Coalition forming to address cat overpopulation issue

Kern County is no different from many other communities in America when it comes to cats. There are far, far too many free-roaming cats in the community. Some are true ferals, others feeder-friendly ferals and a third group of abandoned former pets.

Regardless of their designation, the numbers of free-roaming cats seem to be all but out of control.

This year appears to be the year that Kern County is ready to try and address the issue. A coalition is in the beginning planning stages, one that bring together groups of animal rescuers, animal-related nonprofits and animal agencies to work together to try and come up with a plan to (finally) bring down the number of homeless cats.

It was heartening to see so many groups at the initial meeting; The Bakersfield SPCA, Kern Humane Society, Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation, Bakersfield Cat Control, Orphaned Kitten Rescue, Kern County Animal Control, The Cat People and some folks managing feral colonies (whom I will not name as to not give away the location of the colonies). Forgive me if I missed anyone, as I did not have my notes with me as I was writing this. A dozen of so individuals all well-versed in the problem, all knowing that no one group will ever be large enough to tackle the issue on their own.

Thanks go to the Bakersfield SPCA for hosting this meeting. It was a great start.