NB group provides for community cats
Public outcry is growing for the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter to become a no-kill facility. In Fiscal Year 2017, according to the shelter’s annual report, 44.14 percent of the animals at the shelter were euthanized. The situation is particularly dire for cats; 1,353 cats, or 69.2 percent, were euthanized at the shelter, compared to 696 dogs (25.9 percent). Of the cats that entered the shelter in FY 2017, 317 were surrendered, while 1,409 were strays.
Though not all stray cats would be considered feral, some communities have programs in place to provide better outcomes for feral cats. In New Braunfels, a group of concerned citizens formed a nonprofit called the New Braunfels Community Cat Coalition (NBCCC). The group provides free spay/neuter and vaccination services for feral cats in Comal and Guadalupe counties. So far, according to NBCCC Board Secretary Linda Scullary, NBCCC has spayed or neutered and vaccinated more than 1,200 cats. The group works closely with the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area (HSNBA) and the Comal County Veterinary Medical Association in its mission.
“Our volunteer program began in 2016 to help HSNBA provide live outcomes for feral cats, to raise the live release rate for cats at HSNBA,” Scullary said. “Before our program started, all feral cats brought to HSNBA by citizens and animal control were euthanized.”
Scullary said that about 60 percent of the cats in the NBCCC program are returned to their original outdoor communities, but another 40 percent are adopted out as working cats — not pets, but cats that “work” by controlling rodent and other pest populations on people’s properties.
“Both the city of New Braunfels and the Comal County Commissioners Court have endorsed and support TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and our program,” Scullary said, adding that the NBCCC is funded through donations and grants.
The NBCCC’s cats go through intake at HSNBA, where the community cat group has a small clinic, Scullary said.
“We hold spay/neuter clinics once a week to alter approximately 15 cats per week,” she said.
Cats that are trapped but cannot be returned go into the NBCCC working cat program.
“We do have a limited amount of space in our pens to house them,” Scullary said. “We can house only about 20 working cats at one time.”
Information about the NBCCC and its programs can be found at https://www.nbcats.org/.
rblackburn@sanmarcosrecord.com
Twitter: @arobingoestweet
