No no-kill shelters means cats can stay

The feral cat colony behind the Clark County School District administration building can stay, at least as far as the school district is concerned.

Animal welfare groups and cat caretakers were concerned about a plan to relocate the cats sometime in the next month, a move they said would be impractical and short-sighted.

On Wednesday, the district confirmed that it had reached an indefinite agreement with six employees who help care for the dozen or so cats who live in an open, shaded drainage area between the district's parking garage and Kindred Hospital in the 5000 block of West Sahara.

"It sounds like it'll calm down and they'll leave the cats alone," said Ron Mader, one of the six district employees.

He's still a little worried, because the property the cats occupy actually belongs to Kindred Hospital next door, not the school district.

Kindred Hospital officials did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The discussion focused a spotlight on feral cats, a problem faced by all urban areas.

Population growth exacerbates the problem, and it's expected the mortgage crisis could, too, as people lose their homes and in many cases abandon their pets.

Left unchecked, feral cat colonies can explode in population and cause health concerns.

The approach recommended by animal welfare groups is known as "trap, neuter, return."

The cats are captured, fixed, immunized, and then returned to the area they've claimed. The population remains stable because they can't reproduce, and in turn the cats provide free vermin control.

The school district colony now numbers roughly a dozen cats. A few years ago, several times that number were there, before volunteers started trapping and spaying, as well as finding homes for kittens and the more domesticated of the cats.

School district and hospital officials had health concerns about the colony remaining there, but the district also had committed to not killing any of the cats. "The district found that there were no available no-kill shelters," said spokesman David Sheehan. "We could not find any place to put these cats."

Volunteers agreed to change food and water on a daily basis, cover the food at night and clean up after the cats each week.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.