Reduce cat population humanely

A cat in a trap that the caregiver brought in to Humane Ohio to be neutered.

In response to your Feb. 11 editorial “Killer kitties”: Many studies prove that humans are killing more birds than any other species. The major cause of bird species loss is habitat destruction by human activities such as urban sprawl, road building, and pesticide use.

People should humanely reduce the free-roaming cat population. Spaying or neutering means fewer stray and feral or wild cats. That’s something that people who like cats and people who do not like cats should be happy about.

Humane Ohio recently spayed or neutered 2,516 free-roaming cats in Toledo’s 43605 and 43609 ZIP codes. As a result, the Toledo Area Humane Society’s cat intake went down by 34 percent in the 43605 ZIP code and by 50 percent in the 43609 ZIP code. The trap-neuter-return practice is effective in humanely reducing the free-roaming cat population and preventing more litters from being born.

Trapping and killing do not solve the problem, because other cats will take over food and other resources. Trap-and-kill is costly to taxpayers.

Humane Ohio offers a low-cost spay or neuter price to fix free-roaming cats. It is free in the 43605, 43609, and 43615 ZIP codes, and $25 outside these areas. We also lend easy-to-use humane traps.

JILL BORKOWSKI

Marketing Director Humane Ohio

Tremainsville Road

Thank goodness for ‘killer kitties’

Your editorial paints the wrong picture about cats. They kill 12.3 billion mammals a year, but not just cute voles and chipmunks. Cats also kill rats and mice.

When cats were hunted and killed in the Middle Ages as associates of the devil, their absence heralded the arrival of bubonic plague and the death of one-third of Europe’s population.

Critics of the cat can have their choice: fewer bluebirds singing their songs, or yards teeming with rats and mice. Cats are a necessary protector of our species.

THOMAS PAPPS

Cheltenham Road