The Nanton Animal Protection Society (NAPS) is reminding residents to keep an eye on the feral cat population.

Shelter Manager Kim Williamson says NAPS has a TNR program to trap, neuter and release  feral cats.

In the best outcome the animals find a new home through the barn adoption program, or if they can be tamed they are adopted into families.

If not they are released back into the community at the spot where they were trapped.

"Typically we just spray and neuter them," said Williamson. "And then give them a little tattoo so we know we don't have to re-trap them."

They get de-wormed and sometime a full round of vaccinations and then they try to find a rural setting for them with a barn or a shop for them.

As the weather gets colder, there are more complaints coming in about strays.

She adds trying to eliminate a stray and feral population is like treading water against the current.

"But for every animal that we fix we are eliminating several litters in the future. There is a graphic online you can search that shows you how many cats can be born within a one year time frame."

It works out to hundreds of cats because every cat can have litters once they are four or five months-old and they can have up to eight kittens, so it gets out of control quickly.

Williamson said they could use some volunteers to help them trap the cats and funds to help run the TNR program.

"We need each of those things for different reasons."

It takes a lot of manpower to trap the cats and it can only be done if the weather isn't too cold.

"Generally we ask people who are interested in doing it to be on an on-call basis."

It gets really bad in kitten season in the spring and when it gets really cold.

She stresses that it is really important that pet owners need to be responsible if they let their felines outdoors.

"Please ensure your pet has been spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and has ID such as a collar/tattoo/microchip. If unidentified, your cat could end up in the TNR program unbeknownst to you."

 "We don't receive any government funding for the TNR program we don't receive any funding from the town it is all run out of our annual budget."

The TNR program costs $30,000 a year to run and funds are also used from this program to help families who cannot afford it, to sterilize their pets.

Any money that is donated can be attributed to the building fund, the TNR program or for vet bills.

Williamson adds the overpopulation of feral cats is a community responsibility, not just the responsibility of the Town or the animal shelter.

For more information check out their Facebook Page.

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