WOODVILLE – Recently the Woodville City Council approved a request for $10,000 to adopt a citywide Trap Neuter Release (TNR) cat management program.
Kathy Taylor, who is known around Woodville as “the cat lady” made a presentation as to the importance of such a program at the regular meeting of the council in October, and after a committee was appointed to discuss the program, it was greenlit with the funding.
“This is unheard of, that a small city like Woodville would do something like this,” said Taylor.
In the past couple of years, Taylor had contemplated retiring from her work with the cat shelter, but her tireless advocacy for wayward felines continues, and she knew there was still much work to do.
“There was still a lot left to do for the cats,” she said.
Taylor said that there are many reasons why a program to spay or neuter stray and feral cats makes sense. She said that by spaying one female cat before she has several litters of kittens, the money saved for taxpayers as well as private animal welfare organizations is tremendous.
She said that euthanization of healthy cats in animal shelters will also go down; that the killing of otherwise healthy cats, who are homeless, in shelters is the leading cause of death for all cats.
Taylor said that in addition to spaying or neutering cats in the city, they will also be vaccinated, before being returned. The vaccinations were a stipulation of getting the grant funding, she said, and the goal is to spay or neuter 100 cats.
“We are proud of the proactive steps our city is taking to control the cat population in an effective and humane way,” Taylor said.
At present, Taylor said she is working to try to get a plan in place in the city, and to set up some procedures for the program. The funds can be used for “owned” cats, but Taylor said that in the city of Woodville, if someone feeds a cat, they are considered the cat’s owner.
If anyone wishes to further donate to the cause, an email address, fixwoodvillecats@gmail.com, has been set up for anyone needing the program’s services. Taylor said that Kelly Dillard, who is on the council, and was on the committee to look into the program, is setting up a Facebook page.
