Linda Miller and feral cat coalition advocate spaying, neutering to counteract cat population 

 The increase in feral, or wild cats without a home, comes from a lack of spaying and neutering, as well as  abandonment. But local cat lovers are trying to do something  about the town’s growing cat population. 

For more than five years Linda Miller of Newberg has been trapping feral cats, getting them spayed or neutered and finding them homes. 

She started off with the numerous cats in her neighborhood and has kept three, which are now tame. She still feeds feral cats from several colonies and regularly gets calls from people who need help with the animals. 

“There’s such a need; this summer I had a call every day,” she said. 

Miller takes the cats to McMinnville Veterinary Hospital, where they are spayed or neutered and treated for free (with a donation). She also takes them to Newberg Veterinary Hospital, where she pays a fee for the services. A fund has been set up at the local vet hospital where donations are 
accepted to help with the spay-neuter costs and adoption-placement fees. 

The local cat caregiver is unable to handle every feral cat in the area and tries to get the people who contact her to trap the cat themselves or agree to give it, or find it, a home. She finds the cats a home before taking them in to be spayed or neutered. She works part-time to support the cats and so she can give a donation to the vet. 

“That woman has given her own money and time. She gets up at dawn to feed all her colonies,” said

Miller’s neighbor, Shirley Cooper, who helps with the cats. “I bet she’s saved 10,000 births in Newberg.” 

About 20 to 30 cats used to hang out in a field near Burgerville on Portland Road and Miller worked to find them homes through putting up fliers at veterinarian offices or contacting farmers interested in barn cats before she trapped them. 

“It’s hard to relocate (the feral cats) because they’re territorial,” she explained. “I leave them in a cage in their new home first and they acclimate to their new surroundings.” 

There’s also benefits to spaying and neutering beyond controlling the cat population. Miller said it often calms the animals and discourages roaming. 

Spaying or neutering will also cause cats to stop spraying as much and it can also help emotional problems in some felines. 

“People are continually dumping cats and the problem starts all over again,” she said. “People have to be responsible pet owners.” 

Claire Rolfs of Newberg serves on the financial committee for the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon.  The group holds regular clinics to spay and neuter feral cats in Salem and Portland. 

“We use the trap, neuter and return philosophy,” she said. Caregivers feed the cats and then get them spayed or neutered at the clinics which operate on a volunteer basis. 

“If you like cats or if you don’t it’s a great organization, I am impressed with what they do ... and their philosophy,” Rolfs said. 

Cats being delivered to a clinic must be in cages and are spayed or neutered then given back to the caregiver. The cats’ right eartips are notched after being fixed, the international sign of a spayed or neutered feral cat. 

Rolfs said many cats in the area, including those who are pregnant, are abandoned near farms, and dumped with the idea that there are mice nearby and farmers will care for them. That turns out not to be the case. 

“They often become coyote food ...,” Rolfs said. “They aren’t doing anyone any favors.” 

Started in 1995 by a group of veterinarians, the coalition spays or neuters 3,000 cats a year and are supported by donations. There are no plans to hold a local clinic, primarily because the need for volunteer vets and other volunteers is not met. 

“We hold clinics on Sundays when vets are available and do 80 at each clinic,” explained Karen Kraus, executive director of the Feral Cat Coalition. “We’d need someone in the community willing to hold the clinic and volunteer.” 

A feral cat is described as a cat born in the wild that has had no human contact. 

“Most think of the wild cat in the neighborhood, it’s an untamed domestic cat not part of a human family,” Kraus said. “Ferals hang out to hunt and hang out where there’s food, and they live short lives, relatively.” 

For more information about the Feral Cat Coalition call 503-797-2606 to find out about clinics and reserve a space for a feral cat. Only feral and stray cats are accepted and sign-up must be completed ahead of time. 

©2002 Newberg Graphic  Reprinted by permission