Too many feral cats 'overrun' Erie County programs. How to help

Toni Smith has her work cut out for her.

Since 2013, the co-owner of Erie Trap and Release has responded to calls, day and night, from residents who’ve spotted feral or severely injured cats or kittens in their neighborhood.

With a small team of volunteers, Smith heads out in a van as soon as she can to trap these cats in humane cages before taking them to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, treated and vaccinated.

In a normal month, she traps around 10 to 20 feral cats. Lately, however, it’s been closer to 50.

Smith said she’s trapped roughly 200 cats since January, a number that matches what she trapped in the entirety of 2023. She estimates she’ll trap more than 500 feral cats by the end of the year.

Smith, who runs the nonprofit purely from the support of donations, said money and resources are tight but the job is necessary.

“It’s worse than I’ve ever seen it,” she said. “We are overrun by feral cats.”

Feral cat vs. stray cat

Feral cats are not to be confused with stray cats.

A stray cat is one that strayed from home and became lost or was abandoned. Since it was once a companion animal, they usually can be re-socialized and placed in an adoptive home, according to the Eri e Humane Society .

A feral cat or a “community cat” is one that has reverted to a wild state. It’s not socialized to humans and is not suitable for adoption or intake to shelters.

While the number of feral cats in the county is hard to gauge, Fix Erie , a partnership between the A.N.N.A. Shelter and the Erie Animal Network , estimates the number to be in the thousands.

An un-spayed female cat can give birth to an average of 12 kittens per year. Those kittens, in turn, will reproduce and increase the population exponentially.

By spaying just one female cat, more than 2,000 new homeless kitten births can be prevented, according to Fix Erie.

A.N.N.A. Shelter, Humane Society also see uptick

Ruth Thompson, director of the A.N.N.A. Shelter, described feral cats as an “epidemic.”

The Fix Erie partnership, which is a trap and release program, took in 186 feral cats in 2022 and 201 in 2023. So far in 2024, that number has spiked to 544, with roughly 300 more on a waiting list, according to Thompson.

“Sometimes it’s still defeating,” she said. “Because we’ve done so many, yet I feel like there are so many left. I can’t say that it’s getting better. I just remind myself that, ‘Yeah, we’re putting a dent in it.’ But I think that’s all it is ― a dent.”

Nicole Leone, executive director of the Erie Humane Society, said she’s also seeing a “very large uptick” of feral cats requiring trap and release procedures.

“Our T&R program is wait-listing people for months because there are unfortunately so many,” she said. “Usually for T&R, we can take in upwards of 30-50 cats on a given day and those slots are completely full for months.”

Leone added that the T&R program, in 2023, averaged about 20 cats per surgery day ― once a month ― and was able to get people in within a two-month wait. Now, she said, customers can expect a four-month wait on the waiting list.

“I know our community shelters are working together to develop additional resources for the community, but it has definitely been a challenging year on the animal sheltering community,” she said.

More: Their No. 1 job is removing dogs' No. 2. Erie pet waste services help keep yards clean.

What to do if you spot a feral cat?

If you spot a feral cat, you have a couple of options.

You could contact Erie Trap and Release at 814-873-6265 or erietrapandrelease@gmail.com .

The nonprofit, located at 3335 Peach St., will arrive at the requested location, trap the cat and transport it to a licensed veterinarian for spaying or neutering, and deworming and vaccination.

The cats will then be released back to the area where they were found. Kittens, once treated, can be adopted from Erie Trap and Release.

Smith said the cost of the trap and release service is $75 per cat. For more information or to donate, visit erietrapandrelease.com .

You can also contact the A.N.N.A. Shelter at 814-451-0230 or visit FixErie.com . The free program offers similar sterilization and vaccination services for multiple days each month. Thompson said they provide trapping services, but she added it's better if residents trap the cats themselves due to the waiting list for services.

You can also contact the Erie Humane Society at 814-835-8331 or visit eriehumanesociety.org .

The Humane Society does not trap or transport feral cats. You are advised not to trap the cat until you confirm an appointment. Pre-approved cats with an appointment must be dropped off in the morning, on the scheduled day, and picked up the same day.

At their appointment, cats are spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, and ear-tipped to identify them as sterilized, according to the Humane Society.

The Humane Society charges $65 for Erie County residents and $90 for non-Erie County residents for the service.

For Smith, who said her job is all about "saving lives," every little bit helps.

"The more cats get spayed or neutered, the less babies are on the streets," she said.

A new cat santuary: Orphan Angels will begin renovation, expansion of its Millcreek cat shelter this spring

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com . Follow him on X @ETNRao .

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Too many feral cats 'overrun' Erie County programs. How to help