J r o m sound to sea 



Outer Banks Wild Cats 



Mary Willis' husband calls her the 

 saint of Frisco. Debbie Martin is 

 known as the cat lady of Avon. And 

 Ocracoker Margaret Harris is best 

 known by her 25 adopted "Ocracats." 

 Though other feline fanciers dwell in 

 these Outer Banks villages, these three 

 women have a greater common bond 

 — a soft spot for stray and wild cats 

 and a commitment to curb 

 their numbers through 

 spaying and neutering. 



With collection jars 

 placed in community motels 

 and restaurants, each of 

 these cat lovers has raised 

 money to spay and neuter 

 feral cats roaming Outer 

 Banks back yards and back 

 alleys. Martin's organiza- 

 tion, Friends of Felines, has 

 "fixed" more than 75 cats in 

 its four years of existence; 

 this year Avon's ferals are 

 given rabies shots as well. 

 Harris estimates she's 

 spayed or neutered about 30 cats on 

 the island since forming Ocracats in 

 January. And Willis of CATS (Citi- 

 zens Advocating Trapping and 

 Sterilization) has fixed about 85 

 Hatteras strays, 60 of which were 

 treated with money collected since 

 April 1992. 



"I figure that's at least 500 or 600 

 kittens that aren't being born this time 

 this year," says Willis, who patterned 

 CATS after a national nonprofit 

 organization called Alley Cat Allies 

 (ACA). ACA advocates stabilizing the 

 United States' estimated 60 million 

 feral cats through sterilization. A feral 

 cat is simply a domesticated cat that 

 has gone wild or was bom in the wild. 



Willis says tourists have given 

 generously to the cause and that some 

 residents are more receptive to and 



tolerant of the sterilized ferals, 

 especially the stray males, which 

 before they were neutured "sprayed" 

 urine on boats in a local marina. The 

 caterwauling of many females in heat 

 has also subsided. 



"After they were spayed and 

 neutered, everyone's attitudes toward 

 the cats changed," says Willis, adding 



that vaccinations for rabies, which is 

 on the increase in some coastal areas, 

 are provided now too. "They are 

 keeping the rat population down. It 

 has just made such a difference." 



Many of the cats are trapped and 

 sterilized at the request of residents, 

 who are often happy to feed the 

 felines, but either can't or won't pay 

 the fee for spaying and neutering or 

 are unable to apprehend the strays. As 

 time permits, Harris says she also tries 

 to tame and place the animals in 

 homes. 



Overpopulation of cats is a 

 worldwide dilemma, but ferals pose a 

 unique problem on North Carolina's 

 barrier islands. The Outer Banks are 

 cramped quarters for this prolific 

 species; the spits of seashore are also 

 host to many tourists and much 



transience. Cottage renters often leave 

 or lose pets, and irresponsible cat 

 owners find dense parkland and 

 maritime forests an irresistable dump- 

 ing ground for unwanted kitten litters. 



"People who abandon cats delude 

 themselves into thinking the animal 

 finds a nice home and is happy," says 

 D.D. Shumway, a Hatteras veterinar- 

 ian who offers reduced fees 

 to CATS and Friends of 

 Felines. 



The Humane Society of 

 the United States estimates 

 that one unspayed female 

 cat and her offspring can 

 produce 420,000 kittens in 

 seven years. Given these 

 numbers, the cat sterilization 

 advocates are doing a service 

 to the community. Willis 

 says her activity has posi- 

 tively influenced pet owners 

 on the island to spay or 

 neuter their companions; 

 she distributes reduced 

 sterilization certificates from Friends 

 of Animals to sweeten the deal. 



But not everyone is raving about 

 the efforts of Willis and the other 

 advocates. The Outer Banks SPCA 

 (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 

 to Animals), which provides the area's 

 animal control, frowns on the trap- 

 sterilize-release programs. 



"We don't feel that is the humane 

 solution," says President Gail 

 Kowalski. "When we do collect a 

 feral cat, that animal is euthanized 

 as quickly as possible to lessen the 

 chance of injury and minimize stress. 



"I think the important thing that a 

 lot of people do forget is the ultimate 

 welfare of the animal," she says. 

 "Humans feel better in themselves 

 spaying the animal and turning it 

 loose." Continued 



COASTWATCH 21 



