It looks like the desire and desperate need to find an effective contraceptive for cats has resulted a group of scientists creating one. Potentially this is a very important development as there are too many unwanted cats in the world. The study (see title below) starts off with the words, “Eighty percent of the …
Today, The New York Times reports on cat contraception. This, as I see it, is the Holy Grail for many people concerned about the procreation of stray and feral cats. TNR programs are effective in a limited way because they are conducted in a limited way. The task is too big to control the …
There have been some contraceptive pills for cats available in the past but as I understand it, they produce side effects that were unwelcome and/or they are not a hundred percent effective which is why people go for the surgical route on feline contraception. There is a third option which is artificial stimulation of …
On reading the story about the creation of a contraceptive specifically designed to reduce the population size of gray squirrels in the UK, I immediately thought of the feral cat in Australia. If you want to do something humane for feral cats on the planet, think of the feral cats of Australia where they …
I have just seen a tweet from Ellen Cottingham of the University of Melbourne, Australia. The tweet is below. It seemed to be saying to me that in Australia’s drive to eradicate feral cats from their continent they have tried everything and are now looking at feline immunocontraceptives as a potential population management tool. …
I’d like to propose as an idea that a form of genetic engineering called ‘gene drive’ be used as a way to reduce the feral cat populations in America and Australia. Local governments in both these countries are struggling with what they see as a ‘feral cat problem’. A gene drive is a type …
The Galveston County Daily News reports that the Galveston Island Humane Society is thinking about trying an oral contraceptive on feral cats on the island in conjunction with standard TNR programs. Jim Stevenson – world’s most notorious cat website troll It’s very interesting to note that on this island lives the most famous cat …
A University built an enriched environment for cats in a contraceptive vaccine research study. This is a novel and welcome approach to using cats in research programs. We are used to seeing cats in cold, sterile environments and killed at the end of the research e.g. USDA research on toxoplasmosis over many years. The …
