“I’ll feed him a little treat,” he said. “I ain’t prejudiced.”
If a majority of Export council members have their way, however, Sever, who lives on Monroe Circle in the Westmoreland County borough, and kind-hearted people like him, will not be allowed to put out food for any of the animals that come into his own yard.
Council directed its solicitor on Jan. 4 to draft an ordinance banning the feeding of stray or feral animals, an issue which arose when Sever’s neighbor complained about the group of about 20 community cats or so he feeds on a regular basis.
According to several groups that work to manage stray or feral cat populations, a feeding ban is not a solution at all.
“They’ll become more of a nuisance, because they’ll start breaking into garbage cans when they’re looking for a new food source,” said Becky Morrow, an assistant professor at Duquesne University’s Department of Biological Sciences and a faithful member of Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue, a nonprofit group that conducts regular trap, neuter and release alternatives to manage stray and feral cat populations.
“At Duquesne, we’ve done some research and found that trap, neuter and release is effective in decreasing nuisance behavior,” Morrow said. “The fighting, vocalization and nuisance behavior is usually exhibited by intact cats who have not been spayed or neutered. Once that happens, the urine smell changes, the hormonal smell is gone, and that type of (behavior) is very much minimized.”
Jean Stelmak, president of Spayed and Neutered Indiana PA Pets, or SNIPS, said that not only are programs like Frankie’s Friends effective as a long-term solution, commercially available powders and sprays can be an effective short-term solution.
“If (Sever) is willing to get them spayed or neutered, as well as provide a food source and a shelter, they’ll pretty much hang around that specific place,” Stelmak said.
Sever said he has already spoken with local officials from the Humane Society of the United States about getting the cats fixed.
“I already told the council I’m willing to get the cats fixed,” Sever said. “But now they’re going to pass a stupid ordinance that they won’t be able to enforce. I have three cats inside, and one of them is constantly going in and out, and I feed him on my back porch. So how the hell are they going to know what animals I’m feeding (to enforce the ordinance)?”
Sever sees the cats as more of a help to the community than a hindrance.
“I used to have mice in my garage; these cats cleaned them out,” he said. “They bring two or three dead moles a week onto my porch, and they don’t even eat them. They just play with them.”
Morrow said her department has explored scientifically validated and ethical ways that work better than either a feeding ban or the outright elimination of the cats, which Export Mayor Michael Calder has endorsed.
“(Eradication) is not a valid solution,” Morrow said. “Where there are resources, more cats will come.”
Sever said he just wants the animals to be cared for and be allowed to live.
“The mayor says they need to just come in and kill them all — that isn’t going to happen on my watch,” he said.
***UPDATE***
Less than a week after Export council directed solicitor Wes Long to begin drafting the ordinance, a local cat group stepped in to help.
Members of the Homeless Cat Management Team brought cat traps to Sever’s home on Saturday, he said, and conducted a spay/neuter clinic right in his basement on Sunday.
“The cost is about $30 per cat, and we’ve already raised about $200,” Sever said.
The cats were housed at Sever’s house for 24 hours, as anesthesia from the spaying and neutering procedures wore off. Sever added that eight of the 20 cats which were trapped and fixed have been fostered. The rest were released on Wednesday.
For more on the Pittsburgh-based team, or to make a donation, visit HomelessCat.org or call 412-321-4060.