Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2015)
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2015 COMMUNITY Stray cats strut until cages shut Rescuers fi ght to stay ahead of increasing cat population in Hermiston 6TAFF 3H2T2 %< (.-. HA55,6 By JADE McDOWELL Staff Writer For the network of people who are taking hundreds of stray cats off the streets in Hermiston each year, nothing is more frustrating than hearing someone say letting their cat roam free without be- ing spayed or neutered is “no big deal.” It is a big deal, Cat Uto- pia director Cindy Spiess said. It’s a big deal be- cause cats can have three litters a year, meaning one male and one female can have 400,000 descen- dants in seven years. “I don’t think the com- munity at large has any idea the number of stray and abandoned animals here,” she said. Cat Utopia is a Pend- leton-based rescue, but Spiess said 60 percent of the 342 cats taken in by the organization during the last 12 months were from Hermiston. That doesn’t count hundreds more taken in by Pet Res- cue, PAWS, Fuzzballs, the Purrfection Crew and a number of private indi- viduals in a fight to slow the rising tide of feral and abandoned cats in Herm- iston. One of those individu- als is Marie Johnson. She got involved in cat rescue a couple of years ago, when she found a litter of 13 kittens in her boy- friend’s truck. She was new in town, but when she asked around for help in finding the kittens a home she met Spiess. When she realized how overwhelmed places like Cat Utopia were she de- cided to do what she could to help. Working mostly through Facebook, she said she managed to find foster homes or facilitate the adoption of more than 100 kittens this summer. “I’m the crazy cat lady,” she said, shrug- ging. “I’ve embraced it.” She also spends hours each week trapping adult cats for spaying and neu- tering through Cat Uto- pia’s program and then releasing them back onto the streets. In the last year Cat Utopia altered 392 cats from Hermiston, while PAWS did 170 and Purrfection Crew did 150. Spiess said people are often surprised when Cat Utopia releases feral cats, but socializing an adult cat that didn’t grow up domesticated is a long process and releasing the cat back into its home ter- ritory will keep other cats from inevitably moving into the area. Spiess and Johnson Marie Johnson of Hermiston sets a cat trap at a residence off of Baxter Road east of Hermiston. 6TAFF 3H2T2 %< (.-. HA55,6 Marie Johnson of Hermiston places water in a cat trap while setting traps at a home off of Baxter Road outside of Hermiston. have plenty of stories from their trapping ad- ventures. Once some- one called and said they thought they had a colony of about 40 cats on their property. Four days later volunteers had trapped 117 cats, all the same col- or. Another time Johnson brought home a feral cat that was recovering from surgery and found the trap empty the next morn- ing. A few days later she found the cat across town in her old territory. “The doors were shut,” Johnson said. “I still have no idea how she did it.” They have a few sto- ries about human be- havior too. Johnson said recently she found a Sia- mese cat that was clearly domesticated and asked around on Facebook if anyone was missing the cat. A man messaged her and told her that he had moved and couldn’t keep the cat so he had let it go. “It’s not my problem anymore,” he told her. Spiess said it’s a com- mon misconception that cats who were raised in a home their whole lives know how to hunt when suddenly left to fend for themselves. It’s not un- common to pick up cats that are close to starva- tion, she said, but that doesn’t stop people from illegally abandoning them. “People are really bad about calling and saying ‘I need a home for these cats now,’ and we get threats that people are go- ing to dump them, going to kill them if we don’t take them now,” Spiess said. She said right now the closest low-cost spay and neuter clinic is in the Tri-Cities, but Cat Utopia is shopping around for land in the Hermiston or Stanfield area to build its own. Spiess and Johnson both said they could use help. They’re always looking for foster homes to take kittens for two weeks at a time before they are taken to the Or- egon Humane Society, PetCo in the Tri-Cities or a local organization to be put up for adoption. But if that sounds like too much of a commitment, they said small things like going out and setting up traps, donating food or transporting a litter of kittens from Hermiston to Pendleton can be a huge help. The biggest help of all, of course, is being a re- sponsible pet owner. “Please spay and neu- ter your cats,” Spiess said. “It comes down to a responsibility to your community.” $ XD9801HC 99 379 EACH XD9645HC $ VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 62 Gary L. West Jade McDowell Editor gwest@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4532 Reporter jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com 541-564-4536 Tammy Malgesini Sean Hart Community Editor tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com 541-564-4539 Reporter smhart@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4534 Sam Barbee Jeanne Jewett Sports Reporter sbarbee@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4542 Multi-Media Consultant jjewett@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4531 Kim La Plant Multi-media Consultant klaplant@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4530 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop b\ our of¿ ces at 333 (. 0ain 6t. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com The Hermiston Herald 8636 242220, ,661 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 (. 0ain 6t., Hermiston, 25 97838, (541) 567-6457, FAX (541) 567-1764. 3rinted on recycled newsprint 499 99 RFA3-OC 1098AU Blade Trader ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays ,nside 8matilla0orrow counties .......... $42.65 2utside 8matilla0orrow counties ....... $53.90 3eriodical postage paid at Hermiston, 25. 3ostmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 (. 0ain 6t., Hermiston, 25 97838. XD9802HC $ 21 99 REV $ 21 99 0ember of (2 0edia *roup &opyright 2015 $ HEALTHY FRIDAYS Free health screenings: blood pressure checks, weigh ins, body mass index, cholesterol and glucose. Every Third Friday of the Month December 18 • 9:00 - 11:00am GSMC Education Department Prong Horn Boots 89 99 45001 EARLY PREGNANCY One FREE class focusing on the first six months of pregnancy. Healthcare professional speakers will provide presentations on topics that include medication use, exercise, diet, breastfeeding and many other helpful subjects. Free, but please pre-register. STUDENT OF THE WEEK December 10 • 6:30-8:30pm GSMC Conference Room Center 2 BIRTHING CLASSES Courtney Wheeler H ERMISTON H IGH S CHOOL Not only is she an amazing student and person, but she is really doing a lot of peer teaching for my customer service unit. She is helping those who are struggling and setting a good example for others. 3.19 GPA INC. EQUAL HOUSING 15 % OFF Two-day course to prepare each mother and birth partner for a knowledgeable, rewarding and sharing childbirth experience. December 11 & 12 Friday: 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Saturday: 9:30 am - 3 pm GSMC Conference Room BREASTFEEDING CLASSES One class covers breastfeeding benefits, pumping and much more. Come to this FREE class taught by a certified lactation consultant, and learn techniques that make for a successful experience. Free, but please pre-register. December 2 • 12:00pm - 1:30pm GSMC Conference Center 3 & 4 Proudly Sponsored by OPPORTUNITY HOPPER 398 E Ridgeway Hermiston, OR 97838 541-667-2000 1-877-668-6541 www.hermistonhomes.net For information or to register for a class, call (541) 667-3509 or email healthinfo@gshealth.org 1825 N. 1st St. • Hermiston, OR
