Volunteers trap feral cats for spay, neuter and release in southwest Wichita

Forty-three unsuspecting feral cats were trapped this past weekend in southwest Wichita by a volunteer group that hopes to control future cat populations in Wichita.

The free-roaming cats were spayed and neutered and then released back into their neighborhood.

“This is the only proven method of controlling the population of free-roaming cats,” wrote Sue Schamp, a volunteer with Friends of Felines wrote in an e-mail to The Eagle. “Trap and kill methods which are used by most cities just don’t work.”

Many of the cats were trapped Friday evening, Schamp said on Sunday. Surgery was done early Sunday, and the cats were released by evening.

The efforts coincides with the Humane Society of the United States’ World Spay Day, which is Tuesday.

The Friends of Felines received a $5,000 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the project. The grant covers the expenses for 100 cats.

Last year, the group did trap, neuter and release weekends, capturing 500 cats and funding nearly half of those through donations and grants.

This past weekend was the first time a specific neighborhood – which Schamp wouldn’t identify – was targeted. She said it was an area with a large number of mobile homes, where the feral cats hunt and shelter underneath the homes. Some area residents, she said, even feed them on a regular basis, which may attract other wildlife, such as raccoons, skunks and possums.

She estimates there may be as many as 100,000 feral cats in the Wichita area.

“This was the first time we picked an area that has either very low-income people or a lot of free-roaming cats,” she said. “The cats gather around natural food sources and shelters. Those cats have kittens and then their kittens have more kittens. “

Schamp is hopeful that each time the group goes to an area, they can eventually expand the boundaries to cover more of Wichita.

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 6:46 PM with the headline "Volunteers trap feral cats for spay, neuter and release in southwest Wichita."