What started out as a hunt for Pokemon at the courthouse has turned into a community effort to control Salem’s stray cat population.
The Momma Cat Project recently launched local trappings to spay or neuter alley cats and release them back to their homes. Organizers are hopeful the effort will continue to receive community support and operations will expand in the future.
“Research shows the traditional way of dealing with stray cats, killing them, is not an effective way to control their population,” says Cheryl Krin of the Momma Cat Project. “Cats are territorial creatures, and each stray makes a little corner of Salem its home. When you remove that cat entirely by killing it you don’t solve the problem because another cat will just move in and start reproducing. Then you have to start all over again. But if the stray cats are instead all spayed or neutered, then returned to their territory, you’ll have a stable nonproducing population.
“Cities such as Albuquerque that have adopted this method have been very successful. Some of the Missouri towns and cities doing this are Louisiana, St. Louis, Dixon, Richland, Pacific, Troy, Winfield, Moscow Mills, Elsberry and Silex.”
Krin says she became aware of Salem’s stray cat problem from playing the popular Pokemon Go augmented reality game.
“I’m an avid Pokemon Go player, which means I’m traveling all over town on a regular basis after dark,” Krin says. “I noticed from the beginning I was seeing stray cats all over town. Then one night I was at the courthouse for a PokeStop with a group of players when this little female cat came up and got to be friendly. We noticed she was starving and recently had a litter of kittens, so we brought her some food. We simply called her Momma Cat because we didn’t know if she’d had another name. Unfortunately, by the time we found the kittens they were too feral to adopt, and we later learned she was abandoned by her old owner. I just thought, we know this is going on everywhere, we need to do something.”
Krin says the venture has been named after its feline muse as the Momma Cat Project. Organizers are currently in the process of filing as a nonprofit organization. Volunteers have already received support from the City of Salem and Dent County Animal Welfare Society.
“Based on a town of Salem’s size, there are likely around 400 stray cats in town,” Krin says. “It will be safer for everyone if we catch and release these strays after treatment. When cats are spayed or neutered they stop or reduce many of their destructive behaviors like fighting, noisy mating behaviors and harming property. We can also help stop the potential spread of dangerous diseases like rabies by having them vaccinated.”
In the short-term the Momma Cat project is conducting small-scale trappings around Salem and transporting the captured felines to the Protect Every Pet clinic in Bland for treatment. More long-term, organizers are hoping to raise enough funds to treat owned cats, too, as well as partner with the Mizzou Veterinarian Clinic’s mobile unit which can treat up to 20-25 cats per day.
“If we can afford the cost they’re willing to meet us in Rolla,” Krin says of the Mizzou vets.
“A two-day visit by the mobile vet clinic would cost around $500 total. The clinic charges $150 per day, which mostly covers the expenses for its staff. They generally bring two licensed vets, two vet technicians and seven students. They also charge around $2.55 per rabies vaccine. During a two-day visit up to 50 cats could be spayed and neutered, so we’d need 50 traps if we plan on inviting them down. These two-day sessions are the fastest and most efficient way to get all the cats here treated.”
Krin says the other major need is a location where the mobile clinic can park their vehicle and to have a safe place for the cats to recover indoors. When cats are put under anesthesia for the surgery they cannot regulate their body temperatures, so it’s very important they be in a climate-controlled building after the operation.
“Right now those looking to support the cause can best help with donations and volunteer labor,” Krin says. “Another way to help the project is to report stray cat colonies which can be treated in the future. From locations I’ve identified, and partnering with the city’s animal control, we know where about 150 stray cats are right now. I’m willing to help however I can, but I cannot do it all myself. This should be something Salem does for itself, and I am hopeful a good group of volunteers will soon have the supplies and knowledge to tackle this problem.”
The Momma Cat Project’s next trapping is planned to take place in Salem Wednesday. Krin says trappings will continue locally until this fall.
A GoFundMe page for the group has been set up at https://www.gofundme.com/the-momma-cat-project. For more information, visit the Momma Cat Project’s Facebook page.
