Group Wants to Stop Cats From Breeding in Flooded CR

By Mark Geary, Reporter

Tools

By Mark Geary

Story Created: Feb 16, 2009 at 11:16 PM CST

Story Updated: Feb 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM CST

CEDAR RAPIDS -- Hundreds of cats are wandering flood damaged neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids.

Now an organization has stepped up to try and fix the problem before the breeding season makes it worse.

If you spend a few minutes in the flooded area, you'll probably notice there are a lot of cats roaming around.

The Iowa Humane Alliance thinks the city needs to take action now to prevent the cat population from exploding.

"Their environment has opened up and they have better access to both shelter and food than they did before," Iowa Humane Alliance Director Mary Blount said.

Blount, Darlene Van Meter and others have fed the cats every day for months.

"To see these pets homeless, possibly abandoned, hungry cold, it just keeps me coming down," Volunteer Suzette Hoyt said.

Volunteers think many of the cats once belonged to people who used to live in the area. Some are feral or wild. Others are tame.

Once the weather warms up, the group fears the cat population could double or even triple during the breeding season.

"Any time you see thirty cats now, give it a couple months and there's going to be 100 or 150," Blount said.

The Iowa Humane Alliance is trying to create a program to capture, spay, neuter and vaccinate cats living in flood damaged areas.

Tame cats could eventually be reunited with their owners or adopted by a new family. Some sterile feral cats could released back into the neighborhood.

"That way they guard their territory and stop reproducing and the population of cats dies down over time," Blount said.

Simply removing all the feral cats could just encourage other cats to take over the territory.

"We do have some people moving back into the neighborhood, so maybe they'll start feeding the cats, too," Van Meter said.

Until someone finds a way to manage the animals, the women promise to keep feeding the cats.

Tuesday, February 17, at 6:00 p.m., the Iowa Humane Alliance will host a forum to talk about how to handle all the cats.

It will be at the First Lutheran Church at 1000 Third Avenue Southeast.

Next Article Flood Mitigation Proposal Could Impact Upcoming Tax Vote

Conversation Guidelines

Be Kind

Don't use abusive, offensive, threatening, racist, vulgar or sexually-oriented language.
Don't attack someone personally. Keep it civil and be responsible.

Share Knowledge

Be truthful. Share what you know and what you are passionate about.
What more do you want to learn? Keep it simple.

Stay focused

Promote lively and healthy debate. Stay on topic. Ask questions and give feedback on the story's topic.

Report Trouble

Help us maintain a quality comment section by reporting comments that are offensive. If you see a comment that is offensive, or you feel violates our guidelines, simply click on the "x" to the far right of the comment to report it.

read the full guidelines here »

Commenting will be disabled on stories dealing with the following subject matter: Violent crime, sexual abuse, Amber Alerts, Operation Quickfinds and suicides.