Written by Ben Cox – One local woman has taken it upon herself to do something about the number of feral cats in the Brownwood area, and is seeing some success.
Tami Rogers, a board member for the Corrine T Smith Animal Shelter, has been trapping, neutering/spaying, and releasing cats in the area for years. She considers this as her way of giving back to a shelter that she cherishes dearly.
“This is my way of volunteering, this is my donation. It’s a TNR program: Trap, Neuter, Release. It’s a proven method of decreasing the population of feral cats, and bigger cities like Austin and Dallas have adopted similar programs with great success.”
Rogers releases a recently trapped and neutered cat back into the wild as part of her work
The reason for releasing the cats back to where they were found is quite logical, according to Rogers. “They’re at home where they are. That is their territory. If you remove them and then put them somewhere else, another group of cats will move in and take over, and you have the same exact problem all over again.”
Rogers gives another reason for the release of the animals back into the wild instead of putting them down. “It stops the breeding cycle, and the cats become healthier because they’re not in that cycle. Cats can have three litters a year, and on average have around four kittens per litter. Considering that kittens can go into heat after just three months, the numbers become huge very quickly.”
The notched left ear, seen on this recently released cat, signifies that it has been either spayed or neutered.
Rogers has a Facebook group to document her efforts, as well as raise funds for the neutering/spaying of each animal, which can be costly. As a thank you for donating, Rogers offers her benefactors possible prizes like Yeti Cups or even Roomba vaccum cleaners or gift cards. She would love to see Corrine T Smith or even the city start a program much like this, but the thing standing in the way is funds.
Rogers hopes to someday see a program funded by either the shelter or the city. One problem stands in the way of either happening, funding. It can cost over $100 to spay or neuter a feral cat. Rogers plans to begin working on grant applications for the shelter, but with so many cities requesting funds, it’s not often successful.
She also suggests that anyone interested in finding more information about TNR programs and the feral cat problem facing so many cities, to visit the Alley Cat Allies website.
