Feeding stray cats may do more harm than good, B.C. SPCA says

The B.C. SPCA is warning British Columbians about the harm that feeding stray cats can cause as its Kamloops branch cares for eight strays from one property and prepares to bring in up to 25 more from the same place. 

The organization says that stray cats, which aren't spayed or neutered, can breed quickly and often become too much for those feeding them.

"They can breed as early as six months of age," Daria Evans, manager of the B.C. SPCA's animal centre in Kamloops, told  Gloria Macarenko, the host of CBCs On The Coast.

Stray cats, she said, can end up with parasites and other illnesses — a cost that people may not be prepared for when they start innocently feeding neighbourhood felines.

Several outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of avian flu have been reported in B.C. birds; however, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, it can spread to other mammals. 

Because cats, especially strays, come into contact with birds, there is a chance for infection, according to the Stewardship Centre of B.C. They advise keeping pet cats indoors and away from wild birds, but that's not possible with strays. 

In the Kamloops case, two of the cats were euthanized, the SPCA said. 

"Cats, when they are reaching a certain age, and they have not had human socialization or adequate human socialization, once they reach adulthood and they are under-socialized or feral, it can be extremely challenging for them psychologically to come into a shelter and start to try to get used to human beings," Evans said.

Because they were suffering from illnesses, she said it was more humane to put the cats down than try to give them daily medication. 

Evans acknowledges that people typically feel they're being kind by feeding strays but is urging caution because it often ends with the SPCA being called in to help people deal with "exploding" populations of cats. 

Because they're feral and can carry disease, she said that when these cats arrive at SPCA centres, they need to be in separate rooms away from other animals. Staff have to wear personal protective equipment and depending on what treatment is needed, the cats are bathed and put on medication for several days, she said. 

"It does add a lot of work for the staff, and it just adds a little bit of logistical challenge when it comes to bringing them in," Evans said.