Kitten Season

The Sad Reality of Pittsburgh’s Homeless Cats

By Sophie Uziel

Grace Evans jokes that her parents are running a cat sanctuary.

Last summer, a stray cat showed up with a litter of kittens. Then came another batch, and after all was said and done, Grace had eight cats living, eating and breeding in her Murrysville backyard.

Grace had herself a feral cat colony.

Feral cat colonies are not at all uncommon in Allegheny County, and most of the cats that live in them are not spayed or neutered.

Because of overpopulation, especially when “kitten season” (a term that may sound cute on its own) brings hundreds of sick, malnourished kittens born on the streets. Because of crowded shelters and a lack of foster homes, most of them have to be euthanized.

This is not ideal; Grace knows that.

“We want to get the mom to the spay-and-neuter clinic we go to for our other cats,” Evans said.

A small liter of kittens cuddle up. This is the third litter a stray cat named LG gave birth to a few weeks ago at Gracey Evans’ home in Murrysville, PA.

With a recent surge in social media accounts geared towards fostering cats and trap, neuter and release (TNR) activism, there is a growing awareness of not only the dangers of leaving your cat unfixed but how neglecting to do leads to unnecessary suffering come springtime.

Nobody knows this better than Michelle Miller, treasurer of the Homeless Cat Management Team and fierce advocate for TNR work in Pittsburgh.

After starting in 2006 with nothing more than a love for cats and will to help, Miller, unaware of what TNR was at the time, spotted someone walking through the halls of the Humane Society with a trapped cat, and that was how she got involved with shelters and advocating for feral cats. She now serves as the treasurer for HCMT.

The Homeless Cat Management Team busily works at a 2014 spay clinic. Photo courtesy of the Creative Cat.

Now, as the weather gets warmer, HCMT holds spay/neuter clinics more frequently.

“At the last clinic, there were sixteen pregnant cats,” Miller recalled. “We count how many the cat would have had for our records and we prevented 75 kittens from being born.”

“As sad as it is to do it, we would have prevented a lot of cats from being outside,” Miller said. “Last year at the height of kitten season we took in around 200 kittens, and it was probably double for shelters because we aren’t open door.”

“We take in the problem cats that shelters turn away.” Miller added. “There were 500 adoptions last year alone. Seventy percent were under a year old.”

For bigger organizations like the Pittsburgh Humane Animal Rescue (who get around 700 kittens in the spring and summer months, more than double Miller’s estimate) to smaller ones like Furkid Rescue (who only get about 50 kittens, but are more of a dog-focused rescue) and Animal Friends (who trapped 150 cats in Sharpsburg alone in 2015, according to a TribLIVE article) nobody is safe from the damaging effects of kitten season.

From left: Miller, Lindsay Joyce, Margo Cici Wisniewski, and Wendi Stafford Wiegand pose for a picture. Photo courtesy of Lindsay Joyce

“We come out to a neighborhood, we fix them, give them an ear tip and we return them,” Miller said. “We don’t like to see any cat living outside, that’s not ideal, but the cats out there are happier and wouldn’t do well in an inside setting.”

Miller was quick to dispel any misconceptions people may have about cats living outside.

“Feeding is great, however, the biggest problem we see are seeing is feeding and not fixing,” Miller explained. “I know people put out food because they feel bad, or its cold, but now that cat has become dependent on you for food, and you have to be in it for the long haul.”

She’d rather clients get help when you have two or three cats instead of 23.

“There are a lot of people who disagree with what we do and that cats should all be inside,” Miller said. “People should understand that cats can live healthy, long lives outside. I have a girlfriend who has a colony of 13 or 14 and they can survive outside.”

That’s why pet owners are implored to get their pets fixed, but many are unaware of the fact that it means so much more than making sure your pets don’t have babies.

“For the males, it’s so sad to see the big tomcats so beat up, because they’re mainly fighting for territory for mating,” Miller said. “Once they’re neutered, they’re much more docile. They’re vaccinated for things against rabies, ticks and fleas.”

While fear of rabies isn’t prevalent in feral cats, it still exists in western Pennsylvania, and it’s always best to be prepared for anything. Ryan Scarpino of the Allegheny Health Department says that while they do not work directly with shelters, they strongly encourage residents to not have any contact with stray animals.

While rabies may still be prevalent in wild animals, there haven’t been any recent reports of rabies or other related diseases in the Pittsburgh area transmitted by feral cats.

Feral cat colonies still run rampant in certain Pittsburgh neighborhoods –most recently the Borough of Thornburg near Crafton with a population of only 450, had a colony of 20 cats.

All of this can seem like information overload for someone who isn’t aware of everything that goes into advocating for the safety and health of feral cats.

“We actually have a van called Kitty Uber. I usually come and pick up cats at no charge,” Miller said. “But I tell anyone who doesn’t utilize these resources to just not feed the cats.”

Miller shares a photo of the homeless cats she trapped. Photo courtesy of Michelle Miller.

“Back in 2006, when I started, we had little old ladies trapping these cats and lugging them here and I couldn’t believe it,” Miller laughed. “Now, there’s so many resources online and you’ll see the amount of help that’s available, and so many different options available.”

For those who want to get involved but don’t know where to start, Miller suggests contacting your local shelter and asking how you can help. Your time is more important than your money – fosters are always in high demand, there are always more cats to be trapped, and supplies are always appreciated.

Sophie Uziel is a junior at Point Park University. She plans to graduate in spring 2019 with a degree in Mass Communication.