There is roughly one roaming cat for every two people living in Norfolk County in southern Ontario.
The sprawling county of 65,000 people, which sits on the north shore of Lake Erie, is searching for help to deal with an estimated 30,000 stray and feral felines.
“We have a huge problem in Norfolk County,” said Cathie Hosken of the Simcoe and District Humane Society. She said her agency deals with 200 to 300 calls a month reporting large colonies of cats. She said those groups can number more than 150 cats.
Resident John Gudinskas says there are about 50 cats wandering his property. He feeds them and tries to keep them healthy. Some were left on purpose, he says, and some just arrived. Many are not spayed or neutered.
“All of a sudden the problem of let’s say five cats becomes 20 or 30 cats overnight. As a humane person towards those animals, I don’t have the heart to put them down.”
Stray cats are domesticated animals who have wandered from their home, while feral cats were born in the wild or have lived there so long they are no longer domesticated. There are many who advocate for trapping and spaying or neutering the animals, then releasing them again.
Others say the most effective tactic is euthanization.
The municipality is offering $50,000 to any group that can come up with a long-term solution.
"Like any good program you don't just do it one year," said Chris Baird, general manager of Norfolk's development and cultural services department. "You have to do it over successive years or make it part of an ongoing operation."
Sandi Fettes, president of Norfolk PAWS, plans to submit a proposal to the county.
“There is no easy solution: getting the animals fixed to stop the population explosion and education is very important.”
She has taken in 40 cats and her organization partners with other groups to trap, spay and neuter and release cats, or to find them new homes. But the numbers are overwhelming.
With a report from CTV Kitchener and The Canadian Press
