According to Deana Sellens, executive director of Texas Litter Control and Humble Animal Shelter advisory board member, the program will offer free spaying and neutering services for outdoor, free-roaming cats living in the community.
Texas Litter Control is partnering with the city of Humble to run the pilot program, which was made possible by a grant from Petco Love, a nonprofit branch of Petco aimed at saving animals from euthanasia.
"We are so excited to be working on this new program with the city of Humble," Sellens said in a statement. "The Humble Animal Shelter has been an awesome partner in helping Texas Litter Control structure new programs."
Officials noted anyone feeding stray cats in the area can humanely trap the animal and bring it to Texas Litter Control’s Humble clinic—located at 19333 Hwy. 59, Ste. 230—at 7 a.m. on any day the clinic is open. Upon receipt, the clinic will spay or neuter the cat, vaccinate it for rabies and other feline diseases and mark its ear tip to show that it has received services.
Sellens said the clinic will take up to one trapped cat per day without prior notice, though she noted anyone planning to trap a cat in advance can book a spay or neuter appointment by calling the clinic or visiting the nonprofit's website.
Texas Litter Control officials said free-roaming, outdoor cats can be beneficial to the community because they help keep snake and rodent populations at bay. Without being spayed or neutered, however, officials said cats can have up to four litters of kittens per year, many of which end up in animal shelters.
In May 2016, Texas Litter Control officials helped establish a community cat program in Montgomery County. Officials noted the success of that program led to the establishment of similar programs in Harris County and the city of Houston.
For more information about Humble’s community cat pilot program, call 281-528-1238 or click here.
