Free cats are cats that have no legal owner (but may have a steady feeder). The term was coined by Prof. Adi Tzemach of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to replace common derogatory terms. Italy, the leader of the western world in moral treatment of animals, calls them "free living cats".
Living harmoniously with free cats is fairly simple and possible problems can be solved by common sense. Unfortunately, the "cat haters" and to less degree their lovers, contribute to create a major problem. The "cat lovers" adopted an unfounded self-defeating ideology whose principles are borrowed from their opponents! In addition, lots of emotion, positive and negative, is projected on the poor felines and contribute to their continuing persecution. We need more rational thinking and less emotions disguised as "professional approaches".
This website is dedicated to a critical examination of the four reasons (actually just three) free cats are persecuted and the four methods proposed to solve the "cat problem". We will try to provide insights on other aspects of this interesting problem.
The following is a tentative table of contents:
Part I: The four reasons for free cat persecution
- Nuisance - Is it serious? Legitimate and illegitimate complaints. Listing common nuisances and their practical solutions.
- Zoonotic diseases - Putting the dangers in proportion. The need for a scientific re-evaluation of the dangers. Should we reduce the cat population or do cats have a beneficial influence on public health? Modern methods of addressing the problem.
- Rabies (which is also a zoonotic disease) - Putting the devilish danger in proportion. Is population density reduction efficient? Non-lethal methods are better.
- Predation of birds and reptiles - Review of modern research showing the influence of cat predation is negligible except in extraordinary cases. Effective non-lethal means of reducing cat predation. A pseudo scientific witchunt?
Part II: The four solutions for the "free cat problem"
- Ignoring the cats - Not bad as it may seem. Probably the most common solution choosed.
- Systematic killing - Even bad than it seems. An early European idea that complemented burning people and other primitive pastimes. May increase danger to public health.
- Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) - Good in theory bad in practice. TNR (and its variants) addresses only a subset of nuisance problems and only some zoonotic concerns. Surgical neutering is impractical due to the large density of cats in urban areas.
- The Rafalovitz Method - The real solution. This new method integrates: encouraging cat feeding, mediation between cat feeders and their neighbors, neighbor education, feeder training, fencing, blocking entry routes (e.g. no-jump window sills), local neutering, cleaning and preparing defecation points, winter shelters, using pyriproxyfen against fleas and a little bit of tolerance and common sense.
Part III: Various topics related to the problem
- Why cats are hated? What can we learn from the persecution of cats about men and civilization?
- Why cats are loved? Profile of a cat lover. Pets and pests are two sides of the same coin.
- Who benefits from cat killings? The indirect benefactors may be a surprise.
- Should cats live in homes or are they a kind of wildlife? What history tells us about this? The new western concept of a pet (and child).
- Why the legions of cat feeders fight back so rarely for their proteges? Two problems: low self image and the notion that cats don't have a right to live unmolested. How many feeders there are? (quick answer: ~10%). The key to success in cat politics - good organization.
- Should the minimization of suffering be the basis of morality or do animals have a right to live? The moral perversion of morality by some "animal rights organizations". Cats are intelligent beings each one with a unique personality. Quality of life of free cats compared to house cats allowed outside.
- Is the population of free cats "exploding" or "out of control"? Why don't we swim in cats? Some results of research. But isn't there a surplus of adoptable cats?
- How many free cats there are? How many were born in homes and how many were born outside?
- Should neutering be taken lightly, considered a panacea or become a new religious principle? Isn't neutering a crippling operation done without consent? Often overlooked negative side effects of neutering. Do talking on the cons of neutering makes one a backwards anti-neuter proponent? Hormonal birth control is less dangerous than propaganda says.
- Should we blame and pressure people who dump their cats? Why raising a cat at home is so difficult for so many people? Some problems: fear, hairs falling out, furniture scratching, allergies, high cost and feline behaviors that don't fit well with middle class life styles. What to do with cats left without good homes.