A West Valley man is voicing concerns about feral cats in his neighborhood.
Lynette Nowlin lives off 31st Avenue and Roosevelt Street. He says it's been an ongoing problem and he's fed up. Over the last few years, he has trapped more than 400 cats in and around his property.
Nowlin said the animal shelter would not accept feral cats, so he just drove them 30-40 miles down the road and set them free in a different part of town.
That kind of response is not the way to go, according to Stephanie Nichols-Young, the president of the Animal Defense League of Arizona.
"The solution is called trap, neuter and return and basically what we are suggesting is that the best thing they can do is get all the cats fixed," said Nichols-Young.
Nowlin said the cats were spraying trees, doorways, and tires on the property. He did not call the Animal Defense league spay and neuter hotline because he said it was easier to just load the cats up in his truck and relocate the animals, and he did not want them returned to his neighborhood.
"They're still wild," said Nowlin.
"As a homeowner I need some instruction, I need some help on this one," he added.
Nichols-Young said the feral cat problem had been getting better in Arizona as people learned about it, but it was very prevalent.
Since 2009 80,000 cats had been "fixed" and returned to communities.
"If you fix them a lot of the behaviors that cause problems in these neighborhoods like yelling, fighting, and spraying will decrease or go away completely," said Nichols-Young.
The Animal Defense League of Arizona made a special appointment for Nowlin to bring in the feral cat he had just captured in one of his traps to the clinic. ABC15 has passed on the information to Nowlin.
To learn more about managing feral cats in your neighborhood you can go to www.somanycats.org. Or call the spay and neuter hotline at 602-265-7729.
