By:JOSEPH KELLARD
But with winter approaching, Gluvna said she is worried about the cats' welfare and survival, and she has learned that there are no government agencies empowered to pick up stray cats. Gluvna said she is concerned with this policy, and seeks to institute a system in Nassau County in which adult feral cats are spayed, neutered and released, and their kittens sent to shelters to be adopted.
"I want to bring awareness that there are no facilities in this county that deal with this problem," Gluvna explained, claiming that the five boroughs of New York City and Suffolk county have such facilities. "Why isn't there anything done about this? I pay close to $8,000 per year in taxes, and we have no agencies or anything to help them?"
For about three years, Gluvna has trapped and caged stray cats that have roamed around her Oceanside home, and had them neutered or spayed. One calico cat gave birth to and nurtured a litter of kittens inside a large flower pot in her backyard. With a trap and cage, Gluvna was able to catch and keep the animals, providing the mother with medical attention and taking her to be spayed at the Bide-A-Wee shelter in Wantagh.
The hospitality Gluvna has provided for cats has proved very expensive. While searching the Internet and making calls, she has discovered that there are people who have financed their own vehicles and materials to pick up feral cats and care for them.
A spokeswoman for the state's Department of Agriculture and Markets, however, explained a law regarding the humane treatment of animals. "... A police or humane officer are the only ones who have the right to pick up stray cats," she said, "and it's not even that they must pick up stray cats, but that they may pick up stray cats if they see them." She added that dog-control officers are required to pick up stray dogs that are not licensed.
"By state law, the Town of Hempstead cannot pick up stray cats," said a spokeswoman for the town.
Kim, an assistant manager at the Bide-A-Wee shelter in Wantagh, told the Herald, "If somebody saw a stray dog, the town shelter is required to pick it up. Unfortunately, there appear to be no real laws protecting cats. But if someone brings them into a shelter, they'll take them. I think [the authorities] kind of feel that because it's so common that cats live all over the place outside, that is just the way it is. I think they consider a dog more of a house pet than a cat."
While she doesn't own a cat herself, Gluvna said, "I feel compelled to feed the cats. I feel I must."
Living near Neil Court, Gluvna chanced upon the feral cats about six months ago while driving by the street. She spotted a mother cat carrying a kitten inside a garbage pail. Since then she has gone there each day to feed the cat, and some days, she claims, as many as 30 cats come for her food.
Gluvna defies a sign posted outside the South Nassau Communities Hospital Dialysis Center on the corner of Neil Court and Oceanside Road, warning people that they will be prosecuted if they feed the cats, and has been informed by the employees to stay off their property.
She has also learned about colonies of cats around Oil City, behind Lawson and Daly boulevards, and in a parking lot near her mother's house in Cedarhurst, all of whom she tries to feed daily before heading to work.
"One thing I'd like to see done is to have students at the local schools here build Styrofoam houses that the cats can take shelter in during the winter months," Gluvna said.
Anyone who would like to contact Gluvna about her mission to help feral cats may call her at (516) 594-2008.
Comments about this story? Oceaneditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
