MANY a postcard in France features the cute, sugar-coated, image of a kitten looking out of a basket of flowers, but behind such village scenes the problem of feral cats can be a real issue.
And whilst there are many animal rescue centres able to help out, the fact that cat numbers are rarely controlled causes problems for both local people and the mairie.
Lynn Stone, of the charity Les Amis des Chats, is involved in a project in the Lot et Garonne that aims to tackle the issue where the plan is to trap, neuter and return the cats.
"We've calculated that just one single female cat can, in just three years, give rise to around 2,000 cats and kittens so it is clear that something has to be done," Lynn said.
"Unfortunately some places look to poison or shoot cats which just creates a vacuum that is filled by other cats, that's why we look to humanely capture cats, take them to the vets to get them checked over and neutered, before releasing them back where they were first found.
"Such a system has proven effective all over the world and we believe it is the only way to deal with a colony of cats."
Les Amis des Chats was started in 2000 by a local vet in the village of Roquecor, where stray cats were causing problems of disease and infections, as well as proving a nuisance to visitors and local businesses.
A few years later Lynn became involved with the charity's work after looking after some cats, and being an artist who works from home enabled her to assist with the administration and fund raising side of things.
"Like most people I started helping by adopting two cats and then began donating pieces of my artwork to raise money, but quickly I ended up completely involved, so today I have the refuge and adoption centre in our home," Lynn said.
"And our work has also seen us offer support to 32 other communes where we work with the mairie and local volunteers to organise the trapping and tracking.
"Last year we helped rehome 660 cats and kittens, with 200 of those coming from our own adoption centre, and we are often involved on a national level with groups the length and breadth of France."
Clearly such a venture can not run on just the goodwill of volunteers, so a major part of Lynn's work is in organising fund raising events and looking at ways to generate income.
"Our work is supported by the Blue Cross and we have also received funds from the RSPCA for individual projects such as the refurbishment of the enclosures we have," Lynn said.
"There is usually some fund raising initiative running every month, and we have around 200 members who donate €20 a year, and whilst some of the mairies we assist do help out some don't, although it costs €200 to deal with each cat.
"We have a calendar that features the work from our art and photography competitions, plus we will often receive a signed book from the author Joanna Harris or artwork from cat artist Lesley Anny Ivory, but people themselves also host events such as auctions or car boot sales with the money being passed on.
"Later this year we are looking forward to running a gala that will draw together people's stories about their cats into a book, and we've just started a cat sponsorship service that lets people help us out whether they live in France, the UK or further a field."
Website: Les Amis des Chats
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What an interesting programme from a conservation point of view! As an Australian, I've been aware of the devastation feral cats can achieve amongst the small mammal population for many years, and now I am in an area where one of the last remnant populations of genuine wild cats is just about holding out against hybridisation with domestic / feral cats so I applaud Lynne's efforts. It's not just an animal welfare issue, it's a wildlife conservation issue too.
Posted by: Susan Walter | 02 March 2009 at 12:46
ON a personal level, I have 7 cats who are all kept in the house at night time to try to evade these kind of problems.
A trap-neuter-return programme like we operate in many small villages will control populations of feral cats. If a cul is ordered, not all are caught and so live on to reproduce, many other 'domestic' pets are caught and it just causes a vacuum effect which will eventually be filled by other cats.
In a controlled state, feral cats can live happily and be of beneift to village life.
One interesting fact is that a single female cat can lead to a population of over 2000 cats over a period of 3 years!
Take a look at our website www.les-amis-des-chats.com for more facts about our work and to help us out, why not sponsor a cat or make a donation.
Posted by: Lynn Stone | 02 March 2009 at 19:57
May I just say that I really commend all of the good work done by Les Amis des Chats. I have 8 cats (7 came with me from the UK). The eighth was abandoned in our garden and over the time we have been here we have had to hand six others over to the SPA (all tiny kittens - some just thrown over my hedge!).
What is really worrying is that my French neighbours have gathered together eight cats too over recent months, but unlike ours they are not neutured, chipped or vaccinated.
When I approached my neighbours about this they said it was too expensive and did not understand the necessity of paying out such sums for a cat!
Needless to say that there is a lot of education needed here in respect to the responsible keeping of our feline friends :(
Posted by: Tina Hamilton | 02 March 2009 at 20:52
It is only thanks to our wonderful members, supporters and a fantastic team of volunteers that we are able to work at all. Those 'active' within the charity work tirelessly free of charge in their own time. From those who give a small donation to those who keep the funds under control, who organise the trapping and neutering, who help clean out enclosures to hold those cats for adoption, everyone working together to make us a great working team.
PS Most of our membership is french now, which is just fantatsic!
Posted by: Lynn Stone | 02 March 2009 at 21:33