Such a small group working consistently in their area has proven that this problem can be beaten. Happy Cat Haven has my admiration.

Feral cats are everywhere, urban centers as well as rural areas. The longer they're left to their own devices, the bigger the problem gets. I really wondered if the problem could be beaten. So this article was extremely encouraging.

Obviously killing them isn't the answer. As fast as you kill one, another will arrive -- UNTIL you start doing some serious altering. The answer is Trap-Neuter-Release as this Gibsons group has shown.

In fact, there is so much information on the web about TNR that you'd have to call it common knowledge now that TNR is an effective way to deal with feral populations.

I have to take my hat off to the SPCA manager who bluntly said "we euthanize cats here". It's a start. The public has to take some responsibility and as long as they think the SPCA is like an orphanage or sanctuary for unwanted animals, people won't feel bad about taking cats there. People have to know that they're dying. It's better than sweeping the euthanasia issue under the rug. But the SPCA could learn a thing or two from some determined volunteers who have cleaned up their area without the SPCA's budget.

The contrast between what the SPCA has achieved in reducing the cat population and what the little group in Gibsons has achieved is startling. That won't be lost on donors for long.