Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Can someone trap a feral cat that visists my yard?"

Darrell e-mails Mr. Answer Person: "We have had a feral cat outside our home from last fall to present. I haven't fed it, as I don't want to encourage it to stay. This gray cat with black stripes is cunning enough to not starve, as it hides near my bird feeders and makes a meal of the unsuspecting birds on the ground. Is there an organization or service that would attempt to catch this cat and take it to the shelter?"

Mr. Answer Person contacted HSNEI President Kim Powell, who answered, "This is a difficult question. We do not have official animal control in Winneshiek County, so the law enforcement is default animal control but only deals with dogs. HSNEI does have a TNR (trap-neuter-release) program where we loan traps to catch feral cats, alter them, and then re-release in the same area. This is the most effective way to control and eventually reduce feral cat colonies (see article in last week's Decorah Journal). We cannot take true feral cats into the Adoption Center because they are not adoptable. We do work with friendly stray cats to alter them, vaccinate and find them forever homes."