The feral cats are back.
The issue on how to handle Urbanna’s cats died down but surfaced again on Feb. 23 when Andy Anderson, co-owner of Urbanna Boatyard and Marina (“Urbby”), addressed the Urbanna Town Council. “I have a real cat problem at the marina,” said Anderson. “They (the cats) are damaging boats and entering boats. I’ve had well in excess of $5,000 in damages to boats.”
Anderson said he would like to have a forum to discuss solutions.
Cat project
Several years ago The Urbanna Cat Project had volunteers that would trap, spay or neuter and release the cats back from where they came.
Volunteers have dwindled and there are very few people to catch and process feral cats, said Councilor Merri Hanson, who added that she has at least 10 feral cats on her property. “And it’s not spring yet, so they will be having more.”
Councilor Beth Justice said she is part of The Urbanna Cat Project. “I know they’re everywhere. A lot of the problem that none of us can control is that people are dropping off cats. They are not fixed, a lot of times they’re sick. They are cute when they are kittens and then they are done with them.”
Witnesses have reported seeing cats being dropped off, said Justice. “I don’t know how you stop them from being dropped.”
Catch and release
The feral cats that are trapped are released. “We have several vets that we work with. We have to release them. We find homes for a lot of cats. But we can’t control the people dropping them, that’s the main point I wanted to bring up.”
Council moved on without setting up a forum to discuss the cats…
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