Recognizing that the burgeoning feral cat population is a problem that needs to be addressed on a county level, Nassau County Legislators Denise Ford (R-Long Beach) and Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove) recently held a well attended public hearing to learn firsthand about potential solutions from a legion of volunteers, participating veterinarians and organizations who have been working to reduce these populations humanely, effectively and cost-efficiently.

Colonies of homeless cats live hard lives. Most have never known the comforts of domestication, having been born wild and knowing no other life. Experts say that efforts to tame them are futile.

Stray cats, abandoned by their owners for various reasons, become feral within a matter of months, although with time and patient intervention they may become re-socialized. Many of the strays have never been spayed or neutered. Un-sterilized males roam looking for mates, their mid night caterwauling infuriating neighbors and their successful liaisons resulting in exponentially growing populations. Nationwide, it is estimated that there are 60 million feral and stray cats living on the fringes. One breeding pair of cats and their offspring can produce a staggering number of 400,000 cats in seven years.

Cat lovers who once simply fed these shy, frightened creatures have come to recognize that the long-range solution to the situation is population control through a program of trap, neuter, and return (TNR). Actually, the program provides more services than its acronym indicates. Cats are evaluated to determine if they are potentially adoptable, checked for ear mites and are vaccinated for rabies as well.

Cat activists have learned that programs to exterminate cat colonies just do not work. Wild cats are territorial; if a colony is wiped out, other cats move in to fill the space, a phenomenon referred to as the "vacuum effect."

According to Joanne Monez, president and founder of All About Spay Neuter, Inc., it is more expensive to taxpayers to fund programs to euthanize these animals than to fund TNR programs. The cost, which includes trapping, transporting, sheltering, euthanizing and disposing, ranges from $61 to $175 per cat while the average surgical cost for fixing, vaccinating and ear tipping ranges from $35 to $65 per cat. Volunteers defray the costs of TNR because they are willing to trap and transport on their own dime and a growing number of vets are providing lower cost surgeries. Vets typically charge between $150 and $250 for sterilizing a pet cat.

Ear tipping, a universal symbol of sterilization, is a procedure where the vet removes the tip of the left ear of a feral cat during the spaying or neutering operation to indicate that the cat has been fixed.

Dr. Gay Senk, is, based on the spontaneous applause every time her name was mentioned during the hearing, a widely respected veterinarian and something of a heroine in cat circles. She spoke on behalf of the Long Island Cat Project, a network that provides information about TNR practices and resources.

According to Dr. Senk, a kitten becomes mature enough to reproduce as early as 4 months of age. Gestation is 63 days and cats are capable of birthing 2-3 litters a year. Litter size runs between 4-6 kittens. Usually, only 30 percent of the kittens survive to become adults as they often die "a slow unmerciful death." It takes 40 days to starve to death. Unless kittens are captured and socialized before they reach 9 weeks of age, they will probably never be tame enough to adopt.

Dr. Senk testified that she understands why some members of the public are unsympathetic to the plight of feral cats. She remarked, "Unneutered male cats spray urine to mark their territory, which gives rise to unpleasant odors; their roaming in search of mates accounts for fighting, noise, the spread of diseases among cats and an endless supply of kittens." She commented that other communities that have tried extermination programs have concluded that such efforts eventually fail and that Nassau County should learn from the mistakes of other municipalities.

The only dissenting view point at the hearing was heard from Cynthia Brown, spokesperson for the Nassau County Health Department, who read a statement for the acting commissioner, Dr. Abby Greenberg. The health department's official position is that handling feral cats is a risky business in light of a relatively new problem Nassau County is facing, rabies. So far, 64 cases of rabid raccoons have been confirmed through testing. Dr. Greenberg's statement also noted that feral cats may carry other diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as parasitic diseases, cat-scratch fever, and toxoplasmosis. Her report urged that all people handling feral cats should be fully trained and vaccinated against rabies.

Cat activists listened politely to Ms. Brown, although it was clear from the testimonies given for the rest of the afternoon that they would continue on their mission, albeit carefully. One of the suggestions made at the hearing was that Nassau County might assist the "army of volunteers" by providing low cost rabies vaccinations for feral cat handlers.

Another recommendation that caught traction was that Nassau Community College should create a vet technician program similar to the one at Suffolk Community College, which trains vet techs to perform essentially a nurse practitioner role in animal clinics freeing vets for other duties.

Animal control is under the purview of villages, towns and cities, not the county. Each municipality has its own program for dealing with feral cats, but it became apparent that the volunteer groups are doing much of the heavy lifting with a patchwork of resources.

After the hearing, the Record spoke with the legislators about their next step. Both Ford and Yatauro are interested in legislation that has been proposed in Delaware and think that it could be modified for Nassau County. The Delaware legislation provides a means for assisting low-income residents to have their animals spayed or neutered along with rabies vaccinations. Along with appropriating money directly, the legislation calls for adding a $3 surcharge to each rabies shot that would supplement the fund account. The legislation mandates that all cats and/or dogs be neutered and inoculated for rabies prior to adoption from animal shelters, private animal welfare or rescue groups as well as commercial enterprises. In the case of adoptions in animals too young for the procedures, it is required that a deposit of $75 be made that is refunded when the animal is sterilized at a later date. Participating vets who register for the program and perform services at a pre-set rate would be eligible for tax credits. Currently, no legislation has been proposed for Nassau County, but both legislators expressed gratitude for the dedicated work of the volunteers and professionals who attended the hearing and promised their attention to the matter.

The Basic Pet Care Animal Hospital in Lindenhurst was purring with activity this past Sunday. The facility had for the first time opened its doors to the Long Island Cat Project and Last Hope Volunteers who brought in 120 feral cats along with a few cats whose owners could not afford private vet services to spay, neuter and inoculate the cats. Veterinarians Dr. Gay Senk, Dr. Diana Larmore, Dr. Janet Juliano, Dr. Lynn Santora, Dr. Deborah Lyons and Dr. Dave Foster were on hand to perform the surgeries. Dr. Susan Zollo extended the working space because she works out of a mobile van that makes house calls on the south shore. According to Dr. Senk, after the hearing three more vets had stepped forward to donate their services to assist in the feral cat predicament.

How do you anesthetize a wild cat, besides very carefully? Using a pronged metal comb of sorts, a cat is herded into a corner of its cage and gets an injection. When it is "out," the cat is spread-eagled on a board, a tube is inserted to keep its mouth and nasal passage open and in the case of females, its stomach is shaved. The procedure for males goes pretty quickly, a quick nip does the trick. The females receive a rather short incision; a probe is done to lift the uterus and the fallopian tubes out; they are swiftly and firmly tied off, and are then removed. A vet tech stitches up the patient while the vet prepares for the next cat.

Some cats were already pregnant. Their treatment was more complicated and time consuming as the fetuses were removed during the procedure.

Volunteers were on hand to tag and fetch the cats, restock supplies, and gently tuck the newly fixed cat back into its cage, lined with a soft towel. For these cats toughened by street life, it was the most tender, caring treatment they have ever received.

On April 20 and 21, The Humane Society of the United States is conducting a two-day conference at the C.W. Post campus on "Implementing a Communitywide Trap-Neuter-Return Program for Feral Cats." The Friday session is geared for vets, animal shelters, municipal officials, public health department officials, wildlife advocates, and rescue groups. It will cover the TNR program from a policy perspective and will provide practical information about successful strategies for planning, implementation and evaluation. The Saturday session of the conference is geared for feral cat caretakers and activists and will cover the proper ways to manage a feral cat colony, to be more effective in influencing public policy makers, and to build a grassroots effort. The cost is $15 for one day; $20 for both. The registration fee includes lunch. For more information, email Nancy Peterson at npeterson@hsus.org or call 301-258-3129.

The following are some organizations that provide various resources for dealing with feral cats:

Long Island Cat Project (www.licp.org) is a local network of educational and practical resources to assist concerned citizens in reducing feral cat populations in a humane and effective way. The website lists contact information by geographical area about vets who perform low cost sterilizations, trappers, adoption services and links to a wealth of information.

North Shore Animal League in Port Washington provides low cost spay/neuter/vaccine for $25 a feral cat. They hold 1 clinic per month during which they fix 40 cats. Appointments are a must.

Town of North Hempstead (Call their 311 number for referrals) The town does not have a shelter for cats. Instead, the town contracts with HUG to provide assistance to residents seeking TNR for feral cats. They award $15,000 per year to the program. Since the program was implemented in 2002, 1000 feral cats have been sterilized.

Animal Lovers League in Glen Cove www.animalloversleague.org

Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org) is a national clearinghouse that promotes TNR programs through education.