Letter to the editor: Cats don’t vanish under feeding bans

Feeding ban on cats cruel, ineffective

By imposing a feeding ban on cats, Plum is disregarding what so many other communities have already learned the hard way: outlawing feeding policies are cruel and consistently fail as a means of managing populations of community cats. Calls about cats won’t diminish, either.

Cats won’t vanish after attempts to starve them to death — they’ll just look for food in other places. As cats roam farther in search of food, they become more visible, which will bring more calls to local authorities.

The best approach is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) — a mainstream approach that has been in place in communities throughout Western Pennsylvania for decades. It is humane, preferred by the public, and continues to grow in popularity because it works. TNR is sound public policy.

TNR effectively and humanely manages the community cat population, reduces shelter intake and “euthanasia” numbers, and reduces calls to animal control agencies. With all these benefits, TNR saves money for taxpayers, too.

Today’s society demands solutions and lifesaving programs, not unpopular feeding bans that harm cats without achieving any positive outcomes.

Becky Robinson

President and Founder, Alley Cat Allies

Bethesda, Md.