POCATELLO -- Pocatello’s community cats will only be making a temporary stop at the Pocatello Animal Shelter.
Recently, Pocatello Animal Services started its Community Cat Program. Animal Services staff will set traps in areas of the city with known community cat (i.e. stray) colonies. Once the cats are trapped, they’ll be taken to Alta Animal Hospital where the cats are spayed or neutered and given a rabies vaccination. Only healthy cats will be returned, and they will have their ears notched for identification purposes. The cats in the program will be returned to the area where they were originally found.
“The Community Cat Program will reduce the number of cats in the shelter and, over the long-term, reduce the population of community cats in the city,” said Josh Heinz, Pocatello Animal Services Director. “The trapping and spaying/neutering of cats by Pocatello Animal Services allows cats to stay in the area for people who want them there, reduces the population to a more manageable level, and helps the cats thrive outside the Shelter.”
With the new program’s implementation, members of the public are encouraged to bring stray cats to the Shelter on Mondays and Wednesdays, whenever possible.
The program is made possible through a $50,000 grant from Best Friends Animal Society.
“We are excited to be able to help support Pocatello Animal Services to increase their cat lifesaving capacities,” said Jennifer Adkins Community Cat Program Outreach Specialist. “Implementing the Community Cat Program is a great step in not only achieving their overall lifesaving goals but also strengthening their partnership with their community to provide lasting solutions for cat-related issues.”
For more information on Pocatello Animal Services and to view adoptable pets, visit pocatello.us/animal or like the department’s Facebook page at facebook.com/PocatelloAnimalServices.
More on Best Friends Animal Society can be found at bestfriends.org/.