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Revered and reviled, pampered and persecuted, the domestic cat (Felis catus) has stirred up passionate sentiment since it first came to five among human beings 4,000 years ago. Though it may no longer be worshipped as a god or burned as a demon, the cat continues to evoke feelings ranging from adoration to hatred. The hunting prowess that made it so valuable to farmers and sailors has landed it on the most-wanted list of some wildlife advocates who blame the world's most widespread predator for accelerating the demise of imperiled species from tiny beach mice to the majestic Florida panther.

Cats' defenders, however, exonerate them of ecological wrongdoing, some even arguing that cats won't hunt when well fed. Thousands of individuals and organizations care for feral cats in the U.S., trapping them, neutering them, then returning them to the colony. Cat advocates say the real problem is not feline but human: urban sprawl, pollution, habitat degradation and over-hunting. "Feral cats are an easy scapegoat," says Donna Wilcox, executive director of Alley Cat Allies, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that endorses "trap-neuter-return" or TNR. "It's easier to say, 'Let's wipe out all the feral cats,' than, 'Let's not wipe out forest for a new subdivision or a new mini-mall.'"

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), for one, says it recognizes that native species such as beach mice, the Lower Keys marsh rabbit, terns and other ground-nesting birds, as well as hatchling sea turtles, wouldn't be endangered if only people had managed the Earth more responsibly. But it claims that feral cats are aggravating an already desperate situation by hunting smaller creatures and possibly spreading feline leukemia and feline pan-leukemia to Florida panthers. In light of these findings, documented by staff scientists, the FWC enacted a new policy last spring calling for the humane removal of feral cats from the lands it manages.

Angie Raines, an agency spokesperson, insists that it will not be killing cats. "If there is a feral colony near where the FWC is trying to bring back ground-nesting birds and they're having a negative impact, we will work with TNR advocates and the local government to relocate the cats or fence them off," she explains. "We have to take the side of wildlife, but that doesn't mean we have to call for killing cats."

# posted by Medical Information : 1:40 AM