Controversial cat solution
Woman’s effort to euthanize feral felines stirs fierce debate with trapping, neutering advocates
The nationwide debate over how best to manage the tens of millions of feral cats estimated to roam freely in communities throughout the country has found its way to Ulster County, where a controversy over the practices of a local animal shelter in High Falls has hit a fevered pitch.
The conflict, which has been brewing for years, came to a head recently when Gail Mihocko, the executive director of the nonprofit group Project Cat, applied to the town of Rochester for a special use permit for her animal shelter on Lucas Turnpike in High Falls.
Mihocko has been operating
the shelter since 2002, but said she only discovered recently that she needed a special use permit. The Rochester Planning Board granted her approval for the operation at its meeting last Monday.
News of her application galvanized opponents of euthanasia, not only from Ulster County, but from across the region and state, and dozens of residents turned out to Planning Board meetings to voice their opposition to the permit. A Facebook page, “Shut down the cat killing Project Cat,” dedicated to opposing the nonprofit’s work, has attracted more than 300 followers in fewer than two months. Some have accused Mihocko of indiscriminately trapping and euthanizing even pet cats — a claim she vehemently denies.
A vegetarian who she said she has cats of her own, a long history of volunteering at animal shelters, and founded Project Cat out of love for the felines, Mihocko makes no apologies for her work. In fact, she argues that it is the only humane way to control the feral cat population and opposes the “trapneuter-release” approach that many animal activists support.
“When I became aware of how dreadful the overpopulation of outdoor cats was ... when I saw up-close the situation, you realize how really, really bad it is out there,” she said.
“Not euthanizing sounds lovely. Boy, we wish we could all do it, but when you look at reality, it’s not pretty at all,” said Mihocko. “These cats will die out of sight of these people who oppose what I do, and they don’t have to think about it.”
Mihocko also said the introduction of cats into the wild has wreaked havoc on wildlife, introducing into nature a new predator of birds, rabbits and other small animals.
“Our wildlife needs to be protected,” she said. “There’s no reason for feral cats to be out there, none at all. They’re not just damaging wildlife, but they are competing for resources.”
“There are studies that show that cats are responsible for the decimation of wildlife, but those studies are overblown,” said Adam Saunders, the executive director of the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a no-kill shelter in the town of Ulster that advocates for and practices trap-neuter-release.
“Feral cats, the ones that she is referring to, they are wild animals ... and they are part of the ecosystem,” Saunders said. “They will obviously attack prey animals, but they also become prey for larger animals.”
Animal rights groups estimate there are some 70 million feral cats in the U.S. Although there is no estimate of the number of feral cats in Ulster County, nearly every community in the county has feral cat colonies.
People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is among the largest opponents of trap-neuterrelease. On its website, the group said that until overpopulation is brought under control through spaying and neutering, “we must prevent the suffering of unwanted animals in the most responsible and humane possible.
“Euthanasia, performed properly, is often the most compassionate option,” PETA’s website says.
Other animal advocacy groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, advocate for trap-neuter release. The ASPCA has said euthanizing has been shown “to be impractical, ineffective and often inhumane.”
Mihcoko said she responds to calls from people who want her to rid their property of wild, stray or feral cats. Her critics, however, say that Mihcoko can’t always know whether a cat is stray or an outdoor pet, and some believe that Mihcoko is responsible for their own pets’ disappearance.
Mihocko said she rescues and offers up for adoption those cats that are friendly and healthy, and euthanizes those that are too feral, aggressive or sick to be brought into a home. She said those cats often die “miserable deaths,” suffering from illnesses, hit by cars or attacked by other animals.
“Our heart goes out to those cats,” said Mihocko. “We want to do what’s best for them, even if it means giving them a peaceful death.”
Mihocko declined to say how many cats she takes into her shelter each year, calling that number “totally irrelevant.” She also wouldn’t say how many of those cats that she takes in are adopted out, although a look at her website shows that there are 13 cats currently available for adoption and another 28 adopted since August 2015.
Ulster County Department of Health records show that between Jan. 1, 2011, and September 2016, Mihocko euthanized 1,782 cats. Statistics for the number of cats Mihocko euthanized in the last quarter of 2016 or so far this year were unavailable.
Many of those that are euthanized, she said, tested positive for feline leukemia and pictures provided by Mihocko of some of the cats she has euthanized show animals in terrible condition, some with open oozing sores, emaciated, or suffering from upper respiratory conditions.
Saunders said his agency is extremely aggressive in rescuing cats from hoarding and abusive situations, but that even so, the number of cats euthanized by Mihocko is more than the Ulster County SPCA has euthanized during his tenure.
“We have euthanized roughly, including sick cats and kittens that have a high mortality rate, 80 (dogs and cats) to her more than 2,000 over the past 10 years,” he said. “We bring in almost 1,000 animals a year, euthanizing generally under 10.”
Saunders also rejected Mihocko’s contention that she takes in animals, especially from hoarding situations, that the SPCA turns away. He said that while the Weidy Road shelter operates with an animal population of about 120, that number has burgeoned in the event of an abuse situation, including hoarding situations. He said that in non-emergency situations, the shelter operates on a roughly two-week waiting list.
“It’s never a matter of us turning them away, it’s a matter of her getting to them before we do,” he said.
Saunders said that a benefit of having a stable, neutered, feral cat colony is that the colony tends to be protective of its territory, meaning that it will hold its ground against others coming in. As an example, he said, his agency is now responding to a feral cat problem in an area where Mihocko had trapped and killed a prior colony.
“There’s no need for mass euthanasia,” he said. “Every study indicates that space is going to be reoccupied by new cats and you’re going to have that population all over again.
“We recently targeted a neighborhood in the town of Ulster at the request of the town,” Saunders said. “She killed her way though that village and the cats simply returned.”
Although the two have diametrically opposing philosophies when it comes to handling the feral cat populations that exist, the two agree that the ultimate solution is responsible pet ownership.
“This is a serious issue with cats that humans have allowed to get out of control and we really need to get it back under control, and believe me, (trap-neuter-release) is not the answer and euthanasia is not the answer either,” Mihocko said. “If we really want to be caring and compassionate about them, we need to neuter them and keep them indoors.”