In response to Ben Webb’s “nervousness” over a few stray cats in the Tops parking lot, what exactly would he have to be nervous about?

Did he think he would be attacked for some reason?

I have helped to rescue stray and feral cats in our area my entire life and I have never been attacked by a cat without it being provoked. I think there may be some exaggeration as to his true feelings about the cats, or these cats were provoked into acting in such a manner that made him nervous.

These cats are not the problem, people are when it comes to this issue. It is the people who refuse to have their pets spayed and neutered and then let them outside to roam the streets and procreate. It is the people who purchase cute little kittens with no thought to the responsibilities that go along with owning a pet. The people who have created these problems are never the ones out there trying to help these cats, we are.

Mr. Webb certainly has the means to help trap, neuter and release some of these animals or better yet the ability to have them spayed or neutered and help to find them homes. These poor animals are only looking for help. He said people are coming in from other towns to feed and care for the cats and he has asked them not to. Is he going to?

Some of us care about these cats and cannot just turn our backs. When there is a town that refuses to help these poor souls then others have to come in and do it for them. There are many of us in this area that do whatever we are able to help these cats throughout the county. We feed them, provide them water, spay and neuter them, find them safe homes. We take them to the vets when they are sick and we cry when we lose them. We go out in snowstorms to make sure they have shelter and food. We look for them when they come up missing. We are out there every single day, trying our very hardest, to help these animals and articles like the one published about the cats being over fed in Mayville, and comments like Mr. Webb’s, are detrimental to what we are trying to accomplish.

It is obvious that Mr. Webb is not an animal lover, certainly not a cat lover, or he would not have felt nervous around these cats, he would have felt compassion.

The woman mentioned who does not want the cats using her flowerbed as a litter box should be educated as to natural deterrents that can be placed around those areas and that will not harm any wildlife, including the cats. Often, simply placing pebbles or rocks in dirt will be enough to deter cats from using these areas. The Erie County Fair featured an exhibit on the benefits of using coal for landscaping, rather than mulch or plain dirt. It never fades, there is no smell, you never have to replace it and cats will not use it as a litter box. There is also a non-repellent plastic matting that can be placed around plants called Scat Cat.

If the cats were part of a trap, neuter, release program, there would be no issue of un-neutered male cats spraying outside. These are all easy remedies if people just care enough to become part of the solution instead of continuing to be part of the problem.

As I stated before, it is not the cats that are the underlying problem here, but the people who refuse to be responsible. I challenge Mr. Webb and others in the Mayville community to donate some money to a cat shelter that is willing to come to Mayville and trap, neuter and release these cats or trap, spay or neuter and rehome them. I would love for them to take the initiative, do the right thing and make a difference; instead of waiting for someone else.

Kris Stimson is a volunteer for the New Leash on Life, a local non-profit organization.