(Enlarge) P.C. Smith captures feral cats, gets them neutered and checked out by a veterinarian and then releases them. Smith recently released James Bond, the cat in the cage. James Bond is one of six cats she has already released. (Staff photo by Sarah Nix-Pastrana)

Ever since P.C. Smith discovered a colony of feral cats in the center of Jacksonville in May, she's spent late nights and early mornings trying to capture them.

So far, she's caught six adults in traps. All have been taken to veterinarians where they were spayed or neutered, given rabies shots and parasite treatments. Smith then released them back into the same Jacksonville area.

Smith has also managed to catch 16 kittens. All were adopted before they had a chance to live on the wild side.

She gets help from local businesses whose employees put out food and water for the cats. The folks at The Feed Bag donate cat food, and veterinarians give her a discount on their services.

But it's Smith who pays the bills and takes each cat home in cages to recuperate from surgery for a few days before releasing it.

She is the one who sits in her car at night with a pair of binoculars, waiting to see if another feral will be tempted by the food in the trap.

"Feral cats can't be tamed. They're not adoptable. All I'm trying to do is make sure they're fed and fixed," she said. "They have enough places around here where they can live safely, but nobody wants the colony to keep getting bigger."

Smith, who lives in Baldwin with her husband, Mike, two dogs and six cats, teaches English at the Rosedale Center, an alternative school for middle and high school students. A longtime animal-lover, she also volunteers at Animal Rescue in Maryland Line.

She realized Jacksonville had a feral cat population in May when she saw a small black cat dart across Sweet Air Road from the Blockbuster parking lot into the McDonald's lot.

When she asked business owners about the cat, she found it was one of many who roam the area.

"I've always been aware of them because they move at dawn and dusk and that's when I'm here," said Jo Rand, who owns Lovely Manors garden design center on Jarrettsville Pike. "Most people who shop in Jacksonville won't see the cats and aren't aware what she's doing. But she's trying to give them a better quality of life. She's saying, 'You have the right to be here.' She's just trying to keep the population from growing."

Smith visits the Feed Bag, Dogwood Tack, Long & Foster Real Estate and the Citgo gas station, among others, to talk cats. A recent trip to the Citgo station netted her four kittens living in a truck's cab.

When it's time to try to catch a cat, Smith asks the businesses to stop putting out food so the hungry cat will go for food in the trap. She also asks that businesses keep their dumpsters closed for the same reason.

She has to time her capture to the night before a veterinarian has time to spay or neuter, since she doesn't want the cats in a cage a minute more than necessary.

After surgery, the veterinarian clips the tip of the cat's ear to mark it as fixed.

So, far, six cats have been neutered and released, Athena, Whoopie, James Bond, Two Socks, Jessie and Lucifer.

"It's my choice to be doing this," she said, sitting in her car at 8 p.m. waiting for a cat to be attracted by canned cat food topped off with sardines. "Most of the time it's a blessing. Sometimes it's a burden. I think people feel better knowing somebody's doing something about the colony."

She owns four traps and is willing to loan them out to anyone with a feral cat population in their neighborhood. The kittens she captures are available for adoption and information on them is posted at the Feed Bag in Jacksonville.

For information about feral cats, Smith recommends www.alleycat.org.

user comments (5)

user tscat says...

Cat ladies hearts are always in the right place, however, trap/neuter/release is not an answer. Feral cats kill thousands of native birds and small mammals every year. They will kill wildlife even if they are well fed, as cats are natural predators. The cat colonies, especially publicized ones attract more cats as uncaring people drop off more cats. The colony never goes away, and cats are still living miserable lives in the wild, where they do not belong as domestic animals. Native wildlife must come first, and sound science needs to prevail over warm hearts.

Posted 8:53 AM, 12.18.09

• Permalink

user says...

tscat, I have to disagree with you. I took your position for many years. In fact, I advocated to my hunting friends to shoot cats to save the bird populations. But I spent a week at Best Friends sanctuary doing some workshops, and one was on TNR. We looked at the state of the current research. First, TNR is trap/neuter/return, not release. That is an important distinction. These cats have established a niche and cannot be released in other locations. What is science is showing is that birds are low on the feeding hierarchy. Trying to get into a nest, even for ground nesting birds, is a high risk meal. Rodents, insects, spiders have been found to be meals of choice. Domestic cats often kill without feeding, because they are well fed. Feral cats typically will not expend the energy to kill without feeding. Actually, pet cats who are allowing outside are a higher risk for birds than feral cats. The surveys are more consistently showing that areas where TNR has been used are showing stabilized populations. In some areas, these populations are dropping, which is the long-term goal. Best Friends has been using TNR with some communities around the country with great success. Their website should have a link to their work.

Posted 12:10 PM, 12.18.09

• Permalink

user jeffml1 says...

Got logged out in the middle of writing the above comment.

Posted 12:14 PM, 12.18.09

• Permalink

user smaarty says...

The truth is that human populations destroy more native wildlife through development. Humans are also responsible for feral cat populations as feral colonies are born from intact pet cats who are allowed to roam, or, worse yet, who are dumped. Feral cats can live decent lives when they are part of a managed colony headed up by a responsible caretaker. It's not a black and white issue but one thing is certain ... TNR is the only humane feral cat management solution. For more information, go to the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance website: www.rmaca.org

Posted 3:14 AM, 01.14.10

• Permalink

user smaarty says...

The truth is that human populations destroy more native wildlife through development. Humans are also responsible for feral cat populations as feral colonies are born from intact pet cats who are allowed to roam, or, worse yet, who are dumped. Feral cats can live decent lives when they are part of a managed colony headed up by a responsible caretaker. It's not a black and white issue but one thing is certain ... TNR is the only humane feral cat management solution. For more information, go to the Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance website: www.rmaca.org

Posted 3:19 AM, 01.14.10

• Permalink