Cats at Disneyland?

[Lilypaige]

Thanks everyone, I love reading these stories and seeing the pictures!

 

[Goofster57]

In DCA; viewed from White Water Snacks at Grand California

 

[50sjayne]

Hmm...............guess I'll be packing a net... (cute

 

[Etoile]

No cats for me at Disneyland this week, but next week I will be coming back solo and I plan to hang out in the reported spots in the hopes of seeing one.

 

[MirandaPen]

I found this little guy sound asleep in the ramp to the Hungry Bear,

 

[Bee-Jay]

I have seen them a couple of times, but obviously made the mistake of thinking that the cats were cared for......spaying and neutering at the VERY least. By these photos...it appears that kittens are likely a regular occurance.

As much as I love Disney, I guess they just don't have the money or the will to properly care for the cats who provide a valuable service. I can imagine a cat's life in D'land might be pretty warm and safe, but they should be spayed. There are plenty of homeless cats in shelters everywhere, so it's not as though there would ever be a supply issue.

If anyone knows otherwise, I'd be happy to hear about it. Thanks.

 

[Lilypaige]

I have seen them a couple of times, but obviously made the mistake of thinking that the cats were cared for......spaying and neutering at the VERY least. By these photos...it appears that kittens are likely a regular occurance.

As much as I love Disney, I guess they just don't have the money or the will to properly care for the cats who provide a valuable service. I can imagine a cat's life in D'land might be pretty warm and safe, but they should be spayed. There are plenty of homeless cats in shelters everywhere, so it's not as though there would ever be a supply issue.

If anyone knows otherwise, I'd be happy to hear about it. Thanks.

I'm alittle confused about your statements. Why do you not think the kitties are taken care of??

 

[Bee-Jay]

I guess I wasn't very clear.

What I mean by 'cared' for, is simply this: They don't appear to be spaying or neutering them, which in my opinion, would be one example of 'caring' for them. Even if only 5 per year were 'done', it would be a step in the right direction. Why contribute to more unwanted cats? Cast a wider view, it's not just about Disney.

Are they regularly seen by vets? I realize these cats are probably feral, but some basic 'health checking' (vaccinations, for example so that feline virus's don't run through the colonies, resulting in some painful, and unnessary deaths) might seem like a thing that Disney can well afford to do, or do they rely on volunteer organizations? (which would be fine, but Dis does have some $$'s, and it would certainly be the right kind of gesture to make, after all the cats do providing a valuable service)

I think it's great that this is how they've chosen to deal with their 'vermin' problem, rather than resorting to chemicals, etc. Just look after them! And maybe they do... I don't know. I would be an even bigger supporter of Disney, if I found this to be true.

Don't get me wrong, Disneyland would be an AWESOME place to live if you were homeless....I just wonder about the most basic of health care needs that these animals deserve.

 

[50sjayne]

I have seen them a couple of times, but obviously made the mistake of thinking that the cats were cared for......spaying and neutering at the VERY least. By these photos...it appears that kittens are likely a regular occurance.

As much as I love Disney, I guess they just don't have the money or the will to properly care for the cats who provide a valuable service. I can imagine a cat's life in D'land might be pretty warm and safe, but they should be spayed. There are plenty of homeless cats in shelters everywhere, so it's not as though there would ever be a supply issue.

If anyone knows otherwise, I'd be happy to hear about it. Thanks.

I know-- I thought the same thing. But my conclusion is they do spay and neuter, if they didn't the park would be swarming with kitties they are like rabbits and their reproductive cycle has to be constant in CA, but from someone with vast experience in trapping cats-- there are some that are extremely elusive. My guess is maybe there's been a few that have made their own way into D- land. Nature has a way. I imagine a few might have even been creatively 'dumped' there.

 

[Lilypaige]

I was thinking ab out that too! I wondered if someone has ever smuggled their kitties into??

 

[missmonkey]

I've never seen the cats, but I always see little itty bitty tiny mice. Outside the Matterhorn and near the NOS train station is where I've seen them. Man oh man are they cute. I'm glad the cats aren't all over them, b/c I enjoy seeing those itty bitty meeses.

I wouldn't worry about the little mice. Have you seen the giant ones? They've learned to wear clothes and ride parade floats and everything!

Okay, that was an obvious joke but I couldn't resist.

Topic? The cats come out at sunset. In DCA, I've seen them lounge on the tracks in front of the train in Sunshine Plaza. At DL, I've seen them lounging at the entrance to Tomorrowland on top of the Devil's Pilepost-looking sculpture. There's no way for anyone to bother them up there and they know it. They sit like kings and gaze at the rabble below.

 

[bumbershoot]

According to everything I've ever read from reputable people, they do spay and neuter them, and they do have vets see them. BUT have you ever lived around feral, or basically feral, cats? They HIDE. They are sneaky and you can't always find them. Especially cats soon to become mamas. So you're not going to always know where they are.

And if people continue to dump cats there...you can see that there are going to be cats that get around the system.

Our first cats were basically feral, they came to us after their owner (old lady with 18,000 indoor/outdoor cats) moved or died, and we fed them chicken pot pie on the porch for weeks before they were OK with us being outside when they were there. Then one of them disappeared and we noticed the one that kept coming back was getting bigger. The other was a boy but we'd never been allowed to get close enough to see that fact. The mama had her kittens (took us forever to find where she hid with them!) and the kittens let us handle them, but only my brother was ever able to hold the mama for more than a minute (she was "his"). After that she was spayed and we gave all but one of the cats away (one became a winery/barn cat, another went to friends, and, well, I was only 9, I don't remember who got the other) and kept the other (that one became "mine").

My point is, with a semi-feral cat, you're not always the boss, and especially if the only time you can try to snag them is in the dark (after the park closes, before it opens), you're REALLY not the boss!

But I think they do all they CAN do for them.



"Wow . . . I've had a DL annual pass since 1989 and I've never seen a mouse or a rat at DL."

Look in the bushes/landscaping around Matterhorn and/or NOS train station. tiny mice. So stinkin' cute.

 

[kellymom]

They are everywhere! I love when we spot them. Usual spots where we find them is the Hungry Bear, you can see them basking in the sun when you are on the Mark Twain you can see them when you get towards the back of the island. Look on top of the rocks near the Astro Oribtor, they like to bask in the sun there. Same with the rocks across from Burrrrbank Ice Cream and Taste Pilots, look up in the rocks to see if there are any there. There used to be a HUGE black fluffy one in Toon Town. We would see him at least once a week and he was super cute and loved the kids. Another favorite was in between Casey Jr and the fruit cart.

As far as the mice, yep, lots too. Watch where you are sitting when F! starts, it must scare them out of the hiding spots and they go running across. Each and every time we watch F! we would see at least 2 come running out of the little gutter holes and bushes. Funnier when someone spots them and screams!!!!

 

[Diznygrl]

I never thought of people "smuggling" cats into DL in order to dump them. The whole idea seems odd to me especially when most people don't even have the slightest idea that there IS a cat population in DL. And how on earth would you get a cat past security?

Anyway, I remember reading somewhere that they do what they can to capture some for medical care and spaying/neutering. But like bumbershoot said, there's no way you could get them all.

 

[jlima]

I was thinking ab out that too! I wondered if someone has ever smuggled their kitties into??

I can't imagine that anyone would bring a cat to DL . . . but the NOS side of the park is very close to a residential area and probably the first cats wandered over to the park and then nature took over.

Back in the early 90s we would literally see over a dozen cats at the train station in NOS, on the other side of the tracks from the boarding area. And then on one visit, they were all gone. DH believe they used an exterminating company or some kind to trap and remove them, as he is an alumni at Cal State Long Beach, which had a HUGE feral cat population when he was a student there; when somehow hundreds of cats were removed from campus.

 

[avd3875]

We saw two cats in DL this past week. One was sitting on the ledge of the Hungry Bear. We saw him while we were on the Mark Twain. DS spent quite a while trying to figure out how the cat got over the railing and managed to balance on such a small spot without falling the 20 or so feet down to the water. Obvioulsy I need to educate him about the ability of cats! The other cat crossed right in front of us as we were walking across the circle with Walt Disney's statue. Again, DS was very excited to see the Disney kitties. As for mice, I spotted a few of them in the planted area in front of Casey, Jr., and then one scurried across the path leading to the Monorail. I have major rodent-phobia, but I manged to not call attention to the critters I saw. If I were sitting on the ground for Fantasmic and one ran in my direction, I think I wouldn't be so restrained!

 

[Etoile]

I will be going back to DL probably this coming Wednesday and I am going to hang out at the Hungry Bear until I see some cats! Sounds like that is definitely the place to wait. Maybe I will bring some lunch meat just in case they're feeling shy.

 

[Tangent_]

This is in California Adventure at that seating/stage area in front of the Monster's Inc ride.

This cat was friendly. Came right up to us and was batting at my fingers.

You saw Boo! I made friends with this one at the Trick or Treat event at CA. Since it was right outside of Monster's Inc and on Halloween, I figured Boo would be an appropriate name.

I also just saw an extremely fluffy orange tabby a week and a half ago in the grape vines between the GRR waterfall and Wine Country Trattoria

 

[arliepooh68]

we saw one on the 2nd, pretty cat too, having a good ole time playing in the flower bed by the walt statue, until some bonehead threw some fries at it. . . otherwise I would have gotten a picture, I was two seconds too late. ..

 

[Etoile]

I just got to see and pet two Disneyland cats! I was so excited! I swear they were twins. They looked just like Maine Coons (I have one at home) but considerably smaller, which is common in feral cats, I've heard. When I got to Hungry Bear, I asked the CM behind the counter where the cats might be, and she pointed me toward the back of the deck area. Sure enough, that's where I found them! I must have taken 20 pictures, I'll post the good ones on this thread when I get back to the computer. One of them was kneading my purse and even nibbling my hand in delight! (No, it wasn't biting, it was love nips same as my cats do when they are excited!)