405 Feral Cats Spayed, Neutered by Kent and SAVES

Homeless cats — 405 of them — were sterilized recently by Calverton's Kent Animal Shelter and the Spay, Alter, Vaccinate Every Stray, or SAVES, organization.

The cats were sterilized over the past year with a $20,900 grant from PetSmart Charities, according to Kent.

The cats, which are managed in colonies by SAVES, were trapped, sterilized at Kent, and returned to the colonies.

The PetSmart Charities campaign helped to control the overpopulation of feral cats in Riverhead; feral cats are homeless, wild cats that can die of starvation, suffer injuries, and cause property damage, Kent staffers said.

"A significant percentage of cats, 204 being female, were either in heat or pregnant," said Pamela Green, Executive Director of Kent Animal Shelter. "The expansion of the populations in the cat colonies would have been exponential if the problem was not addressed."

"Four hundred and five may not be an overwhelming number, but it is a major accomplishment for a small group of unpaid volunteers from SAVES who used their own resources to trap, house, transfer and recover all of the cats," said Al La France of SAVES. "By Kent's sterilizing so many cats and preventing many further births, the project had a major impact on feral cat colonies in the Riverhead area."