How is Auburn handling its unhoused cat population?
Auburn Community Cats gave its annual report to City Council last week on its Trap, Neuter, Release (TNR) program. Claire Lovell with the nonprofit told the council, that since first meeting in April of 2021, Auburn Community Cats has trapped, neutered, and returned approximately 370 cats, something they believe will reduce the cat population in the future.
“We did not permanently remove 370 cats from Auburn. They still exist. They’re still there,” Lovell said. “But, I think we can safely assume that we have prevented the births of hundreds if not more than 1,000 kittens and new cats since 2021.”
TNR volunteers trap cats and take them to area veterinarians where they are then neutered or spayed. Once the cats have healed, they are then returned to where they were found, meaning the cats are unharmed but pose no risk of increasing the city’s cat population.
Rabies vaccines and distemper shots are also given to the cats when they’re at the vets’ offices.
The city has contributed $5,000 to the group in its mission to reduce the population of community cats living within the city.
The group prefers the term community cats over feral or stray cats as many of the cats aren’t truly strays; instead, they are simply cats that don’t live in a house or belong to an owner.
