Sunday, May 28, 2017
After nine months of persistent lobbying by a retired schoolteacher, Lancaster County likely will start a program to capture and neuter stray and feral cats, drastically reducing the kill-rate at the animal shelter.
The county has allotted $72,000 in the 2017-18 budget, which has passed the first of three required county council votes, to fund a Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) program that would humanely control the population of free-roaming cats.
The program’s inclusion in the budget is the direct result of Sara Phillips’ lobbying efforts.
The cat-loving ex-teacher educated county council in perfectly prepared three-minute lessons during 16 of the last 18 council meetings since last August.
“She is a sweet lady, and she got her point across,” said council Chair Steve Harper. “I appreciate what she does. That shows that citizen involvement makes a difference.”
Phillips addressed council in a steady, respectful tone, never exceeding her three allotted minutes.
“Her constant advocacy keeps it on the forefront,” said County Administrator Steve Willis. “It should cut the number of cats euthanized. Temperament is no longer an issue, so cats won’t be put down just because they are not adoptable.”
Cats are euthanized at a much higher rate than dogs.
Shelter Director Alan Williams said that since last July 31, the shelter has taken in 1,512 cats and killed 1,059 of them. Only 147 of the 1,248 dogs picked up in the same period were euthanized.
With this program, feral cats are humanely trapped, then neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped and returned to their territory. It stops the breeding cycle without unnecessary killing. A feral cat is one that lives outside and is not socialized to humans. They are routinely euthanized because they are not adoptable.
The program will permanently reduce the number of stray and feral cats, provide a savings to animal control, and eliminate annoying behaviors like spraying and fighting.
The current practice involves catching and killing feral cats to control the population. The number of outdoor cats continues to grow while many healthy cats are killed each year. The endless cycle is a financial drain for shelters run on taxpayer money.
More and more counties in South Carolina are adopting the program. Greenville, Spartanburg, Charleston, Columbia and Lexington County are among those that have enacted TNR.
“Every county that we talked to that has a spay/neuter program said their kill rate is way, way, way down,” said county council member Larry Honeycutt. “So to me it is a no-brainer.”
Phillips’ lobbying campaign with county officials included distributing books and pamphlets, answering questions, and e-mailing Williams, Willis and council members.
“The TNR will be for shelter cats that come in here, and it will be good for us,” Williams said. “It will take a few months to get going full blast, but we should figure it out.”
Williams said space will be the biggest challenge at the overcrowded shelter, which is recovering from a distemper outbreak that forced it to temporarily close May 10.
Willis said he feels confident council will approve the funding, but the county cannot make any commitments until the first of July once the budget passes.
He said the county is looking at two options. One is to contract with a mobile veterinarian who would visit the shelter and sterilize the cats onsite. The other is to buy a vehicle to transport cats to a local vet.
Willis said animal control will bring the feral cats in and tag them by location so they can be returned to their home territory after sterilization.
As far as space limitations, Willis said that once the county builds a new shelter, it is possible that the existing one can be used for the TNR program.
“If somebody has a cat colony that they are taking care of, I am sure animal control will work with them, maybe loan traps, and return them to their area,” Willis said.
He stressed that this will not be a service for people’s pet cats.
According to spayusa.org, a fertile female cat and her mate and their offspring producing two litters each year will create 12 cats in one year, 67 in two years, 376 in three years, 2,107 in four years, 11,801 in five years. By nine years, assuming a survival rate of 2.8 kittens per litter, the figure is 11,606,077.
Phillips, 64, has trapped, neutered and returned 234 feral cats since she began in 2008, despite being sidelined with health issues one of those years. Donations and money from recycling aluminum cans pay the bills.
Charlotte-based Friends of Feral Felines provided reduced rates through a partnership with local vets. She has begun coordinating with other county cat lovers. Among them are Lancaster residents Suzanne Mitchell and Sharon Sapp, who work with the Charlotte Humane Society.
Phillips has loved cats for as long as she can remember. When she was a little girl, her first cat was an orange tabby, named Maynard. To this day, she has a soft spot for orange tabbies.
She owns and lives with seven cats ranging in age from 3-14, lovingly referred to as her “hooligans.” Most have a special need or two. One is missing an eye. And one has only three legs and limps a little like Phillips, who was injured in a car accident years ago.
Phillips moved to Lancaster in 1985, taught music at Lancaster High School, and now works part time as a cashier at the Lancaster County Water and Sewer District.
She helped rescue misplaced cats in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.
Phillips is a determined woman with a mission.
“She is the most persistent lady that has ever come before county council in the four-and-a-half years that I have served,” Harper said.
For more information, please visit Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org.
Follow Reporter Mandy Catoe on Twitter @MandyCatoeTLN or contact her at (803) 283-1152.
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