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Kim Johnson ReportingToday is national feral cat day. The day is intended to raise awareness and help the feral felines as well.
No one knows how many feral cats live in Utah, but we know that more than six hundred people are registered as caring for them. Animal advocates today hope to inform anyone else who's feeding these felines about the ‘trap neuter return’ program.
The idea is to lure the felines into humane traps, get them properly spayed or neutered, and then return them to wherever they live.
Holly Sizemore, No More Homeless Pets in Utah: "We provide the traps. We show you how to use the traps, and we refer you to your closest vet who's participating in the program."
Sizemore says the cost of taking a feral cat to a vet is only ten dollars, and says in the year and a half since the ‘trap neuter return’ program started, seven-thousand feral cats have been spayed or neutered. They hope to add another five thousand this year. She says its a much more effective way of controlling the population than killing the animals.
Holly Sizemore, No More Homeless Pets in Utah: "If you simply remove the cats and kill them, new cats move in and start breeding, and you start the cycle all over again. ‘trap neuter return’ stops the problem because it stops the breeding."
A Feral cat fiesta is set for tonight at seven o' clock at Green Street; that's a social club at Trolley Square. The party will also feature "cat karaoke."
