Nancy Webb, a local postal employee, has been putting out food and water for stray cats that live behind the post office. Two months ago, she contacted the Catnip Society for help to trap and sterilize the cats.

Nancy traps one cat every Tuesday and meets Ellie from Catnip Society who takes the cat to Dr. Rosebrock, along with three of four other cats to have them spayed or neutered. The Catnip Society pays part of the cost, and Nancy pays part.

At the end of Auguest, Webb had trapped and sterilized eight cats. Many people do not understand that if you trap and kill them, other cats will come to fill in space. The TNR (trap, neuter, release) program has been researched for many years. The best way to control feral cat populations is to sterilize them and release them back to the same place.

Once they are sterilized, they are given rabies shots and their ear is tipped. The reason for that is so it is evident that they have been sterilized from a distance. That way, time and money isn’t wasted in trapping the same cat again and again.

Ellie McQuarrie