Oh my Dear God. There are some absolute morons in this city. People complain and complain all day, every day but only few are willing to get out there and trap the cats that other people dumped and get them sterilized and vaccinated. Humans carry just as many diseases if not more than these domestic cats do. That is what blows my mind, people are still so ignorant in the face of loads of scientific research and evidence. I will never understand why people find violence to be a solution for any problem. It is very sad to me that i live in a city where so many people are so very blind to the facts and the truth not to mention that they find a solution such as violence to be the answer. Thanks especially to all of the hard working advocates and caregivers who are responsible, clean and respectful of others property as well as dedicated to resolving the overpopulation of domestic cat problem humanely and compassionately. The situation in Ortega is a HOARDING situation (i know first hand about the case) and yet it tends to reflect on all caregivers of feral cats and this is unfair as much as it is inaccurate. Bottom line....if you don't like the cats that is your right. However, even if you don't like cats you should (as a taxpayer) appreciate the fact that aggressive Trap-Neuter-Release efforts in Jacksonville is saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in our city budget. Don't believe it? Call the mayors office and ask. Better yet- do your homework before you start attacking people that you don;t even know and stereotyping people who care about cats as being some kind of crazy people.LOL. Hell, if the responsible caregivers i know are "CRAZY" then I think we need more CRAZY people because these people should be thanked by the community instead of attacked. How this became such a controversial subject I will never understand/. What i do know is that PEOPLE are the reason so many domestic cats exist today...Spay/Neuter-Spay/Neuter-Spay/Neuter. Peace-Out.Meow.

Human Territorial Behavior By Expendable Proxy -- I have come to the inexorable conclusion that "cat-lovers" letting destructive invasive-species roam free, and those that defend the rights of cats to overtake private and public property and wildlife areas, are only (cowardly) using cats as a proxy for their OWN territorial behavior. Like inner-city youth that will disrespectfully and inconsiderately use loud music to stake-out territory for themselves. Whether this behavior is done consciously or subconsciously the motive is the same. As long as they can have one of their cats defecate in another's yard or destroy their property, animals, and wildlife; and the land-owner not have any recourse; the cat-owner/caretaker owns that territory. It's time to put a stop to them using their "cute kitty" excuse for usurping and stealing others' property. If they want territory they can buy it like anyone else. Instead they're using underhanded and manipulative means -- putting (and sacrificing) live animals in the path of their envy and greed. "Cat-lovers" only really want your yard, garden, or forest while making all others and all other animals suffer for what they can't have. Bottom line -- they want to control you and your property. That's _ALL_ that "cat-lovers" are really after. It's why they don't care at all if their cat nor any other animals, nor even other humans, get harmed by their goals and (lack of) values in life. / Cat-advocates in Florida have even tried to let them use shopping-centers and hotels as places where they can keep their cat colonies (to act as speed-bumps, car-accidents, and health-violation-lawsuits waiting to happen I presume). Google for: Feral Cats Loews Hotels, to see what kinds of sociopaths these cat-lovers truly are. / They can't be stopped from their behavior. They psychotically believe they are doing "god's work" for themselves. Destroying their cats for them is the ONLY solution.

Meow360, re: Using public playgrounds instead. -- So, you are saying that it is PERFECTLY OKAY for you to use your disease-infested cats to drive people off of their own properties and into public parks where you cat-lickers are petitioning to allow you to keep your feral disease-infested cats? -- WOW.

Meow360, re: Sociopaths/Psychopaths (look up those terms, this is what cat-lovers do every time they post death-threats and threats of harm against humans). According to you and your demented ilk, this must be just like all those deeply disturbed serial-killers in the making that are eradicating all those other invasive-species in N. America; like Kudzu, Purple-Loosestrife, Gypsy Moths, Emerald Ash-Borers, African Cichlids, Burmese Pythons, Brown Tree Snakes, and Eurasian Watermilfoil from their lands and lakes. MANY of which are escaped pets or were released from pets' habitats (Eurasian Watermilfoil came from pet fish aquariums). Or how about all those sickos that run animal-shelters, they're nothing but a bunch of child-murdering pedophiles because they have to euthanize animals every day. And every farmer and rancher that has to humanely put down an animal with a gun must be molesting and murdering everything in their county. Those damned sickos! And what about all those people in stockyards murdering all those cattle every day for your McBurgers? I bet they're a hide-out for all the serial-killers that nobody can find! And all those hunters that provide food for their family by hunting, I bet they're the worst of all! And of course, the ABSOLUTELY WORST, MOST MENTALLY-ILL OF ALL -- all those people that are INTENTIONALLY paying others to murder all those MILLIONS of INNOCENT animals to make your cat-food for you! A bunch of demented basket cases! They're probably the MOST heinous and notorious pedophiles of all! (on this one I'd agree) I bet you're onto something! Like your needing serious psychological help. Paranoid psychotic much?

Just a little off topic. For Grandma who does not supervise a 2 year old her back yard. Guess what to Grandma--there are two beautiful playgrounds in Ortega that only children can enjoy. The city spends a million dollars for playground-these playgrounds are a waste of tax payer money. Why not take your granddaughter to a 1 million dollar playground? Playground equipment your neighbors paid for you to use with kids.

For those people posting about killing small harmless animals on this post beaware: Both psychiatrist and lawenforcment use questions regarding killing cats or dogs during an interviews to screen for possible Psychopaths/sociopaths personality tendancies. It is proven that men who kill what is commmonly considered a pet are more likely psycopaths and eventualy will graduate to killing people.

Your shot out...but you will get caught. Hope you don't have any kids that your exposing your warped sense of 'rationaling' to, that are watching you shoot animals just because they were abandoned...I bet you pulled the legs and wings off insects when you were a kid to didn't you? Oh and by the way, I'm a dog person, my husband is the cat person but HE and I both know CATS COVER THEIR CRAP WHEN THE DODO, so this woman must have stepped in a coons droppings, and is making a big thing out of these abandoned cats just to get people like you with Ailurophobia, going.

nativejax, Destroying cats is neither hating nor fearing cats. Why do psychotic cat-advocates always presume that if someone is removing a destructive, deadly disease spreading, human-engineered invasive-species from the native habitat to restore it to natural balance that they must hate that organism? Does someone who destroys Zebra Mussels, Burmese Pythons, African Cichlids, or any of the other myriad destructive invasive-species have some personal problem with that species? (Many are escaped PETS that don't even spread harmful diseases, unlike cats.) Your ignorance and blatant biases are revealed in your declaring that people who destroy cats must somehow hate or fear cats. Nothing could be further from the truth. People who spread a destructive invasive-species that tortures-to-death all other wildlife have zero respect for life. They don't even care about cats dying a torturous death from exposure, animal attacks, diseases, dehydration, road-kill, environmental poisons. etc., the way that ALL stray cats suffer to death. They don't even respect their fellow human being. This speaks more than volumes about their disgusting character. People like that should be locked up in prison for life for their cruelty to ALL animals, cruelty to their own cats as well as all native wildlife they let their cats skin alive or disembowel alive. If you let cats roam free you are violating every animal-abandonment, animal-neglect, and animal-endangerment law in existence. While also being in direct violation of every invasive-species law worldwide. If people have LEARNED to hate cats today, these cat-lovers have nobody but themselves and everyone just like them to blame. THEY are the reason people are now realizing that all excess cats must be destroyed on-site. They've done so much to make people care about cats. THIS IS THE FAULT OF EVERY LAST CAT-LOVER. They have NOBODY but themselves to blame. They can take that all the way to the very last shot-dead cat's grave.

Be cautious about suggesting that any cats rounded-up from outdoors be used for adoption or you could be held criminally responsible. There's no way to know a wild-harvested cats' vaccination history, if any, nor their exposure to all the deadly diseases cats carry. If a cat has contracted rabies then a vaccination against it later will do no good. It's already too late. There's also no reliable known test for rabies while keeping the animal alive. They really need to be destroyed after they are trapped. It's the only sane and sensible solution. This is precisely why all wild-harvested animals in the world, of any type intended for the pet-industry, must undergo an extended quarantine period for a MINIMUM of 6 months, BY LAW, before transfer or sale of those animals to prevent just these things. Cats are no different than any other animal when harvested from the wild. You're just risking this following story happening in every shelter across the land. (Google for: rabid cat adopted wake county) Another example, of thousands: (Google for: rabid kitten found jamestown exposure) Adopting or approaching any unknown cat that's been outdoors is just playing Russian Roulette. The net is flooded with similar examples every week. THOUSANDS of people must endure, pay for (out of their own pocket) the painful and expensive (more than $1000) rabies shots if they get scratched or bitten by any stray or feral cat, especially if that cat cannot be trapped again to destroy it and test it for rabies. Stray-cat feeders are guaranteeing this, by training and teaching these cats to approach humans for food. These cats then lashing out by biting or scratching at any hands that try to touch or pet them.

I see a pattern on this forum that is a little unsettling to me. Has anyone considered the thoughts and feelings of this woman? This is exploitation at it's finest. I'm a resident of this neighborhood and can't help but feel personally ashamed of the surrounding neighbors' lack of personal concern for her. It's not about the cats. Most of these people could probably afford to spay/neuter, immunize, and donate to local animal rescue. Hey what about an adoption fundraiser? Unfortunately, my neighbors call the local news instead, carry on about f*ces and embarrass their neighbor. Is this really going to solve the issue? Have a little heart. Buck up and work together instead of against one another. The way you people carry on like this makes me feel more ashamed to call this neighborhood my home than this cat overpopulation ever has.