ROCKDALE, Texas — Residents in Rockdale are trying to deal with an overpopulation of stray cats, but are struggling to find resources.
- Rockdale resident Carrie Dodd is trying to catch 17 stray cats, most of which were abandoned on her property.
- There are about 1000 more stray cats around Milam County.
- But non-profit organizations like Milam Touch of Love say they can only spay and neuter a few cats at a time due to needs for more funding and volunteers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
About seven traps are sitting in Carrie Dodd’s yard in Rockdale.
She and her caretaker, Jeannette Behrens, are trying to trap some stray cats.
“If someone goes by and sees a cat, and they got one to throw out. Then, they’ll come by here and put it out," Dodd said.
A problem for over a year — and they’re struggling to find the resources to help.
“We've caught eight already, and we have nine more to go. People drop off cats, then they populate. She’s a 100-year-old lady, so of course, she's got that heart of gold, and she's not gonna let any animal go without food or water," Behrens said.
But there’s about 1,000 more cats scattered across the county, according to non-profit Milam Touch of Love’s Homeless Cat Census.
It’s one of few organizations that offer low-cost spay and neuter services.
But the group can only take a few at a time.
“Funding is a challenge but so is having enough veterinarians available to perform the services at a rate we can afford but we are doing 20 trap neuter and returns a month," President Jean Schara said.
As for Dodd and Behrens, most cats have been taken to the vet.
But they’re still finding cats on the property like this kitten they found under the porch this morning.
And their message for people dropping off cats on her property —
“It’s just bad that people will drop off something like that instead of taking them to the vet and having them fixed or something," Dodd said.
“Just take care of your own animals," Behrens said.
Schara tells me they’re still in need of volunteers to provide spay and neuter services , but in the meantime, she encourages residents who are seeing an overpopulation of cats to register those stray cats on the Milam Touch of Love website.
