Latest news with #feralcats
CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
‘I just started screaming': U.S. woman discovers cat cut in half in her front yard
Watch An Oklahoma woman who takes care of local feral cats was horrified to find a cat cut in half on her front lawn, sparking a police investigation.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
To save feral cats, Boise's soccer club is helping ‘selfless' family. Here's why
Tracy Brodt was teaching her teenage daughter to drive in the parking lot at the Western Idaho Fairgrounds in 2014 when she spotted a woman feeding stray cats near Les Bois Park. After more than a decade of diligence and care, Brodt has helped bring that feral cat population down from around 200 to less than 50. The Idaho Humane Society has supported the project by assisting with spay and neuter efforts. But the cats are in need of a new home as construction ramps up to transform the old Les Bois Park grounds into the home of Idaho's first pro soccer team: Athletic Club Boise. The USL League One club is expected to begin play in March of 2026. 'Ever since Les Bois Park was chosen as our new stadium site, we've worked closely with the Brodt family — who has been tending to the feral cat population personally for the last decade — to ensure the safety of the feral cats,' Athletic Club Boise told the Idaho Statesman in an emailed statement. 'With the Brodt family's consultation with the Idaho Humane Society, they are following best practices to gradually move the cats out of construction areas. Access has never been restricted to the feral cats. Our shared goal is the well-being of the animals as we continue building a home for AC Boise that reflects the values of our community.' The Brodts said they plan to trap and move the cats to a temporary home on a farm owned by a local veterinarian, but are still working to find a permanent home for the animals. Over the years, Tracy and fellow feline lover and volunteer Carol Stephenson and her partner, Gregor Addey, have cared for abandoned kittens, sick strays and injured cats out of their own pockets. They feed and provide water to the cat population at Les Bois Park on a daily basis. 'If you meet a rescuer of feral cats, you've met someone selfless,' said Donna Brown, founder of the nonprofit Garden City Community Cats Project. 'Those feral cats, the far majority of them won't ever let you even touch them. But these people are caring for them because they want them to have a good life.' Terry Brodt, Tracy's husband, said the family spends 'tens of thousands of dollars' every year caring for stray cats, including food and veterinary bills. 'My wife's specialty is when they find kittens that are really ill or abandoned or a cat's hurt,' Terry said. 'My wife is like a super nurse. She's really good at getting them back to health.' The Brodts estimate that more than 90 percent of the feral population at Les Bois Park has been spayed or neutered. Many of the cats have lived there their entire lives, but the area also became a dumping ground for unwanted cats. The Brodts help get cats that have been domesticated adopted, including kittens. 'My wife feeds so many cats,' Terry said. 'You wouldn't believe how many cans of cat food she opens in one night. It's unbelievable.' While there is a plan in place for the current feral population at Les Bois Park, Brown anticipates the area will continue to be a haven for stray cats, meaning Athletic Club Boise will likely need a long-term plan for their care. 'The thing that people don't understand is you can't annihilate a cat population, even if you were heartless and did, because they'll always be cats to fill in,' Brown said. KIVI-TV Channel 6 first reported the story.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Aussie inventor's valuable secret hidden beneath pile of rocks in outback
Pictures showing what appears to be a simple pile of rocks lying in Australia's remote Pilbara region hide a secret. Deep underneath is a purpose-built 'den' designed to protect one of the region's rarest creatures from Australia's most destructive predators. The Australian-made invention is being used to stop feral cats burrowing into the homes of northern quolls — a creature pushed to the edge of extinction and now listed as endangered. Ecologists deem this tiny, spotted native carnivore more valuable than any of the resources mined from the region, like iron ore, copper, nickel, gold, or lithium. Development of the 30kg synthetic Marsupial Den began in 2021, and they were first placed in the field in 2024. But few details about its success in protecting northern quolls have been made public until now. Related: Aussie plan to genetically engineer new super species of wild animals Habitat Innovation and Management was funded by mining giant Fortescue to design and manufacture the purpose-built structures to replicate the dimensions of a natural den while providing added protection. Mick Callan, a founding director of Habitat, told Yahoo News the dens are too shallow for a cat to be able to turn around in, so their natural instinct is to avoid the space. But there's an extra measure that's designed to stop even the most curious cat from entering. 'The entrance size was developed using the skull morphometrics of feral cats, so a full-size adult won't be able to get in there,' Callan said. Fortescue has reported early monitoring results from its den project appear 'promising'. Like the nest boxes, they've remained cool in the desert heat with maximum internal temperatures up to 16.5 degrees cooler than outside. It has also supplied images and video to Yahoo showing quolls exploring the inside of the dens, a precursor to using them as shelter and breeding sites. Since the dens were created, they've been used in projects designed to protect other threatened quoll species, including eastern quoll, spotted-tailed quoll, and western quoll. Habitat's small team is notable for overhauling the composition of artificial bird and possum nesting boxes, which are needed because most of Australia's hollow-bearing trees have been felled. Historically, they were made from wood that tended to fall apart after a few years. They also regularly overheated to more than 50 degrees in the summer, a temperature that most wildlife can't survive. But Habitat's injection-moulded, glass-reinforced polymer invention remains cool and lasts for decades. 🌙 Australia's sky could change forever after winter ends ⛏️ Gold prospector's incredible find in 'remote' Aussie bush 👙 Jellyfish find could change the way Aussies visit the beach With products designed and manufactured in Australia, Callan said his artificial habitat business isn't a big money spinner, but more of a 'passion' project, that's subsidised by ecology consulting work and investors. 'We're always open to taking on new projects. We're at the point where we need species experts coming to us and saying we don't have a solution and we need your help,' he said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
RNZ News
07-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Renewed calls for cat bylaws as feral numbers surge
Feral cats occur in many parts of New Zealand, although they have been successfully eradicated from several islands, including Hauturu/Little Barrier. They are predators of many native birds and reptiles. Research by Patrick Garvey (PhD student supervised by Mick Clout) is revealing the nature of interactions between predators such as stoats and cats and is investigating the use of novel lures to attract these predators, to improve prospects for their control on the mainland. (Photo: Patrick Garvey, Lincoln 2013). Photo: New Zealand is home to more than double the number of feral cats as beloved pet ones, which is posing issues on farm. Lincoln University Masters student Natalie Blackstock said there are an estimated 2.4 million feral cats in New Zealand compared to 1.2 million pet cats, and about 200,000 stray cats. Blackstock described their impact on native wildlife as especially "significant". "They do a lot of impact conservation-wise. They threaten our native birds and mammals," Blackstock said. Her recent dissertation explored 2275 public submissions in relation five councils' cat management bylaws, including Selwyn, Tasman, Palmerston North, Whangārei and Wellington. She found that different regions had different concerns. For example, those in more rural areas such as Selwyn and Palmerston North were more concerned about cats ability to spread diseases such as toxoplasmosis to livestock. "In Wellington, people weren't as concerned about toxoplasmosis or livestock risks because obviously a lot more urban. Whangārei has quite a bit stray cat population so they were talking a bit more about that." She also found most submitters supported cat bylaws, suggesting the country could be ready for a National Cat Act covering the basics - like microchipping, registration and desexing. Council's would still be free to develop their own bylaws addressing local issues. While such an Act was shelved, Green Party MP Celia Wade Brown put forward the Domestic Cat Microchipping Bill which proposes all domestic cats being microchipped and registered. Federated Farmers pest management spokesperson Richard McIntyre said such a law it would help put the onus back on owners and help council's better assess if a cat was a pet or not. He said the numbers seemed to be increasing with people dumping cats and kittens in rural areas. "They are a real challenge to eradicate as well. They're very cunning and harder to trap or shoot than other pests like possums or rabbits. McIntyre wanted to see see councils investing more in pest management, a challenge as many struggle for funds. He said councils were "vital" when it comes to managing pest species. He also wanted to see more resourcing for cat control on farm and on DOC land. "Cats are a bit of a tricky topic because, obviously, there are urban cats and to put them into a pest management plan has not always been that popular, but we think councils need to put some effort into this space so that they can treat feral cats in the same way they treat rabbits and possums." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
