I live in Bradenton Fl.There are peple trapping our pet cats ,is this legal? Then they don't give them back.Th

Question

They do spay and neuter them.But if they dont know who the owner is god only knows what they do.There is no leash law for cats.How I know this is both my cats were spayed and neutered .they came home with half there ear chopped off.And were disoriented for days. Maybe I did not want my cats fixed.Actually the female was pregnate.Is this legal?

Answer 1

I think that program is intended to control the feral cat population. They normally find a group of feral or homeless cats, trap them, spay or neuter them, and then release them. Soemtimes, if they are just strays and not ferel, they put them into a shelter to find a new home. This is very legal, and necessary because HUNDREDS of cats die each day because all these stray cats keep breeding.

Don't you think that if you let your cat run around unsupervised in an area that does this is kind of risky to your cat getting mistaken for a stray??? I do not wish to be rude, I woul be upset if this happened to my cats, but if you just let them run on thier own, you no longer have any control over what happens to them! And if you know this is going on, how can you possibly think they will be okay on thier own?

I know that letting cats run around has been normal for so many years, but in all honesty, I do not see the difference between letting a cat run around, and letting a dog run around. Both are rather careless moves on behalf of your ownership. You do not know what someone will do to your cats when they are alone, and you can't complain about it when something does happen. It's like you can't complain when someone runs ver the cat, or it comes into someone's lawn, and their dog kills it. You know what I mean?

I do not know what happened with their ears, but perhaps they got ear clips for tracking devices, and they got torn off somehow. And the whole thing was very stressful for them, I can imagine.

Please just keep them indoors. Those people are only trying to help the overpopulation proble, they ar not evil. It was a misunderstanding, which more or less what because you let them out alone.

Answer 2

Um, if your cat is on their property, they CAN trap it.  They may be taking them to the local animal shelter.  You don't know how the one's ear got chopped off - I doubt your neighbor would pay to have them neutered and then chop off an ear.  

My advice:  no leash law does not mean that your cats are free to create a nuisance in your neighbor's yard.  If they pee, c**p, s***w and fight over there, and your neighbor is sick of them, s/he is going to do whatever s/he can to rid him or herself of the nuisance - you should keep your cats indoors.  You're lucky your cats returned at all, and you saved a lot of money by that guy neutering your animals.  If you didn't want them fixed, you shouldn't have allowed them to roam, and that's the simple truth.

Answer 3

Well, you apparently live in the area of a managed feral colony. They cut off the end of the ear so that they know which ones are already neutered.

While there is no leash law for cats, it's mandatory that you keep your pet on your own property. That's how the law works. In some areas of Florida, they no longer allow feral colonies which means instead of being spayed/neutered your cats would've been euthanized in a county shelter if you did not find them within 3 days and reclaim them.

What they're doing is legal. It's obviously an established feral colony that your cats are running with. Your very lucky it isn't an unmanaged feral colony or your cats would probably have died from some kind of illness by now.

What your doing, letting your cats roam outside your yard, is illegal and hazardous to their health, the health of children whose sandboxes they p**p in, and hazardous to local wildlife they harass..

You should be grateful your cats came back, otherwise they probably would've been euthanized if the county shelter got them. Most 'outdoor' cat owners I've met wait longer then three days before they bother to look for their cat. By the time they go looking, their cat is already dead..  Why is that? Dog owners come in panicking the day their dog gets out, while cat owners don't even bother to look for several days..

Answer 4

This is illegal and I would call the police immediatley. They can be fined and/or possibly put in jail for animal abuse. You can also file a lawsuit because of what has happened to your cat, espically if they are not vets.

Answer 5

I completely agree with what your neighbors are doing.  If you won't take care of them, someone has to!  How are they supposed to know the cats belong to you anyway?  You let them roam around and multiply.  Do you have any idea how many cats are in shelters and end up being put down because of irresponsible pet owners, such as yourself?  

Give me your neighbors address, I'd like to send them a donation for their cause.

Answer 6

Free-roaming cats are fair game to be trapped and taken in to be altered, then re-released.  The tip of the ear nipped off means that they were altered as part of a feral cat trap and release program.  If you don't keep your cats in your yard or home, they can be trapped and altered as ferals, or picked up as strays and impounded.  And, let me guess, no collar and tags to ID them as owned cats, either?  If there's nothing to ID a cat as owned, it' open to be either considered feral or stray, and either way, totally fair game.

Why the heck did you even have unaltered, free roaming cats to begin with???  Be happy someone did you a favor by spaying and neutering them.

Answer 7

No, its not.  Someone's taking your property and doing stuff too it. Thats horrible what their doing, chopping off there ears it TERRIBLE. you should do something.

Answer 8

I think as long as its not on your property it is legal,you shouldn't have your cats running around unspayed and neutered,its not good for their health,they probably chopped the ear to show that they did that cat already..(so they wouldn't bring it in again)...