SAN FRANCISCO'S CLOSED MINDED ANIMAL PEOPLE

I have presented the idea of putting birth control into feral cat populations to some key players including the animal welfare coalition and animal welfare commission. I am not a proponent of hormones generally BUT - the alternative is killing cats every day at Animal Care and Control. Noone wants this to happen but if impound numbers are brought down there will be less over-crowding and more resources to go around-which also means less animals will have to be put to death because they are undersocialized. Birth control will obviously cause less kittens to be born. This is presented as a temporary idea until these animals can be brought to spay/neuter.

This  was the response from one....
                                  birth control is "not good for health concerns of cat and we will not put a cat's health at risk!!! HYPOCRISY!!!!!!!!!!
HYPOCRISY of this statement is amazing when you look at what is used for shelter animals and what is "safe for a cat's health"
 Griseofulvin - a highly toxic liver damaging drug has been used for months on ringworm cats. It has been proven time and time again in vet world and human world that is potentially dangerous. Cats have died of hepatic failure from this drug. Ringworm is a fungus! Yet, we will risk a cat's life to use this drug to treat a simple fungus that is self-limiting!!!

I have 2 of the cats from a ringworm ward that were saved from imminent death by a local rescue and were  treated  with this drug for 3 to 5 months that is unheard of in medical communities due to its health risks!!
 It is incredibly health concerning, toxic and could be potentially lethal. Yet, it is widely used!
As well, as steroids which is also rampantly used.
Steroids is PROVEN to cause, heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes yet is used rampantly in vet practices!!

I really believe that i presented my idea of birth control (which i have discussed for the last two decades trying to get someone to develop this) to people that they haven't thought of before and it's hard for people to accept things differently from what they are used to!
Yet we use everything from prosac to paxil on cats! Communities use birth control for pigeons and deer populations! Yet, not for breeding cats...yet, noone really wants to have to put animals to sleep for crowding.
To get euthanasia rates down we must get impound numbers down-it is a temporary solution until spay/neuter. Yet, for some reason it falls on deaf and resistant ears in San Francisco.
Why is that? Because people aren't ready for this and won't think outside of the box which I find shocking.

I don't have the resources to get this out or further develop this, but have presented this to many people hoping that a vet or scientist will take the idea and run with it. It amazes me how closed minded people are!

Now, in the past few years, some companies have developed a birth control and have made a 3month option but still san francisco won't give it credence and prefer to kill cats and argue with each other as opposed to get the impound numbers down!

 I promote this as a temporary idea UNTIL spay/neuter can be done.
I help out a NY times website and help people internationally that couldn't even afford to take one cat from their colony to get spayed or neutered and for me the solution is get them birth control for their breeding colony of ferals during mating season, monitor it-feed during the day so wildlife doesn't eat.
This is the EASY solution to the argument of how do we protect wildlife from eating the birth control laden food?? FEED DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS! MONITOR FEEDING!!!
Raccoons and skunk and wildlife are generally nocturnal. Easy solution!!

For aggressive males- traditional vet practices used female hormones-so it has been used! Anyway,  the reality is I am not one for hormones as my business is holistic-but when I weigh the odds-this is a fantastic temporary solution. This brings fighting in feral colonies among males down- which means less disease transmission...

"Shanti Zinzi- The Cat Whisperer" on Pirate Cat Radio 87.9FM 1/28/10 10 am

radio appearance interview- discussing holistic medicine for cats, cat handling, cat behavior, the cartesian paradigm of western veterinary medicine,   animal rights and shelter cats and their stress...10am-12pm