Keep cats indoors during trapping, village says

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. >> The village is urging cat owners to keep their pets indoors to avoid having them inadvertently trapped up as part of the local effort to reduce the feral cat population.

Trapping is to be carried out over the next several weeks, and residents will be informed if their neighborhood is being targeted. At the same time, the village is asking residents to share information about where feral cats are concentrated.

“There’s a form ... for anybody who wants to submit information on where [feral] cats are located,” said village Clerk Lisa Mayone.

To provide information, call (845) 246-2321 or go to village.saugerties.ny.us to download the form.

The village last month hired Kim Kelly to carry out a catch-and-release effort, for $25 per cat. He work will include providing notice to pet owners in the immediate areas about where traps will be set.

The program calls for neutering and vaccinating cats where they’re trapped.

“We do not remove cats,” a flier about the program states. “We will, if space allows for it, remove viable kittens for socializing and adoption. Sometimes we will foster a pregnant cat, allowing her to deliver [and] returning her after the kittens have been weaned and she is spayed.”

Village property owners are asked to not directly participate in the trapping process.

“You do not need to be present,” a village statement says. “It actually goes smoother with less talking and few movements.”

Cat owners also should take pictures of their pets so they can be retrieved if accidentally trapped.

Feral cats either once were pets but “turned” wild after being abandoned or lost or are the offspring of those animals. They can be spotted hanging around restaurant trash bins and lurking around the edges of residential properties. Sometimes they live alone, but more often live in “colonies.” They mostly retreat from human contact, but in some instances, they can become emboldened, brazen and potentially dangerous.