Cats found on construction site

The clearing of an area has doubled as a forced relocation for wild felines.

The process started Monday on a plot of land behind the Sunoco gas station on U.S. 70. The owner of the land who wished to remain anonymous plans to either sell the land or place a business on the spot. While the land was full of trees and shrubbery, a colony of feral cats made homes there.

On Tuesday, Lenoir County SPCA President Jerry Henderson released a statement which said It has come to the attention of the SPCA that an urban lot, which is home to a colony of feral cats, is being bulldozed. The feral cats will lose their home and some may even lose their lives. This is a disheartening and tragic situation. There are people that willblame the firm hired to clear the property and some that will blame the SPCA. The demolition firm is doing what they were hired to do. People may ask how the SPCA can let this happen and we wish there were something we could do, however the SPCA has no enforcement authority and our role is to provide humane care for the companion animals brought to the shelter.Feral cats that become a nuisance are trapped by the local animal control officers, who are employees of the city or county, and taken to local veterinarians where they are euthanized after a three days unless reclaimed by an owner. Feral cats do not come to the SPCA shelter at all. This is a problem managed totally by the local governments.

The tragedy is that, in the absence of any spay and neuter regulations, unwanted cats have to forage for food and hide from predators. Their life is not easy and some local groups do what they can to make their life better. The answer is the elimination of feral cats by progressive education and regulatory programs that ultimately match the cat population to the community needs. One organization, Save-A-Cat, has been caring for the cats, along with trying to get them spayed, neutered, trained and sent to receive rabies shots. Sharon Houston, vice president of the organization, said there wasnt enough notification time to move the felines.

The cats had been living there for several years, Houston said. We were trying to relocate them but they scattered when the bulldozers came. All of the cats were tame or were getting tame, so now we have to try to get them back to feeling comfortable around people. We werent notified until Thursday afternoon, so we tried to figure out what to do.

Lynn Everett, owner of Everetts Clearing and Grading, said he tried to do everything he could to help the cats while still doing his job.

When I found out we were going to do the job last Wednesday, I called my sister who does a lot with animals, contacted animal control and contacted (Houston) and let them know we were clearing the lot, Everett said. We were out (Monday) morning trying to help with cats and have done everything we can not to hurt them.

I cant sit here all day and chase cats, but weve checked the area while taking trees down and if (Houston) says there are cats in the area, we try to be real careful. I wouldnt ever run over one deliberately and I dont want to hurt them.

Houston said the workers have been helpful during the time, as well as other residents.

The construction workers have been cooperative, Houston said. Its their job to go out and clear the area, so its understandable. Weve had people come by and try to find kittens, so there have been some good people helping out.

Go here to see the original:
Cats found on construction site