Missing Pets In The Heights

[seoid]

Having lost my cat I know how it feels to not know what has happened to your pet. I'm so sorry. Please don't give up either. My cat was found 5 months later. He was perfectly healthy despite the weight loss. So you can get her back.

My suggestion is to make flyers, go door to door, talk to people in a 1 mile radius of your home. What others have told you about website and craiglist also helps- and sometimes the shelters/pound have a book of flyers they keep and will input your cat's info into their system in case she's picked up for whatever reason. My cat was returned because a neighbor saw the flyer and recognized my cat 5 months later. 5 months. My aunt's cat was just found thanks to their flyers last week after 4 days running loose. Flyers can and do work.

We live nearby and walk the neighborhoods daily- my husband has an eye for kitties and we'll keep our eye out for her.

[heights]

Is anyone else annoyed by those Heights residents that feed feral cats? There is someone around the 1600 block of Harvard that puts numerous plastic bowls and plates of cat food on the streets and sidewalks for several blocks around the area and near Marmion Park. If anyone knows this person, please let them know that it is not only unsanitary, it is against city ordinance. On top of that, it results in those plastic bowls and plates becoming litter.

If the person likes cats so much, she/he can keep them sequestered inside their own house and feed and care for them there.

/end rant.

[samagon]

It's a pandemic ;-)

Agreed though.

[TheNiche]

Is your primary concern that the cats are being fed or is the issue that they are being fed on public property? Perhaps the appropriate suggestion is that they be fed from the front porch, where a plastic plate is litter rather than clutter.

But I, for one, like the urban fauna. I appreciate those that feed them. It is a public service.

[heights_yankee]

Is your primary concern that the cats are being fed or is the issue that they are being fed on public property? Perhaps the appropriate suggestion is that they be fed from the front porch, where a plastic plate is litter rather than clutter.

But I, for one, like the urban fauna. I appreciate those that feed them. It is a public service.

I agree. I especially agree if these animal lovers have humanely trapped and spayed/neutered these cats and then re-released them. I would rather cats than rodents anyday. Thanks to the large cat population, we do not suffer from nearly as many rats or opossums as we otherwise would.

[s3mh]

If you leave a little bowl of cat food out for the occasional neighborhood stray, that is fine. But, feeding cats on a large scale can lead to large colonies of feral cats. Cats can put out up to five litters a year. It does not take long for five cats to become twenty, and for twenty to become forty when there is a large and dependable food supply available. And when the cat colony gets big, the neighbors call out BARC to trap them and take them off to be euthanized. Best thing to do is to trap, spay/neuter and release somewhere where someone is caring for a feral colony that is not a problem for neighbors.

[infinite_jim]

_{How about the people that feed the pigeons?}

[RedScare]

I agree. I especially agree if these animal lovers have humanely trapped and spayed/neutered these cats and then re-released them. I would rather cats than rodents anyday. Thanks to the large cat population, we do not suffer from nearly as many rats or opossums as we otherwise would.

The hell you say. I've had problems with opossum and rats (not to mention those damned pigeons). My dog kept the opossum population in check by going all Chuck Norris on 3 or 4 of them (that sweet disposition belies the killer inside). However, the rats were terrible. Strange, since we do have 2 or 3 outdoor cats nearby. Obviously, we could use half a dozen more.

[heights_yankee]

The hell you say. I've had problems with opossum and rats (not to mention those damned pigeons). My dog kept the opossum population in check by going all Chuck Norris on 3 or 4 of them (that sweet disposition belies the killer inside). However, the rats were terrible. Strange, since we do have 2 or 3 outdoor cats nearby. Obviously, we could use half a dozen more.

Not saying cats have eradicated these other vermits, just helping keep the population down. I'm pretty sure I've told this story here before, but when I lived in Dallas, Highland Park made a big production of "dealing with" their feral cat population. Less than 2 months later, the whole neighborhood was over run with rats. They would be out in the middle of the day, running across phone/power lines, right over the tops of those $mllion+ homes. It was kind of awesome.

[RedScare]

I'm with you on that. I'm saying I wish we had more feral cats slinking around.

Ironically, my hounds are freaking out over the opossum on the fence right now.

[TheNiche]

If you leave a little bowl of cat food out for the occasional neighborhood stray, that is fine. But, feeding cats on a large scale can lead to large colonies of feral cats. Cats can put out up to five litters a year. It does not take long for five cats to become twenty, and for twenty to become forty when there is a large and dependable food supply available. And when the cat colony gets big, the neighbors call out BARC to trap them and take them off to be euthanized.

I agree to the extent that your neighbors and BARC need to stop being assholes. Public policy should encourage that they be neutered.

[fwki]

I agree to the extent that your neighbors and BARC need to stop being assholes. Public policy should encourage that they be neutered.

All the more reason to feed them and not spay or neuter. We need replacements.

So which is it?

[Jesse]

So which is it?

Ain't so funny meow is it?

[Marksmu]

Is anyone else annoyed by those Heights residents that feed feral cats? There is someone around the 1600 block of Harvard that puts numerous plastic bowls and plates of cat food on the streets and sidewalks for several blocks around the area and near Marmion Park. If anyone knows this person, please let them know that it is not only unsanitary, it is against city ordinance. On top of that, it results in those plastic bowls and plates becoming litter.

If the person likes cats so much, she/he can keep them sequestered inside their own house and feed and care for them there.

/end rant.

I hate the stray cats - I can deal with rats and possums and nobody cares how I did it....if I take care of a cat - I am a monster....those nasty strays piss all over my patio furniture and dig up my flower beds to take do their business....my back yard frequently smells like cat piss and I now have to bring the cushions from my patio furniture inside when not in use.

I have not encountered any of the bowls for feeding stray cats around my house, but if I did, I would pick them up and put them in the trash. I don't need any more nasty cats in the area. I cant stand the 5 or 6 we already have.

[sevfiv]

^My experience was the same when I used to live next to someone who would keep out bowls of food (on his property). Cats would mark our (and others') flowerbeds, front doors, garages (when left open), packages delivered, and whatever else. He moved and so did they.

Certain things did work for a short while - grating ginger root around the problem spots seemed to work best (but then we and our house smelled like ginger!).

[TheNiche]

So which is it?

When I suggested that they be neutered, I was referring to s3mh's neighbors.

[20thStDad]

A bit of cayenne around my house perimeter has eliminated the random poops I used to find. It doesn't take much, but you do have to reapply every few weeks.

[jamesw]

Feral cats eat native birds - which is a problem. Not to mention they piss on my patio furniture too :-(

[TheNiche]

Feral cats eat native birds - which is a problem. Not to mention they piss on my patio furniture too :-(

I respectfully disagree. The native birds crap on my driveway in such quantity that I lose traction while walking to my car. They crap on the car itself and my patio furniture too. The cats are at least discrete with the placement of their feces.

Besides, I don't understand why birds are such sacred cows. Weather-related die-offs are common and can kill tens of thousands of birds all at once. I think that their species will survive feline predation.

[RedScare]

If the birds didn't attack the cats they wouldn't occasionally meet their demise by them. Birds fly afterall. Cats do not. There is no reason for them to meet their doom by a cat's paw unless they were taunting the cat in the first place. It is one of the great examples of Darwinism. Bird taunts cat. Bird gets too close to cat. Cat takes out bird. It is a glorious sight to see.

[s3mh]

Besides, I don't understand why birds are such sacred cows. Weather-related die-offs are common and can kill tens of thousands of birds all at once. I think that their species will survive feline predation.

The problem of feral cats and birds isn't the local abundant doves, mockingbirds and house sparrows. It is the migrants. Houston is a superhighway on the North American Flyway. Birds from South and Central America and Mexico all converge along the Gulf Coast on their way north during spring migration (and heading south in the fall). Migrants fly hundreds and thousands of miles without stopping. When they do stop, they are exhausted and in immediate need of food. Feral cats take advantage of tired migrants and gobble them up like they were a bowl of free nachos at El Tiempo. A study in rural Wisconsin estimated that feral cats kill roughly 39 million birds in a year. Add to that the habitat loss and deaths from pesticides, collisions with buildings and power lines and you could very well see the complete loss of species like Kirtland's and Golden Cheeked Warblers and Black Capped Vireos.

[RedScare]

Oh, brother. A few feral cats are gonna wipe out an entire species of birds. Alert the media.

[jamesw]

I doubt it's promontory warblers crapping on your car and driveway that badly - but that would actually be kinda nice because it would mean there are more than a few left...

Have you ever visited Guam Red? Feral animals have killed off just about every native animal on the island. I know it's kind of pinko to mention environmental protection these days but birds get my vote, feral cats do not...

J

[TheNiche]

I doubt it's promontory warblers crapping on your car and driveway that badly - but that would actually be kinda nice because it would mean there are more than a few left...

Is there some particularly important niche that is getting filled by promontory warblers (or Kirtland's Warblers, Golden Cheeked Warblers, or Black Capped Vireos)? That is, aside from being cat food.

Have you ever visited Guam Red?

What is the relevance of Guam to the Houston Heights? Have you ever been to the moon, James?

[west20th]

I doubt it's promontory warblers crapping on your car and driveway that badly - but that would actually be kinda nice because it would mean there are more than a few left...

Have you ever visited Guam Red? Feral animals have killed off just about every native animal on the island. I know it's kind of pinko to mention environmental protection these days but birds get my vote, feral cats do not...

J

Just a little Readers Digest type story from my past. The is the first topic that it would remotely apply to.

Picture it. Houston. Late '80's, back when land development engineering companies also did the environmental impact surveys. Not the conflict of interest that it would seem. The "bird and bunny" environmental engineers from our Austin office could always be counted on to give a fair report regardless of the impact on future business. We were about to start developing a tract off of Huffmeister when the Environmental Engineers found three Red-cockaded Woodpecker nests. We had to draw a map with 1/2 mile radius circles around each siting as a no-development zone, effectively killing off the development. Well the Survey crews were none too happy about the loss of future work and labeled the nest in the field books as Red-cockheaded Woodpeckers. I didn't know a cockaded woodpecker from a cock-headed woodpecker so the maps were labeled "Red-cockheaded Woodpecker Sitings". Luckily the client still had a sense of humor.

[SilverJK]

Off topic... but I like possums, they are not aggressive, they don't carry rabies (body temp doesn't allow them too), and they devour bugs and other nasties that we don't want in our houses. They get a bad rap just because they are ugly.

[73Ghia]

In response to the original poster. The woman you are talking about in the 1600 block of Harvard is an absolute nuisance. She lives next door to me in a rented garage apartment. It has been an issue over here for far too long. She is unfortunately off her rocker, and has been in altercations with several of the residents in this block and elsewhere. She claims to be rescuing these cats, but I know from seeing the situation every day, and from talking to other neighbors, that the woman has little to no money, and is not properly caring for these animals. I called the SPCA awhile back, and of course she didn't answer the door, and then proceeded to berate me the next day. She is basically trying to run a feral cat rescue colony, not only out of a small, rented apartment, but without any kind of legal sanctioning, etc. I have had enough, and any help would be appreciated. I have been taking photographs for the last several months, contacted the landlord (who is cordial, but has been of little help), and have been trying to get a game plan together, because it needs to stop. There are no less than 5-6 that she feeds that live on her property, and another 5-6+ that can be seen in her apartment from the outside. She leaves every night around midnight and distributes small (usually blue) bowls of cat food all over the area, including most of this block of Harvard, and Marmion park. The cats are constantly in my yard, and the neighbors yards. They spray, poop, etc. There are possums, fleas, you name it. It is truly a nightmare. I know her address, and I know the landlord. Not sure I should publicly post that info here, but what I'm getting at, is any one out there who would be willing to put a complaint in to BARC, the landlord, anything – would be a huge help. It is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed. These animals cause damage, and can ultimately hurt property value. I have all of the contact info that I mentioned above, and if anyone wants to help the cause, I would not only appreciate it, but would be willing to help a fellow neighbor down the road.

[s3mh]

It is a very tough situation. Feral cat colonies are not going to be very high on BARC's priorities. They should be writing her tickets for not having the animals registered and vaccinated.

You might try to get some homeowners together to get an attorney to write a cease and desist letter to the landlord. It could be a trespass/nuisance to let the cats damage neighboring property. Probably not worth the attorney's fees to go to court. But a letter from an attorney might get someone's attention. You could also get someone to trap the cats and take them to a shelter that has a feral cat colony set up. The life of a feral cat is Houston is dismal. I saw one the other day that had its nose ripped off in a fight. One by my house lost an eye and part of its lip in a fight.

Lastly, section 30-3 of the City ordinances is the "barking dog" sound ordinance (can be any animal). If the cats are loudly crying at night, you might be able to make a complaint. But, again, the City is not going to make noisy cats much of a priority.

[heights_yankee]

New Facebook page for lost & found pets in the Heights area.

https://www.facebook.com/HeightsLostandFoundPets

[73Ghia]

Found this little guy on Sunday around 6:00. No tags. Very sweet, friendly dog. Was hungry, but clean. Looks like he escaped and hadn't been out too long. Has some grayish/brindle-y markings, but otherwise looks like a typical black and tan Dachshund. If you know who he might belong to, please email. Trying to get him back home.