Question: Can I get in trouble for relocating feral cats from colonies?
Answer: It depends on your intent and behavior. Allison Andrade Gammel, community relations director for the Hawaiian Humane Society, explains:
“The question can be answered in two ways, depending on the reader’s intention.
“Cats can be relocated if a person plans to care for the cats post-move. An example of this would be if a property manager wants to remove cats from the area. A caretaker may move those cats to an existing colony and continue to feed and spay/neuter them. If the cat is microchipped to another person, that person should be notified.
“If the reader intends to move cats to another colony without the intention of returning to care for them, it is considered abandonment, which is a petty misdemeanor.”
It’s also a punishable offense to abandon your own cat or to trap and move someone else’s cat, whether or not the feline is part of a free-roaming colony managed under the Trap, Neuter, Return and Manage philosophy (TNRM).
Moreover, it’s a felony to poison, torture or kill cats. Call Animal Crime Stoppers at 955-8300 or the Hawaiian Humane Society at 356-2250 to report such abuse.
By law, all cats over 6 months old that are let outside on Oahu must be sterilized and must be microchipped or wear a collar with identification, according to the Humane Society’s website.
If you intend to care for the cats, you might like to join the Hawaii Feline Forum on Facebook. This group includes colony caregivers who look after free-roaming cats at various managed colonies on Oahu, according to the Humane Society’s brochure “Help Oahu’s Felines.”
Q: Do they still need help with those rescue dogs?
A: Yes. The Hawaiian Humane Society still seeks foster homes for some of the 270 dogs seized last month from an animal shelter in Makaha.
You must be at least 18 and have a current government-issued photo ID in order to foster a dog.
There’s a foster care orientation session scheduled for Saturday at the animal welfare organization. To sign up, go to 808ne.ws/ 2f5WvDU.
The Humane Society also needs short-term volunteers to help as the nonprofit organization copes with the large influx of dogs. Shifts are from 8 to 11 a.m. or 1 to 4 p.m. You can apply to volunteer at 808ne.ws/2fKcadj.
Q: Why is the city so limited about what it accepts in the blue recycling carts?
A: The Department of Environmental Services explains on its website opala.org that “the low-grade, low-value plastics and paper, including the number 3 (to) 7 plastics, junk mail, cereal boxes, magazines and telephone books, provide greater benefit in local energy production than in shipping to distant markets to be made into new products.
“Our HPOWER waste-to-energy facility currently produces up to 10 percent of Oahu’s electricity, contributing to our island’s energy sustainability,” the website said. “We target the high-value materials for recycling and designate the lower value to WTE. Both divert the waste from the landfill to beneficial use.”
You can see what should go in the city’s curbside bins at 808ne.ws/opalaguide.
Mahalo
A few days ago I was walking home with two heavy bags of groceries from Don Quijote. While waiting for the light at Kapiolani Boulevard, this nice man insisted on helping me carry my bags across the street! Not only did he do that, but eventually helped me with them all the way to my building, a considerable distance from his bus stop! Such goodness humbled me! Mahalo to Roy, a dispatcher at TheCAB. — Gwen
