DURHAM COUNTY HAS 60,000 FERAL CATS. COULD THIS BE THE SOLUTION?

Last year, the Durham County animal shelter killed 231 feral cats. A new program could change that, trapping, vaccinating and sterilizing free-roaming cats before releasing them back into the community.

“Trap-Neuter-Release” of feral or “community cats” is currently illegal, according to County Attorney Willie Darby.

The new cat-management strategy, proposed by the county’s Animal Welfare Committee, could be adopted after county commissioners hold a public hearing on the idea during their July 11 meeting.

There are an estimated 60,000 feral cats in Durham County, officials say, and their numbers are growing.

So are concerns about their impact on birds and other wildlife.

According to Darby’s report to the commissioners, unsterilized cats will mate during any season, with females producing up to 20 kittens each year. Feral cats often form loose colonies consisting of mostly females and kittens, but cats typically fend for themselves during adulthood.

Sgt. Wendy Pinner, of the Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s animal service division, told county leaders that residents ask — sometimes “beg” — for help with cat problems.

Her department has received 2,368 requests for traps since 2012, she said and described homeowner complaints about scratched cars, urination and defecation remains, dug-up flower beds and allergies.

“These are concerns that citizens have for the welfare of the cats, or it can be their anger with the cat because the cat could be destroying their property,” Pinner said.

‘WE NEED TO DO BETTER’

Shafonda Allen, the executive director of the Animal Protection Society of Durham, said “animals shouldn’t die for scratching up someone’s car or pooping in someone garden.”

“We need to do better for the cats in Durham,” she said, “and if we start saying that they are just disease carriers who need to be trapped and killed, we are not doing our jobs.”

The APS saw 1,744 cats come into the shelter on East Club Boulevard, the county’s only shelter, in 2021, Allen said.

Feral cats are often seen near restaurant dumpsters, around apartment complexes and in the woods behind grocery and convenience stores, searching for food.

‘Resident and cat owner Sharon Caddell said she does not support trap and release because of health risks.

“I think it supports feral cat colonies, which is a powder keg of serious health issues for our community,” she said.

“Rabies is an issue,” Caddell said. “These cats are given a three-year rabies vaccine. If they live longer, they’re vulnerable. If a cat joins a colony who is not vaccinated, they’re vulnerable. All it’s going to take is one rabid fox or raccoon for us to have an explosion of rabies in our city.”

Allen says there are other ways to mitigate the number of cats, but Darby says the county committee has already found the “solution” to stabilizing the cat population in Durham.

More than 60 counties support trap and neuter programs, including neighboring Wake and Orange counties.

Rescue groups in both Wake and Orange use “eartipping” — removing a quarter-inch tip of a cat’s left ear while the cat is under anesthesia — to identify feral cats that have been sterilized and vaccinated for rabies through their programs.