Will use funds to spay/neuter 300 feral stray cats

By Jennifer Nessmith

Staff writer

Thanks to a grant from PetSmart Charities, Space Coast Feline Network will be able to trap, neuter and release an additional 300 stray feral cats this year.

PetSmart Charities awarded Space Coast Feline Network a $10,000 grant, which will allow the network to assist low-income pet owners and those who support large feral cat colonies to reduce the feral cat population, said Kathleen Harer, president of Space Coast Feline Network.

Space Coast Feline Network is not an animal shelter. It is an organization of volunteers who coordinate spay/neuter clinics at various locations throughout Brevard County, including the county's South Animal Care Center in Eau Gallie, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Titusville and Animal Medical Clinic in Melbourne, in an effort to control the feral cat population. Some veterinarians volunteer their time to perform the sterilization procedure.

Space Coast Feline Network employs a nationally recognized method called trap/neuter/release, in which volunteers trap feral cats, spay or neuter them and return them to the wild to control the propagation of homeless animals.

There is no accurate estimate of how many feral cats there are in Brevard County, mainly because they are wild. However, Space Coast Feline Network has trapped, neutered and released more than 8,000 cats in the 10 years since it began hosting spay/neuter clinics, Ms. Harer said.

In Florida, and in warmer climates, cats can go into "heat" up to three times a year and usually produce three to four kittens per litter.

"And within six months, those kittens can breed, and do, if they're not spayed or neutered," Ms. Harer said.

Space Coast Feline Network coordinates low-cost monthly spay/neuter clinics throughout Brevard County. In order to have your cat spayed or neutered, you must make an appointment.

A spay/neuter clinic is tentatively scheduled at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Titusville Dec. 6.

For more information on these clinics, call the network's Helpline at (321) 631-7729.

For more information about Space Coast Feline Network, visit their Web site at www.sfcfntnr.org.