Help us control the feral cat population in Willo

Each street in Willo have them – neighbor cats living under our homes, in the alleys, in our yards, that don’t seem to belong to anyone. They just live on our streets and are fed by caring residents. You may be bothered by our four legged neighbors, but they do add great value to our neighborhood by helping us control the rodent population, and by nature, they “stake out” their territory and keep out other feral cats from coming onto the Willo street they occupy.

It is important for neighbors to coexist with our furry neighbors and help the feral cats live healthy and happily by controlling their population through spay/neutering. Professionals illustrate that as feral cats reproduce- sometimes up to 12 new kittens per year from one cat- the food supply they compete for diminishes, so many go undernourished. Additionally, with more and more cats concentrated in one location, disease and competition become a negative issue.

Taking the time to spay/neuter the existing feral cats that are living in Willo will help us:

• control other cats from coming into our neighborhood,
• will stop the number of feral cats in Willo from increasing,
• and will assure that the current cats in the neighborhood live a healthier life.

Thankfully the Willo Board appreciates that as a neighborhood we need to help neighbors address and control our feral cat population, and have approved a program that partners with the Animal Defense League of Arizona’s “Trap, Neuter, Return” (TNR) program. TNR contracts with Valley Veterinarians to provide, at cost, spay and neuter surgeries for feral cats.

To participate, first Willo neighbors should contact the Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) organization at (602) 265-7729 or https://adlaz.org/spay-neuter-hotline/outdoor-cats/tnr-referral-faqs/ to make an appointment with a local, participating TRN contracted Veterinarian for the cat spay/neuter surgery. The TNR also have traps available for loan to neighbors if you need them. The Willo neighbor will have to provide a Willo address to TNR and be willing to trap and bring the cat(s) into the Vet for the surgery. You will also be required to return the cat after surgery to the neighborhood/street where it was captured. The costs for the surgeries will be covered by the Willo neighborhood, and billed directly to our neighborhood treasure – at no cost to the Willo neighbor. Reimbursement will only be made if neighbors have cat sterilization surgeries done by TNR and have let them know you are with the Willo neighborhood. Since we have an agreement with TRN for a contracted per cat rate, we cannot reimburse individual neighbors directly.

The TRN website also has additional information on the spay/neuter process and frequently asked questions: http://www.adlaz.org/node/164

If we spay/neuter the feral cats that currently live in Willo, and return them to our neighborhood after surgery, they will continue to live in Willo, helping us detour rodent overpopulation and will STOP the continuous birth of homeless kittens.

Many thanks to Willo animal lovers for helping us control animal homelessness through spay and neutering.