Nearly every community struggles with the problem of controlling feral cats in neighborhoods and public spaces. Feral cats are those living in the wild that cannot easily be domesticated and placed for adoption.
The City of Mentor has taken steps to help reduce this population. Recent legislation now places feral cats under the definition of “nuisance animals,” making it illegal to feed them. However, the same legislation also introduced a Trap, Neuter, and Release (TNR) program intended to limit continued breeding and the spread of infectious diseases. The TNR program allows a property owner in a neighborhood where a feral cat colony exists to legally feed and care for the colony under the supervision of a designated Animal Welfare Organization registered with the city.
The volunteer “caretaker” agrees to provide vaccinations and medical care as needed, document colony activities, help resolve nuisances caused by the colony, and to work with the Animal Welfare Organization to trap the animals so they may be spayed or neutered. Kittens and suitable adults are removed for adoption, and the neutered cats are released back into the colony. The desired goal is the gradual elimination of the colony as the animals live out their natural lives.
For more information, please contact Code Enforcement at (440) 973-5792, or codeenforcement@cityofmentor.com, or visit cityofmentor.com/natural-resources.