Marysville cat trapping session begins tonight

Volunteers team with animal control to help spay, neuter feral cats

Each month after dark a group goes out into Marysville in search of feline friends. The goal is to trap, neuter and return (TNR) the feral cats, which call Marysville home, in an attempt to curb overpopulation.

The Fieldhaven Feline Center and Marysville Animal care services will host ‘Meowysville Big Fix 24 hour TNR Marathon’ tonight where volunteers will accompany trappers Thursday night before cats are neutered or spayed Friday morning.

Volunteers will meet at 6 p.m. in the community center at the United Methodist Church in Marysville before heading out at around 7 p.m.

Joy Smith, executive director of Fieldhaven said the monthly TNR events started last year as a partnership with the city. Since July of 2018, Smith said they have spayed and neutered about 500 cats and placed 305 kittens and 41 adult cats into their adoption program.

“We trap all night and the next morning a mobile spay neuter comes in and spays, neuters all day,” Smith said.

In addition to being spayed and neutered, Smith said the cats are treated for ear mites, fleas, vaccinated for rabies and microchipped.

The cats are treated at a mobile veterinary lab and logged into the Fieldhaven system, which Smith said will help track the groups of cats known as ‘colonies’ in Marysville.

“We have about probably 80 to 100 feeding colonies around the area,” Smith said. “We’re still working on identifying all the colonies.”

She said volunteers should wear good shoes, dress warmly and bring a flashlight. Don’t worry about handling cats, however. Smith said that task is left to the trappers.

“We’ll team them up with either a trapper or being in the community center (at the church) because we’re collecting data on these cats,” Smith said.

It costs about $60 dollars to cover the cost to neuter, spay, vaccinate and microchip the cats

and about $350 dollars to bring the cat to Fieldhaven to be adopted. Smith said the cost to TNR– which is covered through a combination of city funds, grants and donations– is more effective than the old method of feral cat control.

“The old way is trap and kill and it hasn’t worked, Smith said. “It actually costs us and the city less to TNR.”

For more information, www.fieldhaven.com. visit