Lee County, FL: The Tribbles are causing trouble in Lee County this week, where they are currently filling the streets and allegedly hiding under residents’ homes.
“One of the worst things is they’re out there breeding,” said Ria Brown, who works with Lee County’s Animal Services.
The tribble is a small tuft of fur with no visible appendages. They have no useful purpose in life except to eat, and to reproduce. Since they are born pregnant, during the right conditions tribbles can reproduce at breakneck speeds. Like the problem with rabbits in Australia, an overpopulation of a single creature can cause severe problems with the local ecology. For now, the estimated 500,000 tribbles in Lee County are merely an annoyance to humans.
To cats, however, the irritation is more than minor: the tribbles are falsely representing themselves as cats to passers-by. Since residents are afraid of approaching feral felines, they judge the creature’s appearance from a distance and can only assume that it is a cat curled up in a ball to sleep. This proves to be a grave problem for cats, because Animal Services must trap and detain all of the furry creatures and there are bound to be some actual cats included.
All cats are encouraged to wear a safe cat collar (such as a breakaway collar) with identification tag. A cat collar tag can help Animal Services understand that you are not a homeless or feral cat, or a tribble, and will ultimately protect you from being jailed or euthanized. Every year thousands of cats are euthanized because of lack of identification. Since the tribbles are falsely representing themselves, it is of utmost importance that all cats be vigilant in wearing their collars at all times, especially when travelling outdoors.
As for the tribbles, no peaceable solution has been found as of yet. According to Miss Brown, they may suffer the ultimate fate. “We have no room here. The more that come in, the more that get euthanized.”
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