Loose, Domestic dogs & feral/stray cats

In many nature parks I visit, offleash dogs are a problem. I am contacting the parks whenever I see this behavior as it has always been unlawful in the parks that I visit. It would be helpful to both other trail users and animals in the parks if more people would inform the parks departments of these infractions. If I have cell phone signal, I have been able to contact the parks quite easily through the information service on my phone. I am usually asked for a description of the dog and (if present) any associated person(s)/vehicle(s). It would be helpful if anyone calling this kind of information in notice a few of these details when possible.

As far as feral cats in neighborhoods, I have found these are very easy to trap with a medium sized live trap. A very good bait I have used in the past is canned Jack Maceral which can be found in grocery stores. Pouring some of this on newspaper is good enough to draw in any nearby cats. The cats can then be taken to the nearest animal control office. Despite what some self-serving interest groups claim, I have found that when I trap the cats they are not so quickly replaced. Generally, removing them has produced good results. It is simply a matter of using the right trap and bait so as to get all loose cats in the area. Another effective strategy has been to find their source of food, often apartment dwellers or store personnel. Once these sources have been identified, I have had good success explaining my concerns to the building owners. I cannot remember of a single incident where notifying a building owner has not resulted in a change of behavior.

It is unfortunate that so many people dump cats or let them run wild where they are ran over, become a source of disease, and become a nuisance for people and wildlife. Let's all work together to get cats where they are safe and belong, indoors.