Cove Animal Rescue seeks help with feral cats

The nonprofit group that runs Glen Cove’s animal shelter is asking for city help in neutering feral cats.

Cove Animal Rescue has spent about $11,000 of its own money in the past year and a half neutering more than 200 feral cats, said Betty Geiger, president of the group’s board. In addition, residents — including some who feed the cats — have neutered cats at their own expense, she said in an interview.

But a more formal, coordinated “trap, neuter and release” program would reduce the number of feral cats, she said.

Deputy Mayor Barbara Peebles told City Council members at a council work session Tuesday night that some colonies of feral cats live at the sites of the Garvies Point and Villa development projects. As the land is cleared, the cats will be displaced and could end up in residents’ yards unless more action is taken to neuter the cats, she said.

“We want to be proactive,” Peebles said.

She said in an interview that options include city funding or private donations. The city also could help with publicity about the neutering program, she said.

Feral cats currently are brought by volunteers to local veterinarians, neutered for a fee and then released to the area from where they were caught, Geiger said.

The group wants to buy specialized surgical equipment to neuter the cats at the shelter and hire veterinarians to perform a number of neutering procedures at once, to make the process more efficient, she said.