WHY DO WE HAVE FERAL CATS ON THE NORTH SHORE?

Feral cats exist in every country and every community, but cities like ours have more than most.

Because Vancouver is a port, there are incredible numbers of rats and mice on our waterfront.

Grain cars moving along the North Shore train tracks constantly spill grain along their route, providing rats and mice with a huge and continuous source of food.

Garden composters usually contain vegetable peelings, egg shells and other edible waste materials. Rats and mice are attracted to these composters and thus provide another continuous source of food for feral cats. If we didn’t have feral cats in our communities we would be dealing with an overwhelming rodent infestation in our houses.

Waterways that flow to the ocean are a conduit for rodent infiltration into the surrounding communities.

Generally mild weather conditions, the ocean location, and a grain source combine to give the North Shore a continuing large number of rats and mice, consequently providing ideal conditions to sustain a large feral cat population on the waterfront and tending to push some feral cats into outlying communities. *
(*Source – prepared by Pacific Animal Foundation)
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GOING GREEN TO HELP THE ENVIRONMENT

Did you know . . . ?

Organic farmers list feral cats under their rodent control methods when registering with the United States Dept. of Agriculture.*
(*Source – from Alley Cat Allies)
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VACUUM EFFECT

Feral cats establish territories based on availability of food sources and shelter. If the cats are removed from this environment through “trap and kill”, other new cats quickly move in to take advantage of those resources. These new unsterilized cats will breed to the capacity of this site. The vacuum effect has been documented around the world. *

(*Source – Care Feline Rescue, Inc.)