuddly, they dump them out in the streets to fend for themselves. Or even better, they leave them behind when they move, because they are to stupid to know better. I’ve worked with a rescue and have managed to keep 20 feral cats to just 20 feral cats, instead of letting them multiply. It was a lot of work. And we do manage to clean up after them to make sure there are no other problems. None of these cats were any of my neighbors. But we decided to do the right thing and work to fix the problem. Your comments are typical of the same type of people that would rather complain and put the problem on someone else, instead of being proactive to fix the problem. Be compassionate and proactive and problem can be fixed. Sit on your ass and watch a video of a meeting (that you probably talked back to) will accomplish nothing. FYI…these people do trap, spay and neuter, all on their own money or donations. Try volunteering at a rescue group and maybe it might educate you on the real problem and even make you a little smarter.
Council should have separated the feral cat issue and number of animal issue and approved the rest of the ordinance. I am tired of my neighbors barking dogs and I can tell you they have more than 3.
I don’t understand why the City did not invite these groups in to talk about solutions prior to bringing an ordinance forward? Wouldn’t that have saved so much wasted time?
This council’s problem is people showed up and they get scared sl. They cannot make a decision. Oh, except for Seeno, he contributes to their campaign funds so they will favor everything he wants.
Why don’t they put as much energy into a plan to fight crime? Antioch still doesn’t have one of those!
If your going to outlaw feeding cats on public grounds, you should outlaw feeding homeless or beggers on the side of the freeway coming off A Street in Antioch. Stupid law that will not get enforced.
Great point Brent, however I think there are already laws on the books. It’s called loitering and creating a public nuisance in a vehicle right of way. Antioch is ignoring the issue. When is Antioch going to address this serious problem, namely people begging and loitering on the traffic medians. This is a very unsafe and sooner or later someone is going to get hurt.
Just wait until a driver gets accosted or a beggar gets struck by a vehicle. Want to take a guess how long it will take for the city of Antioch to get sued? About 10 seconds.
Council members would be wise to take this up, and soon. Claiming ignorance will only get you so far. You can pay now, or pay later.
Pssssst….Antioch City council and Chamber of Commerce. No one wants to work, visit, live or shop in a city that is overrun by street beggars at every major intersection. Step up and deal with it.
Excellent points. I never do any shopping in Antioch except for Costco. I shop in Brenwood for the following reasons:
1) I feel safer
2) I feel safer
3) I feel safer
4) Brentwood employees seem to be slightly smarter and can understand the English language.
I don’t believe those freeway beggars come under Antioch’s jurisdiction. Doesn’t Hiway Patrol have to ticket them? Anyone have the answer?
If they are on the freeway then CHP will handle. If they are near an on-ramp they are in city limits so APD should handle.
Another interesting aspect in all of this, these TNR cat-lickers (criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible outdoor-cat-hoarders) who respew all the manipulative lies and deceptions of Alley-Cat-All-Lies are actually a very very very minor subset of the human population. They think they are a major force in the world and everyone in the world agrees with them. When in fact they are a meaningless and insignificant, highly ignorant few.
Here’s yet another reason that TNR is an ABSOLUTE FAIL.
In my research I was surprised there was a “magical” threshold that always seemed to appear, no matter the town, county, state, or even continent. It always ended-up being less than 0.4% of cats being trapped for TNR. If not consistently at the time, then due to the next year population growth of cats bringing it below that number, to match all the rest. (A far far cry from the required 75% to 85% to even begin to get TNR to start to work.)
I tried to figure out why this was so. It was a simple matter of human numbers.
Take for example the Facebook account of Alley Cat All-Lies. The number of people in agreement with them (number of “likes”) hovers around 65,000 to 75,000 people at all times. What an amazingly huge number of people! Right? The total number of Facebook members is now over 1,260,000,000 (1.26 billion). The average population of people on Facebook who are even the least bit interested in TNR is only 0.0055% of the population.
NO community, anywhere on earth, can get more than 0.0055% of its population interested in devoting even one cent toward these feral cats, not even a “likes” mouse-click while sitting at their keyboards. The other 99.9945% of the population (i.e. no-“like”; doesn’t agree with Alley-Cat-All-Lies’ beliefs, policies, manipulative deceptions, and lies) just want the cats gone, they don’t care how.
So, there you have what the internet can do. It can amplify the mentally-damaged, deranged, and phenomenally ignorant home-schooled voices of only 0.0055% of the population into a major problem for every person and every other living thing on earth. The number of people in favor of keeping feral cats alive doesn’t even come up to 1% of 1% of the population. Sort of puts it into perspective, doesn’t it. They are an insignificant population of people with less than 3rd-grade home-schooled educations and should be given just as much consideration and respect as they give to all other living things on earth — that be NONE — ABSOLUTELY NONE.
The next time politicians are deciding what to do about feral cats, I hope they keep in mind that they are being sadly and sorely manipulated by less than 0.0055% of their voters, cat-parasite-hijacked brain-damaged voters at that.
Be sure you test those cats for ALL of the following diseases, or I hope the recipient of one of them that is adopted-out or someone coming in contact with their disease-infested cats sues your city and politicians and every last TNR practitioner so bad that they never recover from it for the rest of their criminally negligent and criminally irresponsible sorry-excuses for lives. (For just one example of THOUSANDS, not long ago businesses in Miami were ruined by caretakers of feral-cats spreading hookworm in all the beaches. Lawsuits aplenty!)
These are just the diseases these invasive species vermin cats have been spreading to humans, not counting the ones they spread to all wildlife. THERE ARE NO VACCINES against many of these, and are in-fact listed as bio-terrorism agents. They include: Afipia felis, Anthrax, Bartonella (Rochalimaea) henselae, Bergeyella (Weeksella) zoohelcum, Campylobacter Infection, Cat Scratch Disease, Chlamydia psittaci (feline strain), Cowpox, Coxiella burnetti Infection (Q fever), Cryptosporidium Infection, Cutaneous larva migrans, Dermatophytosis, Dipylidium Infection (tapeworm), Hookworm Infection, Leptospira Infection, Giardia, Neisseria canis, Pasteurella multocida, Plague, Poxvirus, Rabies, Rickettsia felis, Ringworm, Salmonella Infection, Scabies, Sporothrix schenckii, Toxocara Infection, Toxoplasmosis, Trichinosis, Visceral larva migrans, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. [Centers for Disease Control, July 2010] Bovine Tuberculosis, Sarcosporidiosis, Flea-borne Typhus, Tularemia, and Rat-Bite Fever can now also be added to that list.
Yes, “The Black Death” (the plague) is alive and well today and being spread by people’s cats this time around. People have already died from cat-transmitted plague in the USA. For a fun read, one of hundreds of cases, Google for: Cat-Transmitted Fatal Pneumonic Plague
You did know, didn’t you, that giving a rabies shot to a cat that already has rabies does not cure it of rabies? Google for: RABID KITTEN ADOPTED WAKE COUNTY (for just one example of hundreds of rabid cats adopted from outdoors). The incubation period for rabies is, on average, from 21 to 240 days, sometimes up to 11 months, one rare case being 6 years. A vetted cat can STILL transmit rabies many months later (during the last 2 weeks before it dies of rabies) if it was harvested from unknown rabies-exposure conditions with an unknown vaccination history. May one of those cats you adopt-out have rabies too. Is your liability insurance in excess of $10M? Either quarantine them for 6 or more months at your OWN expense (as required by national and international law), or euthanize them. Those are your only 2 options to be relatively certain you are not handing rabies to someone. Isn’t reality fun?
Google for: RABIES PROMPTS CARLSBAD TNR CAT PROGRAM SUSPENSION
Rabies Outbreak Caused by TNR! 50+ Pets Euthanized. ALL Stray Cats Destroyed. All livestock destroyed. More than a dozen homeowners pay for their own $3000+ rabies shots for EACH family member.
Google for: Rabies Outbreak in Westchester County
Google for: Rabid Kitten Jamestown Exposure
There’s hundreds more like those on the net showing everyone how these phenomenally ignorant and foolish cat-lickers “help” their communities by allowing TNR CAT-HOARDERS to continue their criminally negligent behavior. And contrary to these cat-lickers’ perpetual LIES, feeding stray cats TRAINS them to approach humans for food. What do you think happens to the child or foolish adult that reaches down to try to pet or pick up that now seemingly friendly “cute kitty” that just approached them? The wild animal lashes out and bites or scratches the hand that has no food for them. Resulting in $3000+ rabies shots for each victim of a cat-feeder’s criminally negligent behavior, paid for out of the victim’s OWN pockets. Two reports even document rabid cats entering a pet-door and one even came through the family’s ceiling in search of human supplied foods, the attack so bad that the whole family required hospitalization.
This is why even the CDC has issued direct warnings against the use of these failed TNR programs anywhere and everywhere: onlinelibrary.wiley D0T com SLASH doi/10.1111/zph.12070/abstract
Then there’s cats’ most insidious disease of all, their Toxoplasma gondii parasite that cats spread through their feces into all other animals. This is how humans get it in their dinner-meats, cats roaming around stockyards and farms (herbivores can contract this parasite in no other way). This is why cats are routinely destroyed around gestating livestock or important wildlife by shooting or drowning them. So those animals won’t suffer from the same things that can happen to the unborn fetus of any pregnant woman. (Miscarriages, still-births, hydrocephaly, and microcephaly.) It can make you blind or even kill you at any time during your life once you’ve been infected. It becomes a permanent lifetime parasite in your mind, killing you when your immune system becomes compromised by disease or chemo and immunosuppressive therapies. It can last over a year in any soils or waters and not even washing your hands or garden vegetables in bleach will destroy the oocysts. Contrary to cat-lickers’ self-deceptive myths, a cat can become reinfected many times during its life and spread millions of oocysts each time. It’s now linked to the cause of autism, schizophrenia, and brain cancers; as well as increasing the suicide rate in women almost 2-fold even though they’ve never suffered from any mental or emotional health issues previously. This parasite is also killing off rare and endangered marine-mammals along all coastlines from cats’ T. gondii oocysts in run-off from the land, the oocysts surviving even in saltwater. A catastrophic ecological disaster of multi-continent-sized proportions worse than any oil-spill that has ever existed or could even be imagined.
Its strange life cycle is meant to infect rodents. Any rodents infected with it lose their fear of cats and are attracted to cat urine.
scitizen D0T com SLASH neuroscience/parasite-hijacks-the-mind-of-its-host_a-23-509 D0T html
Cats attract rodents to your home with their whole slew of diseases (like The Plague from rats and fleas, many people have died from cat-transmitted Plague in the USA already, it is alive and well and being spread by cats today). If you want rodents in your home keep cats outside of it to attract diseased rodents to your area. I experienced this phenomenon (as have many others), and all rodent problems disappeared after I shot and buried every last one of hundreds of cats on my lands.
Another interesting experiment. They wanted to find out if dogs could possibly transmit cat-shat Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. A dog infected with T. gondii from a source-cat cannot. That stage of the parasite’s life-cycle is 100% dependent on cat-physiology as its primary reproductive host. But if dogs ingest oocyst-laden cat-feces then dogs can pass the oocysts produced by cats & their common brain-hijacking parasite.
ncbi.nlm.nih D0T gov SLASH pubmed/9477489?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn
It is interesting to note: That these Toxoplasma gondii oocysts shed by cats can even survive the hydrochloric stomach acids for the duration that they remain in a mammal’s digestive tract. And then they doubt my words when I tell them of the studies where they found that this parasite’s oocysts (seeds) can even survive washing your hands in bleach. You could wash your hands and garden vegetables in hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes for the same duration that food remains in an animal’s digestive tract and even that won’t destroy it. Your hands would be dissolved into a digestible pulp long before you could kill the Toxoplasma gondii oocysts.
Yeah, “basic hygiene” is going to keep your kids safe from going blind sometime during their life, becoming autistic, or die if they ever require any immunosuppressive therapies during their lifetime if they had ever played in a sandbox that a neighbor’s cat has defecated in.
Go ahead, drink the cat-lickers’ Kool-Aid.
Then there’s cats’ most insidious disease of all, their Toxoplasma gondii parasite that cats spread through their feces into all other animals. This is how humans get it in their dinner-meats, cats roaming around stockyards and farms (herbivores can contract this parasite in no other way). This is why cats are routinely destroyed around gestating livestock or important wildlife by shooting or drowning them. So those animals won’t suffer from the same things that can happen to the unborn fetus of any pregnant woman. (Miscarriages, still-births, hydrocephaly, and microcephaly.) It can make you blind or even kill you at any time during your life once you’ve been infected. It becomes a permanent lifetime parasite in your mind, killing you when your immune system becomes compromised by disease or chemo and immunosuppressive therapies. It can last over a year in any soils or waters and not even washing your hands or garden vegetables in bleach will destroy the oocysts. Contrary to cat-lickers’ self-deceptive myths, a cat can become reinfected many times during its life and spread millions of oocysts each time. It’s now linked to the cause of autism, schizophrenia, and brain cancers; as well as increasing the suicide rate in women almost 2-fold even though they’ve never suffered from any mental or emotional health issues previously. This parasite is also killing off rare and endangered marine-mammals along all coastlines from cats’ T. gondii oocysts in run-off from the land, the oocysts surviving even in saltwater. A catastrophic ecological disaster of multi-continent-sized proportions worse than any oil-spill that has ever existed or could even be imagined.
Its strange life cycle is meant to infect rodents. Any rodents infected with it lose their fear of cats and are attracted to cat urine.
scitizen D0T com SLASH neuroscience/parasite-hijacks-the-mind-of-its-host_a-23-509 D0T html
Cats attract rodents to your home with their whole slew of diseases (like The Plague from rats and fleas, many people have died from cat-transmitted Plague in the USA already, it is alive and well and being spread by cats today). If you want rodents in your home keep cats outside of it to attract diseased rodents to your area. I experienced this phenomenon (as have many others), and all rodent problems disappeared after I shot and buried every last one of hundreds of cats on my lands.
Another interesting experiment. They wanted to find out if dogs could possibly transmit cat-shat Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. A dog infected with T. gondii from a source-cat cannot. That stage of the parasite’s life-cycle is 100% dependent on cat-physiology as its primary reproductive host. But if dogs ingest oocyst-laden cat-feces then dogs can pass the oocysts produced by cats & their common brain-hijacking parasite.
ncbi D0T nlm D0T nih D0T gov SLASH pubmed/9477489?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn
It is interesting to note: That these Toxoplasma gondii oocysts shed by cats can even survive the hydrochloric stomach acids for the duration that they remain in a mammal’s digestive tract. And then they doubt my words when I tell them of the studies where they found that this parasite’s oocysts (seeds) can even survive washing your hands in bleach. You could wash your hands and garden vegetables in hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes for the same duration that food remains in an animal’s digestive tract and even that won’t destroy it. Your hands would be dissolved into a digestible pulp long before you could kill the Toxoplasma gondii oocysts.
Yeah, “basic hygiene” is going to keep your kids safe from going blind sometime during their life, becoming autistic, or die if they ever require any immunosuppressive therapies during their lifetime if they had ever played in a sandbox that a neighbor’s cat has defecated in.
Go ahead, drink the cat-lickers’ Kool-Aid.
The TNR CON-GAME
FACT: Trap & Kill failed because cats cannot be trapped faster than they exponentially breed out of control.
FACT: Trap, Neuter, & Re-Abandon (TNR) is an even bigger abject failure because these man-made ecological disasters cannot be trapped faster than they exponentially breed out of control, and they also continue to cruelly annihilate all native wildlife (from the smallest of prey up to the top predators that are starved to death), and the cats continue to spread many deadly diseases that they carry today — FOR WHICH THERE ARE NO VACCINES AGAINST THEM. Many of which are even listed as bioterrorism agents. (Such as Tularemia and The Plague — Yes, people have already died from cat-transmitted plague in the USA. No fleas nor rats even required. The cats themselves carry and transmit the plague all on their own.)
FACT: THERE IS ABSOLUTELY _NOTHING_ HUMANE ABOUT TNR. Nearly every last TNR’ed cat dies an inhumane death by road-kill, from cat and animal attacks, environmental poisons, starvation, dehydration, freezing to death, infections, eaten from the inside-out by parasites, etc. And if very very lucky humanely shot to death or re-trapped and drowned (the two most common methods employed on all farms and ranches to protect their gestating livestock’s offspring and valuable native wildlife dying from cats’ Toxoplasmosis parasites). This doesn’t begin to count the thousands of defenseless native animals that cats skin alive and disembowel alive for their daily and hourly play-toys. And pitting cat against cat to fight-to-the-death for territory is ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENT than those who run criminal dog-fight rings to see who wins. They spend YEARS in jail. IT IS A HIGHLY PUNISHABLE CRIME TO FORCE *ANY* DOMESTICATED ANIMALS TO FIGHT EACH OTHER FOR THEIR VERY SURVIVAL.
FACT: The only difference in destroying cats immediately and humanely instead of trapping, sterilizing, then releasing them to an inhumane death and forcing them to fight-to-the-death for survival; is that money isn’t going into Becky Robinson’s Alley-Cat-All-Lies pocket, or an HSUS or SPCA board-member’s pocket, veterinarian’s pocket, cat-food company CEO’s pocket, or a drug-company CEO’s pocket. And that’s the ONLY difference! Support yet another organization that exploits and perpetuates the suffering of animals for their own personal financial gain, then try to sleep well at night.
FACT: These manipulative, deceptive, and deceitful TNR proponents are now clipping cats ears ONLY. WITHOUT vaccinations nor sterilizing them. They do this to save money and protect their outdoor hoarded cat colonies from being trapped and euthanized by the state because the clipped-ear shows officials that they have been sterilized and vaccinated. Why pay $140 for each cat and all that time when just a trap and a simple snip of scissors on each one can also protect their hoarded cats from being destroyed? (I have absolute proof of this.)
FACT: Cats are a man-made (through selective breeding) invasive species. And as such, are no less of a man-made environmental disaster than any other caused by man. Cats are even worse than an oil-spill of continent-sized proportions. They not only kill off rare and endangered marine-mammals along all coastlines from run-off carrying cats’ Toxoplasma gondii parasites, they destroy the complete food-chain in every ecosystem where cats are found. From smallest of prey gutted and skinned alive for cats’ tortured play-toys, up to the top predators that are starved to death from cats destroying their ONLY food sources. (Precisely what cats caused on my own lands not long ago.)
FACT: Hunted To Extinction (or in this case, extirpation of all outdoor cats) is the ONLY method that is faster than a species like cats can exponentially out-breed and out-adapt to. Especially a man-made invasive species like these cats that can breed 2X-4X’s faster than any naturally occurring cat-species.
FACT: In _FOURTEEN_YEARS_ Alley Cat ALL-LIES branch of NYC have only reduced feral cats in their own city by 0.08% to 0.024% (as the months go on that percentage becomes more insignificant), allowing more than 99.92% to 99.976% to exponentially breed out of control. Here’s how Alley-Cat-ALL-LIES’ deceptive math works: If you TNR 4 cats and 3 get flattened by cars this translates to 75% fewer feral-cats everywhere. Alley Cat ALL-LIES of NYC can’t even reduce cats in their own city, yet they promote it as a worldwide solution. Then even bigger fools fall for it and promote it.
FACT: When researching over 100 of the most “successful” TNR programs worldwide, JUST ONE trapped more than 0.4%. Oregon’s 50,000 TNR’ed cats (the highest rate I found) is 4.9% of all ferals in their state. Yet, by applying population growth calculus on the unsterilized 95.1% they will have trapped only 0.35% of all cats in their state sometime this year. Less than 0.4% is a far cry from the required 75%-85% to be the least bit effective.
FACT: Their mythical “vacuum effect” is a 100% LIE. A study done by the Texas A&M University proved that any perceived “vacuum” is just the simple case that CATS ATTRACT CATS. Get rid of them all and there are no cats there to attract more. I proved this myself by shooting and burying hundreds of them on my own lands. ZERO cats replaced them FOR FOUR YEARS NOW. If you want more cats, keep even one of them around, more will find you. That university study also found that sterilized cats very poorly defend any territory. Non-sterilized cats, being more aggressive, take over the sterilized cats’ resources (shelter & food if any). If there is any kind of “vacuum effect” at all, it is that sterilizing cats cause non-sterilized cats to restore the reproductive void.
FACT: During all this investigation I have discovered something that is unfaltering without fail. Something that you can bet your very life on and win every last time. That being — IF A TNR CAT-HOARDER IS TALKING THEN THEY ARE LYING. 100% guaranteed!
Thought the issue is dogs and cats. Unlike humans who sometimes get truly down on their luck and need a bit of help. People should not be so uppity about the less fortunate. Those beggars probably are not taking advantage like some section 8 entitlement people. At least the City was listening to its people instead of force feeding new laws arbitrarily.
I shop as much as I can in Antioch so the sales tax dollars remain here. Also, I have as yet encountered anyone who couldn’t speak English in the places that I shop in. Safety-look at the Brentwood, Antioch, P’Burg, Oakley crime log and tell me that we are the only city with problems.
Yes Richard,
You are so correct that every city has problems in crime, however, no one in their right mind would consider Antioch to be a safer city compared to Brentwood.
How irrelevant.
How about go to the nasty cat hoarders houses before give them any more privileges on taking care of more feral cats. These people have filthy houses and the have serious mental issues. 5 cats is way to many. Who needs 5 cats crapping everywhere in your neighbors yards. People should have to take care of just like dogs. They get out of your yard off to the pound they go. These cats at the schools in Brentwood & downtown Antioch need to be put to sleep. Between the unattended transients & cat crap down town we stopped walking & patronizing businesses because it’s disgusting. Antioch has a big dirty secret that no one wants to deal with. Before you hand over the key to the city to the nutty cat people visit their homes. Don’t let them turn Antioch into more of their hoarding issues. Someone has got to stop listening to these nut jobs. What is going on in this town? Cat issues can’t even be taken care of. Come to Antioch we do everything with kid gloves. Section 8 love us here. Politicians can’t make one lousy decision about feral cats. Come on!!! Do something for your citizens. We already live with crime. We live with human feces, urine & cat matter all over downtown Antioch. Go visit Benicia or even Martinez. Atleast they have a down to enjoy.
You hit the nail right on the head. Reading your post is so refreshing. I’m glad there are still people in this city that have the brains to see how ridiculous and disgusting this city is.
Moreover, you said it straight and without any candy coating. Kudos to you!!
Wish this site could put a filter on the stupid people that make stupid comments on things they really know nothing about!!!
Until you’ve been able to digest and comprehend all that I’ve already posted, the very people that you want to censor would be everyone who is exactly like you.
That bliss of self-inflicted ignorance within which you wallow all your sorry life is a wonderful thing, isn’t it. You never have to face-up to reality. And that is why we have this problem. Due to people EXACTLY LIKE YOU. YOU are the cause of the problem. You *ARE* the problem. This can never be solved with you being part of the solution because you cause and perpetuate it.
Here’s how you can make every last TNR CAT-HOARDER reveal just how ignorant, hypocritical, and self-deceptive they truly are. All with just ONE simple question:
“If you believe that these cats are a natural part of the environment and belong out in nature, then why are you even bothering to sterilize them?”
Your agreement to sterilize them IS YOUR VERY AGREEMENT THAT THEY DON’T EVEN BELONG THERE IN THE VERY FIRST PLACE.
Is this too far beyond your 3rd-grade home-schooled comprehension levels? Must be.
Ignorant self-deceptive hypocrite, much?
Asking or listening to any deranged invasive-species advocate for advice on how to clean up the ecological disaster that they created and perpetuate is about as useful as asking your local career thieves for their advice and help to hide your valuables from their daily motives, goals, and activities. Ignore anything they might say and you too will solve the problem where you live. They ARE the problem, they CANNOT be part of the solution.
It worked 100% where I live. I’ve not seen even ONE cat for 4 years now — where there used to be literally HUNDREDS of these vermin cats infesting my lands for decades. (Also totally disproving that cat-lickers’ “vacuum effect” lie and myth.)
Any non-native cat that is allowed to illegally hunt our native wildlife where I live then in turn gets hunted. No delays, no excuses, NO EXCEPTIONS. That’s the very best way to keep these invasive species vermin from destroying any more native wildlife. They had annihilated all the wildlife on my lands for 15+ years, until I shot and buried every last one of hundreds of them, collared or not. For you MUST destroy stray collared cats as well, they are the VERY SOURCE of every last feral cat. If you don’t destroy them too then you have done NOTHING to solve the feral cat problem. Guaranteed.
Licensing and laws do nothing to curb the problem. If cats are required to be licensed then cat-lickers just stop putting collars on their cats, as they did by me. And they won’t even bother getting them micro-chipped, especially not that They want absolutely nothing that can hold them legally accountable for the actions of their cats. We’re not talking about the topmost responsible citizens of the world. They don’t want that responsibility of what their cat has done coming back on them. If they had even one iota of a sense of responsibility and respect for all other lives on this planet we wouldn’t even be having these discussions.
I found something that DOES work, works well, and works fast (relative to the years it takes trying to educate deceitful and lying cat-lickers that accomplishes ABSOLUTELY NOTHING). Where I live cat-lickers have learned that _ALL_ cats, stray and feral, collared or not, ear-tipped or not (because TNR con-artists now just clip cats’ ears only, WITHOUT sterilizing or vaccinating them, to protect their hoarded cats from being trapped and euthanized), _ALL_ their cats are shot on sight and buried whenever found away from supervised confinement.
The ONLY thing that works is destroying any of their cats found outdoors off their property. They either learn to stop getting more cats that die under the wheels of cars or from animal attacks, or they finally learn how to be a responsible pet owner, respectful neighbor, and learn to keep their invasive species animal under confined supervision, as it should be. Win win win all around.
You can’t train a cat to stay home but I found that, in time, you CAN train a cat-owner into being a responsible pet-owner and a respectable neighbor. Most of them are so phenomenally stupid, disrespectful, and criminally irresponsible though that you have to make at least 12-15 of their cats permanently disappear before they even start to figure out what they’ve been doing wrong all during their sorry, useless, and pathetic lives. (Though the ones by me who were adopting cats from “barn cat programs” were uniquely cretinized and lobotomized. I had to shoot and bury many hundreds of their cats before they started to learn. Yes, some of them are just that pathetically stupid.)
If you live where its not legal to use firearms then check into 700-1200fps air-rifles and pointed vermin-pellets. Many of the new ones come with their own sound-suppressor designs built-in, specifically designed for shooting vermin cats in urban areas, the demand is that great. Failing that, then there’s always the SSS and TDSS Cat Management Programs that are exploding in popularity worldwide. Shoot, Shovel, & Shut-Up; or Trap, Drown, Shovel, & Shut-Up. Both methods are legal on every square foot of this earth. No local laws were violated if it never happened. (Where cats have already learned to evade all trapping methods, then inexpensive generic acetaminophen (overseas paracetamol) pain-relievers are a more species-specific vermin poison — a method condoned by even Audubon, Smithsonian, and National Geographic today. But you really need to dispose of that cat safely so that wildlife won’t die from the deadly diseases cats spread even after their death.)
I don’t see anyone dumping cats where I live anymore. They don’t even adopt more than can be kept under lock & key 24/7. When driving through the area I don’t see even one cat on anyone’s doorsteps anymore. I always keep an eye out to see if there are more free-roaming cats that will have to be shot. And if I’ll have to leave fish-oil trails on all the roadsides again, leading right to my IR surveillance system and laser-sighted rifle. (You can read some of the most effective methods I invented to rid my lands of hundreds of these vermin in only two seasons, posted here: americanhunter D0T org SLASH blogs/arkansas-will-trap-feral-cats The eradication so complete and effective that cats are non-existent from my area for 4 years now. Not seen a one.)
Leaving ANY of their invasive species cats outside in my area means certain death for that cat, their further existence can be counted in hours. You’d think everyone else could learn from this simple lesson. The quickest way to solve an unwanted animal and irresponsible pet-owner problem is to let everyone know that you will quickly and humanely destroy every last one of their unwanted, uncared-for, or unsupervised animals for them. They either grow up fast or, far more plausible, dump their animals elsewhere to become someone else’s problem.
You just can’t be an enabler of criminally irresponsible spineless and heartless idiots — or they remain that way. (At least where you live, anyway.)
IF THERE ARE NOT DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE IRREVERSIBLE CONSEQUENCES TO THEIR CRIMINALLY-NEGLIGENT AND CRIMINALLY-IRRESPONSIBLE BEHAVIORS AND VALUES THEN THEY LEARN ABSOLUTELY *NOTHING*.
Woods,
I see you have a novel here and I do not understand most of your posts as they go way beyond my knowledge of feral cats. Can you please sum it up in laymen’s terms? Stray feral cats are a nuisance and multiply like rats. I do not like them because they are like rats.There must be some positive use for them like catching rats and mice to eat.Do you think that we should eliminate them from the earth or what? Some countries actually eat cat meat.Should we catch and send them there?
“Cats make good rodent control” is a centuries’ old myth.
The rodents reproduce in burrows and holes out of the reach of cats, where they are happy to reproduce forever to entertain cats the rest of their lives, and make your own lives miserable, on into infinity. On top of that, when cats infect rodents with cat’s Toxoplasma gondii parasite, this hijacks the minds of rodents to make the rodents attracted to where cats urinate. (Google for: Parasite Hijacks the Mind of Its Host) Cats actually attract disease-carrying rodents to where cats are (and the cats then contract these diseases on contact with, or being in proximity to, these rodents). Further increasing the cat/rodent/disease density of this happy predator/prey balance. It has been documented many many times. The more cats you have the more rodents you get.
Look at any island that had cats imported to take care of the imported rodents hundreds of years ago as some simple and concrete proof of this cat/rodent balance. All the native wildlife is either gone or on the brink of extinction with nothing but a healthy population of cats and rodents thriving on into infinity. Cats DO NOT get rid of rodents. I don’t care how many centuries that fools will claim that cats keep rodents in-check, they’ll still be wrong all these centuries. Civilizations of humans have come and gone in great cities like Egypt, yet their cats and rodents remain in even greater pestilent numbers.
No cat population anywhere has EVER been able to control rodents. But native predators can — easily.
Due to all the heinous and deadly diseases that cats carry and spread today, it would be wrong to advise they be used for food or anything in this day and age (even in jest). The risk to anyone dressing them for even the use of their furs today (as they were commonly used in the past) could be deadly to the people involved.
I tried feeding one of the shot-dead cats on my land to the last few starving predators (almost all the rest of my native wildlife starved to death from cats destroying all their food sources). Thinking that for once these invasive-species cats could give back for what they had destroyed and wasted during their existence — giving the remainder of the starved-out predators a much needed protein boost. Those animals promptly died from some disease in that cat-meat. Alarming — in that that particular species, due to their cooler body temperatures, cannot contract nor transmit many common diseases, not even rabies. They are one of the most disease-free mammals. Yet … something in that cat-meat was able to kill the wildlife that were under my care (2 adults, 3 offspring they had while under my care). Cats truly are complete and total wastes of flesh. They can’t even be used to safely feed wild animals. Leaving any of these invasive-species cats out in nature, alive OR dead, is no better than intentionally poisoning your native wildlife to death.
When ridding your lands of cats please do so in a manner where you can safely and sanitarily retrieve that useless carcass and dispose of it so no other life comes in contact with it. Your wildlife and neighbors will thank you. If using guns, I’d even advise against using a shotgun (the tool of choice in the past), too much disease-filled splatter. Make it clean as possible. Wear gloves while disposing of the cat-carcasses and even bury or burn those gloves too when the last cat is finally gone.
Someone once asked me, “Think hard, is there ANY usefulness to these cats roaming free in nature, in case we can never get the problem under control.”
Rodent-control? No. They actually cause an increase in rodents and zoonotic disease density and destroy all the better native rodent predators. I thought long and hard, knowing as much as I do about the nature of nature, and came up empty where cats are concerned. They have absolutely ZERO VALUE in nature. (In fact, due to how many thousands of native species they are destroying at exponential rates, it’s safe to say cats are a HUGE negative value in nature.)
I thought about this problem for a long time. How could any animal species be this completely useless to all native life on earth? Well, it is a human-engineered animal, so that would explain part of the reason why they are such a huge mistake. But after much consideration I found they had ONE and ONLY ONE value out in nature.
I am not a hunter, I hadn’t even owned a rifle until the sheriff and other land-owners told me it was the only and best way to rid one’s lands of cats. I found that by having to clear my lands of cats that cat-owners and their cats showed and proved to me I had a hidden skill as an expert marksman. Which, now that cats are gone and my land is starting to recover from cat-devastation the area is becoming excellent habitat for wild-turkeys, grouse, and other ground-nesting birds that are starting to appear in abundance. (All this ground-nesting NATIVE wildlife that cats had previously annihilated.) This newfound marksman skill of mine might come in handy to provide myself with a natural food-source one day.
One of the very last cats I had shot was about 100 yards away in the dead of the night (2am) one winter as it took a full-run at 90-degrees from my vantage point, down a shoveled snow-path out to the road. The only light was the laser-sight’s light bouncing off the snow. I fired into the pitch dark, to where I knew the cat was running to. I went out to check to make sure it wasn’t suffering, but didn’t find it, figuring I missed. NOBODY could have made that shot, I thought. The next morning I found it behind a kick of snow not 2 feet from where I had aimed into the dark that night. It must have died in mid-bound and dropped right there, running at full speed, 100 yards away, in the pitch dark. If anyone wants to get their rifle or hunting skills up to snuff I HIGHLY advise they use cats for lessons. Hunters I’ve known often advise this, but I didn’t believe them until I had to shoot cats myself. Shooting cats with their wary, darty, and furtive behavior and small size are much more difficult targets than anyone would first think. And if you love animals, as much as I do, and don’t want any of them to suffer, you’ll be damned sure you are an excellent shot. You won’t pull that trigger unless you are instinctively certain that that cat is going to die instantly.
So far, this is the ONLY value they have when found out unattended in nature — improving human hunters’ skills (for we are, after all, a natural hunter/gatherer species). The oft-spewed use as rodent control is bogus (as I’ve already proved), only native predators can properly keep rodents in-check. In fact the miniscule 1.75-inch Masked Shrew, a David & Goliath story of the animal-kingdom, even evolved with a poisonous bite, the only mammal to have one, specifically for preying on rodents right where they breed. These remarkable miniature rodent-predators are always destroyed first by cats. There are so many native predators that belong here which are MUCH better at rodent control. There’s a reason one was even named “The Barn Owl” and another “The Rat Snake”. (Most cats actually run from rats.)
Otherwise all that cats do is destroy all of whatever ecosystem they happen to be found in. Not much value in that, now is there. Practice targets for training humans to be better hunters. That’s it. That’s the ONLY thing they are good for out in nature.
While long time loose cats and dogs are definitely a public nuisance, this is why we all have “Animal Control”, which your tax dollars pays for. Likewise, being a cat and dog owner, these animals must be properly cared for by the Owners, which are completely responsible for the same. Some crimes against animals can be prosecuted a Felony in the State of California. This issue is important to the local citizens and should be directed to the City Council and Animal Control.
With all that said, You Citizens of Antioch should pay very close attention to your crime rate, including break ins and violence. I would encourage each of you to form a neighborhood watch and keep a watch on each other. It is important to get to know each of your neighbors. Likewise, for home protection, I would encourage each of you to get a High Powered air rifle that are definitely “Man Stoppers”-up to 50 Caliber rounds for large game. These require no license and ownership thereof is protected by State and Federal Law. With that said, please visit http://www.pyramydair.com. These are not fire arms and are relatively safer, yet care must be taken around children, as with anything dangerous. My neighborhood in Stockton is all together with an expansive neighborhood watch program and most are armed accordingly, and no crime. In addition, Stockton Police and City Government have put out all their resources to targe high crime areas and drive out and take out the bad guys. For a City of 300,000, the murder rate went from almost 80 in 2012 to around 30 in 2013. Be forewarned Antioch that when these bad guys are driven out of 1 city, they tend to migrate to other areas like Antioch. Have any doubts Antioch Citizens? Just take a walk down Sycamore Street at night and you’ll find out. Of course, please DO NOT do that as that this is a very Bad Area where bad things happen and people get shot and mugged all of the time!
Antioch, please stay focused on the substantive issues, Crime and Punishment in Antioch.
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