Sometimes their only hope is to become barn cats

Most people want a kitty they can cuddle with. Kittens born in the wild, if not socialized with human beings within the first six weeks of their lives, are not likely to ever make good house pets and may have to be euthanized.

Bob Barker, former host of the popular game show, The Price is Right, used to close with a reminder,  to his viewers: “Help control the pet population; have your pet spayed or neutered.” That  might seem like an odd piece of advice, except that there are millions of cats that will end up dead – from injury, disease or euthanization – simply because of human ignorance.

Mansfield is a part of the problem, especially as a rural town with two universities in the area. The number of strays jumps in the spring, when many of the college students who took in cats”free” them at the end of the school year.

Often cats are abandoned in the woods or by the roadside by people thinking that like something out of a children’s storybook, these domesticated animals are going to be able to live fat and happy on field mice.

What often happens is that the Animal Control Officer and volunteer rescue groups are called on to capture these cats, who mate and multiply, producing feral kittens. And often these kittens end up euthanized.

This is because most people who adopt from shelters want a kitty they can cuddle with. Kittens born in the wild, if not socialized with human beings within the first six weeks of their lives, are not likely to ever make good house pets, said Mansfield Assistant Animal Control Officer Christine Chojnicki.

And there just isn’t enough room at the shelter to house cats that are probably never going to get adopted.

One ray of hope for these animals is if they are adopted as barn cats. They continue to live outdoors, but now they have someone to watch over them, and they have a job. (This is not an invitation, however, to abandon cats at farms, where there may already be an overpopulation of feral cats.)

“The importance of barn cats to farmers is that they provide rodent control without the use of pesticides,” Chojnicki said. “Using cats decreases the chances that the livestock will get sick from accidental consumption of pesticides.”

Adopting these cats means they will be spayed/neutered by a responsible owner and will get their rabies vaccinations.

“This decreases the rabies risk to wildlife, pets and people. It also helps with the over- population problem that is in every town. Having a home for the cats that would otherwise be unadoptable decreases the euthanasia rate at shelters,” Chojnicki said.

“These barn cats are special and do need homes. Educating the public about the consequences of feeding stray cats is the main way we are going to reduce the number of strays coming into the shelter and therefore reduce the euthanasia rate of cats,” she added.

“Some towns don’t even take in cats – never mind the feral ones - and euthanizing the animal is their way of dealing with the problem. I don’t think that is the way to go, either. There has to be some balance of spay/neuter release programs, adopting out as barn cats, and education,” she said.

For more information about adopting one of these “barn cats” or how to deal with a stray cat in your neighborhood or for contact information for animal rescue groups, go to the Animal Control Web site or call 487-0137.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/news/barn_cats.html

Offense sparks 3-0 victory over DePaul by UConn Women’s Soccer

During the 10th minute of play, DePaul assistant coach Chad Chastain was ejected after arguing a call made by the referee to stop play with DePaul on the offense.

The University of Connecticut women’s soccer team got off to a winning start with a goal in the first five minutes of the game against DePaul and was able to fend off their opponent for the rest of the game.

The Huskies added more offense during the rest of the first period and ousted the Blue Demons, tallying a 3-0 shutout.

The first goal of the game at 3:23. was scored when Freshman Melissa Busque (St. Bruno, Quebec) got ahead of the pack receiving the ball from sophomore Kacey Richards (Williamstown, N.J.) who dished it out at the midfield.

After a few dribbles Busque passed the ball to an open Elise Fugowski (Stockholm, N.J.) right in front of the goal, who tapped it in the net for the score.

DePaul almost had a goal when senior Stephanie Labbe (Stony Plain, Alberta) was pulled out of position after trying to stop a back pass.

DePaul’s Shannon Williams – who had been pressuring Labbe all night – took a shot on goal, but great defense by UConn blocked the shot and still managed to maintain possession while Labbe could get back into position.

During the 10th minute of play, DePaul assistant coach Chad Chastain was ejected after arguing a call made by the referee to stop play with DePaul on the offense.

The referee stopped play as senior Liz Eng (Chicgo, Ill.) was still lying at the midfield after a collision with a DePaul player.

After some attention, Eng was able to walk off of the field.

UConn scored their second goal of the night during the 36th minute when sophomore Cory Bildstein (Stockton, N.J.) crossed a pass to sophomore Erin Clark (Somers, Conn.). Clark dribbled around a defender and then shot the ball to the lower right corner of the goal, with the ball deflecting into the net and into the goal.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/sports/579.html

UConn Women's Soccer: UConn 0 – Notre Dame 2

The Huskies are back in action in their final weekend of regular season play, taking on Syracuse at 7 p.m. on Friday Oct. 24.

The University of Connecticut women’s soccer team fell to the No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame 2-0 on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Notre Dame scored early into the game in the ninth minute – and once again in the second half – to secure victory and remain undefeated.

UConn played well, however, controlling the ball and taking 11 shots.

Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks headed the ball in scoring for the 10th straight game and garnered a point for the 12th straight. Hanks’ goal was also the 80th of her career, tying the school record and putting Notre Dame up 1-0. Hanks goal was assisted by Brittany Bock and Courtney Barg.

UConn put some pressure on the Fighting Irish after returning from a television timeout. It looked as though freshman Melissa Busque (St. Bruno, Quebec) had a shot at a goal, but the Notre Dame defense shut down the opportunity.

Both teams had control of the ball during the rest of the first half, but Notre Dame’s early goal kept them up 1-0 going into halftime.

Hanks broke the all-time school record with her second goal of the game during the 71st minute of play on a laser shot to the top left corner of the goal.

After just entering the game, sophomore Cory Bildstein (Stockton, N.J.) took UConn’s best shot of the day on a ball that just missed the left side of the goal.

On a pass served up from the left side of the field, Bildstein took a shot from the right of the goal that looked as though it was going to in past a diving Kelsey Lysander, but the ball just missed going out of bounds and sending possession back to Notre Dame.

With 15 Notre Dame shots on goal during the game, senior Stephanie Labbe (Stony Plain, Alberta) set a new career high of saves on the day finishing with 13.

The Huskies are back in action in their final weekend of regular season play, taking on Syracuse at 7 p.m. on Friday Oct. 24.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/sports/uconn_womens_soccer_vs_notre_dame.html

UConn Men's Cross Country takes 6th At Leopard Invitational

Ten teams competed in the Leopard Invitational this weekend and UConn finished around the middle in 6th overall as a team.

The University of Connecticut men’s cross country team finished 6th this weekend at the Leopard Invitational hosted by Lafayette College.

The Huskies top finisher was sophomore Scott Johnson (Old Lyme) who had his best finish of the year in a non-dual meet, and came in 9th overall, with a time of 26:12.00.

Freshman Andrew Judd (West Hartford) came in second overall for the Huskies, about 30 seconds behind Johnson, finishing in 26:43.00. He was followed by junior Brian Gagnon (Lowell, Mass.) who had a time of 26:49.70, as well as junior Michael Rutt (Sinking Springs, Pa.) who finished in 27:39.30.

Sophomore David Macklem (Tolland) and freshman Luke Albertson (Norwich) rounded out the pack for the Huskies, coming in at 27:45.80 and 27:51.80 respectively.

Ten teams competed in the Leopard Invitational this weekend and UConn finished around the middle in 6th overall as a team. They were bested by conference foes Rutgers, who came in second and Seton Hall who finished only six points ahead of the Huskies, in fifth place.

UConn will be back in action next weekend at the Central Connecticut State Mini Meet in New Britain.

For More Information

http://mansfield.htnp.com/sports/uconn-men_s_cross_country-leopard_invitational.html