By Erica Jackson
It is estimated that there are 70 million feral cats living in United States. They are a constant problem, says National Geographic News: they kill bird populations and carry diseases, such as rabies and ringworm that can be transmitted to humans and domestic cats. But, in Smithtown, George Beatty, animal shelter supervisor, says his department is slowly getting a handle on the local situation.
According to Beatty, the town has been very successful with a new program that encourages residents to trap pesky feral cats and have them picked up by shelter personnel to be spayed or neutered at the resident’s cost. The cats are then released back were they were caught.
“The community has really gotten involved,” said Beatty. To date, the program has trapped and released some 250 feral cats.
Yes, Beatty said, residents must foot the $50 bill for the spay or neutering, but in many cases, he said, neighbors chip in for the service. The shelter, he said, will provide the trap and transportation.
While feral cats will remain at large, Beatty said the program aims to keep their population at bay. “If there are seven feral cats in an area, that number will remain at seven. There won’t be a litter of kittens,” he said.
The feral cat problem, he said, will continue to escalate, if residents continue to feed the feral cats, but don’t work with the town to have them spayed or neutered. “We understand the inclination to feed the cats, but it needs to be understood that it is more than feeding to take care of these cats. The message is not to just feed, but to spay and neuter.”
While the shelter does not take in feral cats, it does accept unwanted domestic cats in its year-old sun-room that was built specifically to accommodate felines.
Presently at capacity, filled with 75 cats, the shelter’s cat adoption program has been very successful, said Beatty. He explained that as one cat is adopted another is welcomed.
Right now, he said, there is a two month waiting list to surrender a cat and more often than not, Beatty has found that the cat’s owner will have a change of heart during the waiting period.
“Pretty much all our animals get adopted,” said Beatty. That includes canines that are surrendered to the shelter for a variety of reasons. Most often, he said the owners would prefer to keep their pets, but they are moving to a new residence that won’t allow pets or they find their children are allergic to the animal’s fur.
But before any animal is accepted into the shelter, it must be neutered or spayed. “We request that the owner pay for that,” said Beatty. While the fee for cats is $50, for dogs the fee depends on the weight of the dog. “It can run anywhere between sixty and a hundred and fifty dollars,” said Beatty.
Currently, the shelter has 25 dogs available for adoption. The facility can hold up to 30 dogs. And unless, a dog has a severe aggression problem, Beatty said the shelter has been able to find homes for all its animals.
Part of the shelter’s success, said Beatty is its volunteer program. Beatty said the shelter has a constant flow of volunteers that sit with the cats and walk the dogs on a wooded, natural trail that runs behind the shelter.
“It is very peaceful for the volunteers,” said Beatty.
Many times while the volunteers are spending time with the animals, they fall in love and wind up adopted one or more, Beatty explained.
The shelter’s website, www.petfinder.com/shelters/ny53.html, has also been a great resource. The website lists all of the shelter’s animals that are ready for adoption, including Maple, a short hair gray tabby; Zero a baby short-hair; Hercules, a black short-hair male; Dakota, a male Collie; Duke, a Jack Russell Terrier; and Diva, a female Shih Tzu.
“So many times we hear that rescue dogs make the best pets. It’s like they know they have been given a second chance,” said Beatty, who has rescued cats and dogs himself. “It makes you feel good to adopt an animal.”
While there numerous reputable shelters across Long Island, Beatty encourages those looking for that perfect pet, to “think global, but act local” by remembering that there are perfect pets available right in town.
Aside from providing shelter services, the Smithtown Animal Shelter is also responsible for enforcing the town’s animal nuisance laws. “We try not to give out tickets,” said Beatty, for example barking dogs, but instead, he said, employes are trained to mediate the situation . “These people are often neighbors and will be for a long time so we try and solve the problem, rather than give out tickets.”
Most of the time he said, the owners of the barking dog, don’t even know their dog has been barking.
Shelter employees also handle injured animals, such as squirrels, birds, and ducklings. Beatty says the shelter is often called out to rescue ducklings that have fallen down a storm drain. “They are following mama duck, and fall one by one into a storm drain.”
All rescued animals are brought to a proper rehabilitation center.
As always, the shelter welcomes volunteers as well as monetary donations and donations of blankets.