A high percentage of the more than 13,000 homeless, lost and unwanted cats euthanized at Animal Care Services each year are “feral” or wild cats. These cats have been trapped by citizens who are concerned for the cats’ welfare, who don’t want to see yet another litter of kittens born, or who dislike having cats around their homes or businesses. Stray non-feral cats have been pets and can usually be adopted. But because feral cats are too wild to tame and adopt, every single one of them is doomed to euthanasia. What’s more, when a cat is removed from an area near a food source, another cat will move in, driving an endless cycle of “catch and kill”.

San Antonio has learned that there is no “one size fits all” solution that will work for both stray dogs and stray cats. Unlike roaming dogs, cats present no potential threat to public safety – cats don’t chase joggers; rabies in cats is extremely rare; and cats who have the choice will run and hide rather than bite. Now that San Antonio has committed to become No Kill by 2012, we need to find better solutions to the problem of homeless cats – solutions that protect our families, neighborhoods, and quality of life without continuing to kill tens of thousands of cats each year. Several alternatives have been proven to work in other cities, and this site brings together information and resources to help us use those alternatives.