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By Tiffany Goodwein

Cypress County to mitigate feral cat population with help from Canadian Animal Task Force

May 11, 2021 | 5:54 PM

CYPRESS COUNTY, AB– After receiving a number of complaints about the rise in feral cats in the region’s hamlets, Cypress County will be calling on the Canadian Animal Task Force for assistance.

Last week, the county approved the Municipal Cat Care Project for the hamlets of Suffield, Irvine and Walsh at a cost of $5,750 for each community.

RJ Bailot, executive director of the Canadian Animal Task Force said their goal is to mitigate the cat population in the most humane way possible.

Once a survey is completed and the population of cats is known, the organization will trap the cats and begin to provide them care at their centre in Calgary

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“The animal gets spayed or neutered, they get treated for parasites, they get vaccinated for rabies, and then they get a permanent ID in the form of a tattoo,” Bailot explained.

After a feral cat receives care, the cat is then rehomed. But that option is only ideal for some, according to Bailot. Many feral cats consider an outside environment normal and a home would not be ideal. Under the program, cats truly deemed feral, are sent back to the area where they were originally trapped. Bailot said the goal is to ultimately create an established healthy population over time.

“So in the long run the numbers would decrease just through various reasons; predation, health of animals, all those things, but you aren’t seeing a huge influx of animals like you would when you leave a colony fully intact,” Bailot said.

The organization is currently collecting data on where feral cat populations exist within Cypress County. Residents are asked to report suspected cat colonies by contacting the Canadian Animal Task Force on their website.