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| As many as 100 feral "Boardwalk Cats" of Atlantic City, N.J., will be spayed or neutered this weekend. |
Many tourists visiting Atlantic City, N.J., this weekend will catch a glimpse of something that’s not on any map but is a local fixture: the “Boardwalk Cats.” The more than 135 healthy, feral Boardwalk Cats are part of a spay and neuter project managed by Alley Cat Allies.
From June 9 to 11, Ally Cat Allies is organizing a large-scale spay and neuter of as many as 100 Boardwalk Cats in Atlantic City at a local veterinary hospital. More than 50 volunteers are traveling from as far away as New York City and Washington D.C. to assist.
The feral Boardwalk Cats have lived under the Atlantic City boardwalk for decades. Fed by residents and visitors, the cats ate and bred without human intervention until early 2000, when the city government decided to reduce the cat population by trapping and killing the cats.
The euthanization did not solve the feral cat overpopulation. More cats moved into the area where there was a constant food supply, and the breeding cycle continued.
Alley Cat Allies convinced city officials to adopt a Trap-Neuter-Return program as a solution. The Trap-Neuter-Return project has been so successful that it is now a model for other communities.
Alley Cat Allies said that more than 200 cats have been neutered or spayed since the program’s inception in 2000.