LINCOLN — City officials and the Humane Society of the Ozarks are looking for volunteers living outside the city to keep five to 15 cats.
In September, city officials began considering a cat colony as a solution to the city’s population of feral cats. Those cats have gotten into private, city and school trash cans and are considered nuisances by some.
The city partnered with the Humane Society of the Ozarks to work out a solution. Cats with no identification would be spayed and neutered then released to a colony manager living outside the city.
Feeding the cats in such a colony allows them to live out their natural lives, according to a description of cat colonies by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The humane society received a $9,600 grant from PetSmart Charities to help fund colonies. Several colonies would be needed to trap and release the estimated 200 feral cats in the city, according to a news release from the humane society.
The ideal location would be a barn or similar shelter, but volunteers could contact the society to obtain a cat shelter. For more information, contact the Humane Society of the Ozarks at 479-444-7387, or Lincoln Animal Control at 479-530-1661.