News Briefs for the Week of February 17, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Feral Cats Find New Friends
In a development thrilling to those concerned with feral cat issues, the Center for Animal Control (CACC) in New York City has agreed, for the first time, to test a pilot trap-neuter-release program in collaboration with Neighborhood Cats, a non-profit organization. The new program is currently being tested in just one Manhattan zip code, but if it is successful, it will be expanded into a larger, more comprehensive program, according to Ruth Sharp, the president of Neighborhood Cats. "We hope that in time the program will show that the euthanasia levels [at the CACC] have dropped [and] complaints have dropped," she says, as they have with similar programs in San Francisco and San Diego. "This is a cost-effective way-it's not only cost-effective, it's humane." As recently as a year ago, there wasn't much, if any, support, information or resources available in New York City for feral cats.
However, things are looking dramatically better for street-tough kitties. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and other organizations are now offering a variety of services for the caretakers of feral cat colonies, including monthly workshops on colony management taught by Neighborhood Cats at the ASPCA, and a brand-new mobile spay-neuter van. "We're hoping that we can demonstrate that trap-neuter-release can actually work in New York City," says Sharp.
To learn more about trap-neuter release programs, visit Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org, or write to them at 1801 Belmont Road NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC, 20009-5164.
- New Tests Recommended for Diabetic Cats
Spot glucose tests are often used to check the blood sugar levels of diabetic cats. But according to Margarethe Hoenig, DVM, PhD, professor of physiology, pharmacology and small animal medicine at the University of Georgia, diabetic cats apparently respond to the stress of routine spot glucose tests with raised blood sugar levels, making the test results inaccurate. Therefore, if your cat is diabetic, Hoenig recommends that you have your vet test your cat for levels of glycosylated hemoglobin or fructosamine, instead. Since these tests measure levels of glucose in the blood that has been there for weeks, they can give a more accurate assessment of your diabetic cat's condition.
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