Posted: May 16, 2008 2 a.m. EDT
Friends of Homeless Felines in Scottdale, Pa., will move forward with a plan to trap, neuter and return feral cats to colonies in the borough. The Scottdale City Council will allow the group to implement the program over the next 18 months, the Daily Courier (Pennsylvania) reports.
Jan Raffaele and Dawn Mehall presented the TNR plan, called the Helping Community Cats Management Program, to council members this week. Friends of Homeless Felines hopes to control the town’s feral cat population using the TNR method in addition to educating local citizens about feral cats and spaying and neutering house pets.
Through the proposed program, volunteers will trap and transport feral cats to local veterinarians, where the animals will be spayed or neutered. After the cats recuperate from the surgery, they will be released back to the same area. Colony caretakers will monitor the cats, keeping photographs and records of each cat to share with the borough as requested.
When questioned by council members on how the group would differentiate unidentified pets from feral cats, Raffaele said, “If it’s unaltered and unidentified, then it’s contributing to the problem, and we would have no sympathy, or even a way to return it to the owner.”