More than 25 people attended the May 6 City Council meeting in a show of support aimed at changing how feral cats are trapped and handled within the city.
Wearing ‘I support TNR’ name badges, the group led by Shadow Cats organizer Shelia Smith expressed their support for the change that would allow registered volunteers to trap, neuter and return feral cats to their colonies.
Feral cats – which are wild and do not belong to anyone – often form colonies, rapidly reproducing and becoming a nuisance for residents and business owners.
The TNR method of controlling wild cats in the community is “a humane program that will reduce the number of cats in Leander,” Smith said.
The cats – once trapped and sterilized – have one of their ears tipped for easy identification.
Currently, according to city ordinance, feral cats are trapped and removed by the city’s animal control department and sent to the Williamson County Animal Shelter, which then euthanizes the wild cats.
For each cat picked up, it costs the city about $150, Smith said.
“This cycle of catch and kill, we need to break it,” Smith said. “There’s a better way to control the community cat population in Leander.”
The Council agreed to consider amending the animal control ordinance to allow residents who register as volunteers to participate in local trap, neuter and return programs. The item is expected to be on the May 20 agenda with recommendations from staff.
Currently, residents are prohibited from owning more than five pets, according to Leander Police Cpl. Luana Wilcox. Individual homeowner associations can tighten the restrictions, she added. Many HOAs limit the number of pets to four.
Jeanette Cacciola, a Leander resident who has been caring for feral and stray cats since 2003, said she supports the change and the TNR program.
Shadow Cats, and other similar feral cat care organizations, have volunteers who help trap feral cats throughout Leander, Cedar Park and the surrounding areas and care for the cats afterward.
Smith said since the program started in 2007, more than 14,000 cats have been sterilized, which reduced the number of additional kittens that would have been born by at least 20,000.
Kathy Korcz, a Cedar Park resident who attended the Council meeting, said she helped trapped cats in Leander and supported the change.
Trap and kill programs leave a vacuum, she said, which can often pull in more cats to an area.
Cheryl Schneider, director of the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter, said 122 cats from Leander have been taken in at the shelter since October.  In the previous year, the shelter registered 256 cats from Leander.
“I definitely support what they’re doing,” she said. “A lot of towns around Austin are adopting this program.
“Every year the numbers have been reducing, she said, and it’s because those groups are so active.”
The county animal shelter offers free spay and neuter clinics for feral cats, by appointment.