Napa County’s feral cat issue and what authorities are doing about it

Cats, in specific, are a concern here — one that affects both the feline and human populations — however it’s one Napa County authorities state they are resolving in as humane a method as possible.

That wasn’t constantly the case.

“Before these programs launched, the number of feral and other ‘community cats’ being euthanized was staggering,” said Kelly Tracey, manager of the Napa County Animal Shelter.

“Community cats” is an expression including roaming, outside, street, street, barn and Tom cats, in addition to feral felines.

Napa County now utilizes a trap-neuter-release program that runs on the concept that “if we limit the number of kittens being born, the cat population will decrease,” Tracey said.

The shelter leases cat traps for a refundable deposit and concerns coupons for purifying and sterilizing these cats, according to Tracey, who has actually been with the firm for 35 years. The coupons originate from Napa County, with a few of the funds raised through its dog license program.

Though it’s challenging to approximate the exact variety of Napa County’s neighborhood cats, “last year, we issued more than 900 vouchers,” Tracey said.

Tracey included that feral cats have actually been a concern the whole time she’s been with the firm. She said there are ferals in the unincorporated locations of Napa County, however some cities, consisting of American Canyon — where food sources are more available to the animals — have much more substantial cat issues.

Some cats head to mobile home parks and around schools, finding Dumpsters with disposed of food, and some nests hang out around homeless encampments, Tracey said.

American Canyon authorities understand the concern.

“American Canyon (and the city of Napa and the town of Yountville) contracts with Napa County for animal shelter services. Napa County further contracts with a third-party nonprofit for spay and neuter services at a highly reduced rate,” American Canyon City Manager Jason Holley explained. “American Canyon residents report dissatisfaction with the dearth of appointments available for these low-cost services (i.e. vouchers) — especially given the distance they must travel to utilize them.”

One difficulty is an absence of vets in the location, according to Holley.

“Unfortunately, this is not just a local problem, but rather it is an industry-wide challenge post-pandemic,” he said. “Collectively, we are all trying to find a way to provide the services desired by our respective communities at a price we can all afford.”

Napa County authorities tend to concur with the evaluation of both the scope of the issue and the efforts being utilized to resolve it.

“Like in other counties in the state, feral cats are a growing concern in Napa County,” said county representative Linda Ong. “There has been a lack of veterinary services to spay/neuter in the area. When the pandemic hit in 2020, most veterinary offices closed, which impacted where feral cats could get spayed and neutered. We’re now seeing the increased feral cat population in the area as a result of the pandemic. Napa Humane is the only low-cost spay/neuter in the area.”

Also included with the regional effort is the not-for-profit Whiskers, Tails & Ferals. It’s an all-volunteer organization “making a significant impact on the tragedy of pet overpopulation,” according to its website.

“We rescue several hundred animals in Napa County every year, preventing them from entering the County shelter,” the website says. “Including the animals in other county shelters that we are able to rescue and admit into our program whenever possible, for many of these homeless pets their only hope is to be saved by an animal loving organization like ours. Otherwise without our help they would most likely be euthanized.”

Though the county’s approximately 15-year-old trap-neuter-release program had actually made development prior to the COVID-19 pandemic’s introduction more than 3 years earlier, the resulting shutdowns set things back, according to Ong.

“Somewhere along the line, they were domesticated and one day someone lets it out or abandons it,” said Tracey of the Napa County shelter. “It eventually gets pregnant,” and each succeeding generation of kittens end up being more feral.

Not resolving the feral cat concern might hurt the lifestyle for the human population, which might be overrun by felines that end up being hunters for food, Tracey included. “They get into people’s garbage, they can bite their pets, bite or scratch people and spread feline diseases,” she said.

It’s not terrific for the felines included, either, as it most likely indicates a much shorter life expectancy.

Besides the spay/neuter service, the county animal shelter likewise treats and launches ill and hurt ferals. Like the others, they are launched into the exact same location they were drawn from since “obviously, there’s a food source for them there,” Tracey said.

“Usually they’re found when someone hears kittens,” Tracey said. “It’s really hard since we’re playing catch-up with the pandemic closures. It takes a village to solve the feral cat problem. It takes all of us to make this work. That’s all I have to say. It takes a community to get this taken care of.”