Mike in the Media

The Suburban Newspaper, Feb. 15, 2012: CSL Nautilus Plus to Close

 

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VIctoria Times Colonist January 15, 2012: Feral Cats and CSL role

Citizens' groups trying to purrrge feral-cat problem

 

 

BY GRAHAM LANKTREE, FOR POSTMEDIA NEWS JANUARY 15, 2012

 

 

Feral cat populations have increased significantly across Canada.

The kitties gather around train yards, back-alley trash bins, under porches and other urban haunts, looking to score a meal.

In Toronto, it's estimated there are as many as 100,000 of the scrappy animals on the loose, and the numbers are similar in Montreal. Populations have bred to 44,000 in Edmonton, 25,000 in Windsor, Ont., and the cats are abound in Ottawa, as well.

Their rising numbers are cause for concern, experts say, since they can carry disease transferable to humans and household pets, such as rabies, cat scratch disease, tapeworm and hookworm infection and are a threat to local wildlife.

Last summer, a Winnipeg woman's hand was severely disfigured by bacterial infection after being bit by a feral cat she had attempted to take in.

"There's a serious problem in most municipalities," says Mike Cohen, a city councillor in Montreal's Cote SaintLuc borough, "but many cities have shut their eyes to it."

New citizen groups, however, are cropping up nationwide to tackle the problem.

Last March, Cohen and a small army of volunteers formed the Cote SaintLuc Cats Committee to trap, neuter and return (TNR) the thousands of feral cats that roam their community.

These TNR programs aim to curb the growth of feral colonies, which average roughly 10 cats each, by sterilizing, vaccinating and returning the animals to where they were found.

"Our program has trapped and neutered 50 cats in its first year," says Cohen. "That prevented hundreds of unwanted kittens being born."

Yet they continue to multiply. "We're making a small difference right now, but if you don't do anything, their numbers will be even larger," he says.

It's a hard-fought battle, says Dr. Esther Attard, a staff veterinarian with Toronto Animal Services. "If you can sterilize 80 per cent of a colony, that colony won't grow," she says. "It's a big job to do that, but it's better than just euthanizing them. Otherwise they breed and you get more cats to take their place."

A breeding pair of felines can, on average, produce 5.6 kittens a year.

Volunteers remove any cats that can be socialized and put them up for adoption. But cats more than one year old that have never known a human home are considered wild.

"By removing kittens and any friendly strays that have joined the colony, we immediately reduce not only present colony numbers, but future numbers, too," says Virginia Dobson, co-founder of the Little Cats Lost TNR effort in Edmonton.

This month, the city is giving Dobson and her partner Lisa Paskar $30,000 to expand the operation they started three years ago and to monitor their success at four pilot sites. "The funds will also allow us to develop messaging and support to help community residents understand what we do," she says.

Already overburdened with high numbers of unwanted and abandoned animals, the Edmonton Humane Society and city-operated Animal Care & Control Center are unable to take on the work needed to make a TNR program successful, Dobson says.

Traditional animal welfare organizations are on the ropes in other cities, too. Donations to the Toronto Humane Society plunged 50 per cent last year, and Montreal faces its own challenges as it works to reform animal welfare services.

Yet, community groups seeking to fill the vacuum by stepping in with TNR programs are wasting their time, says Chris Hassall, a conservation ecologist at Ottawa's Carleton University.

"One of the main things you notice when you look at the research literature around trap-neuter-return is how poorly we understand these feral cat colonies," he says. "I'm skeptical of the role TNR could play. There are lots of emotional arguments and little intensive research to back it up."

That's not to say feral cats don't pose a significant concern to public health and local wildlife, Hassall says. "We know that, given the opportunity, they will eat reptiles, amphibians and that 20 per cent of their diet are birds."

"In an urban environment, we're already looking at an ecologically desolate place and that additional pressure can have a big impact." There's also the fact that 80 per cent of rabies shots are given in the U.S. because of contact with infected cats, he adds.

"Sometimes, people will approach these animals thinking they can help and end up getting bitten," notes Attard. "They can also start using people's porches as a litter box."

Two large-scale studies of TNR programs in California and Florida, Hassall says, showed no decline in the population of feral cats because gains were offset by people introducing new animals into the area.

To create an effective TNR program, he says, would require thorough monitoring and complimentary efforts, such as adoption and vigorous public education campaigns.

Dobson agrees and says these are exactly the efforts the expanded Little Cats Lost program is taking on. "There has to be a mix of initiatives to get overpopulation under control," she says. "We also need to push for lowincome spay and neuter services and a licensing for these animals."

Dobson and Cohen look to Calgary's innovative Animal and Bylaw Services, led by director Bill Bruce, as a model to aspire to. The program's annual operating budget of $5.3 million is all raised through its initiatives, rather than taxpayer money.

"We've seen the effectiveness of these programs ourselves," says Dobson, "now we just need to show others that it works."

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Free Press: Côte Saint-Luc a leader in social media

Here is a link to the Free Press story about new developments in social media in CSL.

Download Free PressCity website now available on smart phones

The Free Press, November 10, 2011- Groundbreaking for Les Cours Marc Chagall

Download Les Cours Marc Chagall Groundbreaking

November 10, 2011, The Suburban- CSL becoming leader in social media

CSL becoming 'leader in social media' 
By Joel Goldenberg 
The Suburban, November 9, 2011 

Côte St. Luc is becoming a leader in social media on the island of Montreal, in terms of interest in the city's website and other means of communicating with the public through the Internet, says councillor Mike Cohen. “Other municipalities are following our lead,” he said. 

Cohen, whose council portfolio includes communications, commended Darryl Levine, the city's public affairs director, for his efforts. 

“In the month of September, our website attracted 12,031 visits, the highest 30- day total ever,” Cohen explained. “The number of views on Facebook was the highest ever, at 14,680. And the number of video plays at VIMEO, which is a system like YouTube that we use, was 1,180. That's the highest number since we launched our own CSL-TV station in 2009. 

“We're really making waves and I would urge people in our community to like our Facebook page, to follow us on VIMEO, to keep tabs on social media.” 

And for those users entering Côte St. Luc's website who have to update their Adobe Flash Player to watch the VIMEO videos, before doing the update, they can get a chuckle from the notifications of the needed updates - expressions of frustrations such as “oh dear” and “aargh,” a sign of the sense of lighthearted humour that is also prevalent at Côte St. Luc council meetings these days. 

The Free Press, November 10, 2011- CSL Corner Column

Taking a leadership role on animal welfare 
By Mike Cohen 
CSL Corner, The Free Press, November 8, 2011 

As the official liaison from city council to the Côte St. Luc Cats Committee (CSLCC), I have had the opportunity in the past year to work and communicate with animal rights activists from across the province. This includes the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Companion Animal Adoption Centres of Quebec (CaacQ). 

Most recently I represented Côte St. Luc at a one-day conference presented by the CaacQ (www.caacq.ca) and attended by some 100 people from more than 60 municipalities in the province. The focus was on improving the state of animal welfare in our communities. 

A year and a half ago, when cat lovers began lobbying Côte St. Luc to adopt a Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) program, I decided to step forward. I did so with the support of the mayor and council, and after the first public meeting I organized attracted an overwhelming crowd and significant media attention, I knew we were on to something. 

City council agreed to provide some financial support for the program and the CSLCC was born. While TNR, which humanely traps, sterilizes and then releases feral cats back into their original territory, has been the main focus of the CSLCC, efforts have also been made to educate the public about the importance of this exercise. In the coming months, we hope to arrange visits to local schools, set up information booths within the community and continue, via our Facebook page and a hotline (514.485.6800, ext. CATS), to provide the tools for people to report feral cats in their neighbourhood. Both the SPCA and the Côte St. Luc Hospital for Animals have been solid partners. We have trapped close to 40 cats. A female cat can reproduce four times a year, beginning from six months old, and can give birth to from one to eight kittens each time. By sterilizing the cats, their numbers are brought down through attrition. 

Some key players at the recent Montreal conference included the amazing Bill Bruce, the director of Animal Services for the city of Calgary, and Jane Hoffman, the founder of the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals. Guy Auclair, a representative from the Quebec Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation, was also on hand. Please read my detailed summary at www.mikecohen.ca. 

Mike Cohen is the Côte St. Luc city councillor responsible for corporate identity, intercommunity relations, sponsorship and the liaison to the Côte St. Luc Cats Committee. His email address ismcohen@cotesaintluc.org.

PDF links to recent travel stories

Here is sampling of some of my recent travel stories:

Download SmuggsStowefall2011

Download SmuggsandStowe

Download Torontobbroadaug11

Download GrandIsleJStand20110001

Download Fall 2011

Go to www.sandboxworld.com/travel - copy and paste this link in your browser

The Suburban, November 2, 2011: Groundbreaking for Marc Chagall Town Houses

You can see the photo and cutline by clicking on the link below:

Download MarcChagall2

Free Press, October 25, 2011: CSL Social Media Statistics

Council Round-up 
By Isaac Olson 
The Free Press, October 25, 2011 

Realtor, council look to attract young families to Côte St. Luc 
With over 50 percent of 21 to-be-built townhouses already sold, Anita Benabou Rozenblat of Rozenblat Realty Group, went before the council on October 18 to ask how the city of Côte St. Luc can continue bringing new families to the area. 

“Your support has been great and we want to thank you,” said Rozenblat. As a former Wagar student and resident of the city, she said she’d like to see “everyone remain in our community.” 

Mayor Anthony Housefather said the city’s council was elected in 2006 with the goal of bringing more young families to CSL, while making life better for those that already live in the city. With installations like the new Aquatic Community Centre attracting people of all ages to CSL, the mayor said, “We have the best services of any city.” Housefather commended the Les Cours Marc Chagall project because it is bringing “affordable housing” to the city. 

At under $500,000 per unit, the townhouse complex will be built on Marc Chagall Ave. by developers Gerald Issenman and David Brown. For more details, visit: Anitabenabou.com or call:514.502.6627. 

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City’s social networking soars 
“We’ve become a leader in social media,” said Councillor Mike Cohen, praising the efforts of Darryl Levine, the city’s director of Public Affairs. “In the month of September, our website attracted 12,031 visits and that’s the highest 30- day total ever.” 

The councillor encouraged residents to “like our Facebook page” and “follow us on Vimeo,” with both sites also receiving an increased number of visits. 

Cohen’s online blog states: “The high number of video plays at Vimeo in September was the result of two new videos related to the Aquatic and Community Centre.” He also states that these videos were embedded on the front page of CoteSaintLuc.org and posted to the city’s Facebook page. 

The city’s Facebook page has garnered 14,680 views since its 2009 launch. The city also has LinkedIn, Flicker and Twitter pages. 

Free Press, October 25, 2011: CSL has cat fever

CSL has ‘cat trap fever’, group wants to keep it going 
by Isaac Olson 
The Free Press, October 25, 2011 

A representative of the Côte St. Luc Cats Committee (CSLCC) went before council on October 17 to both thank the city for sponsoring the recently launched trap, neuter and release program while, at the same time, asking councillors to continue supporting the initiative in next year’s budget. 

“You have been putting an excellent face on Côte St. Luc and, by extension, bringing respect to yourselves for your compassionate, proactive approach to the issue of stray cats in Côte St. Luc,” said Dr. Renée Karp, who also commended Canadian Pacific Railway’s financial contributions and councillor Mike Cohen’s continued support. “Your funding has helped us to begin this important initiative.” 

In five months, 33 cats have been trapped, vaccinated and sterilized throughout the city, Karp explained, and, of these felines, five were pregnant. With an average of three litters a year, simple multiplication shows “you’ve saved a great many from being born into a life of great suffering,” she said. While most captured cats are treated and released, approximately one-fifth have been rehabilitated and adopted. Karp said there are many residents who support the program as there is worry that the feral cat population could get out of hand. 

Mayor Anthony Housefather thanked the organization for its effort and, while describing next year’s budget as confidential, he said “my feeling is that we certainly support the program and will continue to support the program.” The decision of how much the city will allocate, however, will be decided by the council as a group, he said. 

Inviting people to join the cause, Cohen said the committee is going to go beyond the current programming by offering education in schools and establishing a “proper cat by-law.” 

“We started in August 2010 in this very room with an overflowing crowd of 100 people,” said Cohen. “I have been getting calls, not only from across Quebec, but from across Canada, asking how we started a trap, neuter and release program in Côte St. Luc.” 

For more information or to report stray cats, call the cat hotline at: 514.485.6800 ext. CATS (2287).