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DRAFT <br /> <br /> <br />welcomed and supported provided that it is done in a sensible manner on the basis of public <br />engagement about the possibilities as well as the need to do so. <br /> <br />3. Goals <br />Our overall goal is to decrease the number of free-roaming cats in Orange County through <br />spay/neuter efforts, public outreach and education, community involvement, and more <br />innovative approaches to resident cat concerns. It is expected that, by doing so, far fewer cats <br />will enter the shelter as a result of “kitten season,” and fewer cats will need to be euthanized as <br />a means of population control. A major lesson of our prior experience managing pet <br />overpopulation is that there is a direct correlation between the number of animals euthanized <br />and the number of animal intakes. <br />Decreasing the number of intakes should have an impact on current seasonal sheltering <br />dynamics. The influx of cats in early summer should lessen over time, alleviating the seasonal <br />surge now driving sheltering operations throughout the rest of the year. Board days per animal <br />should lessen with decreases in the number of kittens being admitted, and as a result, it may <br />become possible to redirect certain resources to other areas of animal care or even into early <br />prevention in the community. <br />In addition, community dynamics and impacts should be mitigated by decreases in the number <br />of free-roaming cats. Reducing the number of free-roaming cats overall is expected to reduce <br />potential or actual disease transmission (including rabies, which exists in wildlife species such <br />as raccoons with which uncontrolled and unvaccinated cats can come into contact). It should <br />also mitigate nuisance neighborhood issues, such as the soiling of gardens and sandboxes, as <br />well as the depredation of birds and other wildlife that often fall victim to free-roaming cats. It <br />deserves to be stressed that a strong sense emerged from task force listening sessions that an <br />effective plan for addressing free-roaming cats would protect wildlife. <br />Decreasing their numbers, in short, will be a prerequisite to success in better managing free- <br />roaming cats in Orange County. Available and emergent resources must be used strategically <br />and they must be used to reduce the number of free-roaming cats over time, on the basis of <br />preceding interventions, public awareness, and community commitment and involvement.