Book Review: Ann K. Fisher Living in the Shadows: How to Help the Stray Cat
in Your life (without adding to the problem).
Amythyst Publishing, Los Angeles, CA 2002. Pp. 8-141 with appendix (illustrated)
Softbound 14.95 plus 4.00 S&H. To
order
The following review was published in the July/August 2002 issue #223 of the
Probe. The official newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control
Association pp. 3,7.
You can imagine my surprise to find this book in my mailbox. I never dreamed
a Trap and Release proponent's book would be sent to me for a review. But there
it was. Whether by mistake or on purpose, I decided that I should respect the
request and review the work.
 The
author, Ann K. Fisher, loves cats. She wrote the book because she wanted to
fill the information gap among people desiring to help stray and feral cats.
I was pleased to read that she doesn't believe in promoting a feral cat population.
She clearly believes cats are best kept indoors with loving families. Instead,
she sees her book as a way to deal with the feral and stray cat problem in what
she believes is a humane and responsible way. She definitely disagrees with
feral cat eradication programs. She seems to have the idea that cats that enjoy
their freedom should have that freedom respected by humans. She is also quite
humble in that she doesn't consider herself a cat expert. Rather she is just
one of an estimated 17 million people that feed feral cats.
The book opens with background material about cats. Ms. Fisher gives a brief
history of cats which I found to be rather interesting. The next chapter covers
the difficult task of distinguishing feral cats from strays. She admits the
guidelines aren't hard and fast but they are certainly better than nothing.
I should say that the principles follow the tone of the late Mr. Kruise of Pennsylvania
who wrote an article in WCT on cats in March/April, 1995.
`Ms. Fisher spends a fair amount of space prepping the would be cat feeder.
She is properly concerned over the potential for someone to start feeding these
cats and then quit due to frustration or poverty. She is careful to coach people
to carefully count the cost in time and expense. She asks the potential feeder
to consider more than just money and time. Intangibles such as space and neighborhood
relations also factor into the mix. I was quite pleased with her tone and low
key recommendations. I also found her explanations of cat behavior to be quite
enlightening. As an owner of three cats, (rescued from the pound), her information
helped me understand the actions of my own cats. One fact in particular was
intriguing. Ms Fisher argues that cats "play" with their quarry in
an attempt to tire the animal and reduce potential injury when they go for the
kill. So rather than an action of cruelty, the cats behavior can possibly be
better understood as a survival mechanism.
As can be expected, the book covers recommendations on the type and manner
of feeding. (Hint, she recommends dry food for a variety of reasons). She explains
the when and where of feeding and encourages people to do it out of pubic view.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the book is the chapter entitled Trap, Spay
or Neuter and Release (TNR). Here she teaches people about trapping cats and
getting them veterinary care and then releasing back into the environment. Beside
the philosophical problem with a TNR program, I had some other problems with
the chapter. First, Ms. Fisher isn't aware of low cost cage traps. This is just
a result of her lack of familiarity with the trapping industry. But she would
have helped her readers immensely if she actually did an on-line search for
cage traps and saw companies with lower priced cage traps. She also wasn't aware
of plasti-catch traps either. Second, I think she should have spent more time
on teaching potential cat trappers to protect themselves against diseases, like
rabies. As one who lives in a city that had two cats test positive to rabies,
I think her oversight is potentially dangerous to people. Finally, her trapping
suggestions won't help people to have to catch trap wise cats.
I was impressed with her chapter on taming feral cats. It would certainly
take a dedicated soul to put that much work into taming a cat. She even added
a chapter on caring for orphaned kittens. The book concludes with a perspective
on long term cat management. One will also find an appendix on the rights of
cats and lists of resources for the potential feral cat caretaker.
As a leader in the struggle against the animal rights movement and its cohorts,
I found many portions of this text difficult to read. The side bar stories of
people's experiences with cats were to my mind disturbing. I am increasingly
saddened by the energy people will put into animals like cats but not for the
drug addict or poor person down the road. I also seriously question the real
world validity of TNR programs. I doubt that people who have committed their
life to feed feral cats will suddenly stop when the last cat dies. (The idea
being that they are all fixed therefore there is only one generation to care
for). Given the level of dedication among these people I find it difficult to
believe that they won't re-seed the cat area to ensure they are still needed.
Even if cat feeders did stop, I still have serious problems with maintaining
feral cat populations. I don't care whether it is proven they ravage wildlife
or not. Feral cats, like feral dogs, are a nuisance and should be removed. Domestic
species don't belong in the wild and they become a burden to property owners.
Nevertheless, if you want a book that will provide an introduction to implementing
a TNR program in your area. I would think this book would a good place to start.
Stephen Vantassel
Wildlife Damage Control
340 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.net
Pricing & Ordering Info Feral Cat Book
Stephen Vantassel is a Certified
Wildlife Control Professional. He is a nationally known writer including
having been an assistant editor for Wildlife Control Technology magazine, author
of numerous ADC articles as well as The Wildlife Removal
Handbook rev.ed and the Wildlife Damage Inspection
Handbook rev. ed. Mr. Vantassel is also a vocal critic of the growing animal
rights movement. He has exposed the fallacies and deceptions of the animal
rights protest industry through debate, lecture and publication.
8/24/02
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