Stray Cats Take Over Taylorsville, KY (VIDEO)

Cats are taking over the town of Taylorsville, KY, and there's not much the 1,800 residents can do about it.

NBC News reports that stray cats can be seen everywhere in the town -- gas stations, homes, even resting on top of cars. For car lovers, this poses a problem, as paw prints stamp the sides of cars, and feces cover the car hoods.

Mayor Don Pay is a cat lover facing a population of residents sick of cats. The Mayor explains that the county's Humane Society contract only applies to dogs, without addressing cat overpopulation. Thus, city officials are bringing local cats to Alley Cats Advocates in Louisville, getting them spayed and neutered, and then returning them to Taylorsville. According to WAVE News, at least 100 cats have already been spayed and neutered, with up to 300 left to go. On the bright side, Pay remarks, "the mice population is down."

Up to 4 million animals are euthanized in shelters every year. One of the best ways to cut back on animal overpopulation is for pet owners to spay and neuter their pets. Perhaps then cats will stop taking over towns.

WATCH cats take over the town:

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Comments

[Apostle61]

05:29 PM on 02/17/2011

Come on, 400 cats in a whole town? That's nothing. You can fit that many into a house.

[Caroline Harris]

10:44 AM on 02/17/2011

I would LOVE to live there! GISH! What whiny peopele ! they should have to pay extra to live in a town of cats!

[steelol]

01:41 PM on 02/15/2011

In other news, Chinese restaurateurs are flocking to Taylorsville ahhhhhhh nevermind. Sorry.

[SukiTheCat]

10:32 PM on 02/08/2011

spay and neuter, please don't euthanize them!

[Ron Virgilio]

10:51 AM on 02/08/2011

Part of the problem I guess is you have a lot of people who mean well but ultimately end up doing more harm. Feeding the cats allows them to stay healthy and live longer but they are still feral and will reproduce if noone will claim them as their own. It saddens me because I see a dead cat/kitten at least once or twice a week on the way to work. You never know if it was someone's "pet" or a feral cat but they need to make spaying/neutering free so more people would be willing to participate in catch/neuter/release type programs.

[mrmikes]

09:21 AM on 02/08/2011

This is not a cat problem, but an irresponsible human problem.

[Trittydi]

02:14 AM on 02/08/2011

I'm stunned that they have a contract with the Humane Society and it only covers dogs.

What were they thinking? They set themselves up for this.
*

[611Juniper]

06:03 PM on 02/07/2011

For those who would like to help the homeless, outdoor cats in their community, go to Alley Cat Allies, . When I started caring for the orphan kitties at my apartment complex 9.5 years ago, I stumbled across Alley Cat Allies. Their resources are tremendous. By the way, trap, spay/neuter, vaccinate, return, and feed really works to reduce the population dramatically and to help improve the lives of the cats. I have just 6 well fed, healthy cats outdoors now, 3 that neighbors are working with to tame and ultimately convert into indoor cats. (I've done that with 4 already. So it's doable, although it takes a lot of skill, patience, and time.) I should mention too that the cats don't bother the birds in the neighborhood. In all the time I've been caring for the outdoor cats, only once have I seen one with hunted prey (i.e., mouse, squirrel, and bird).

[justbenice]

04:54 PM on 02/07/2011

I am a cat lover through and through and this story breaks my heart. I do wish people would learn to be responsible pet owners and not abandon their pets! Feral cats in great numbers can be harmful, and must be managed accordingly. Hopefully the catch and release programs mentioned throughout this thread can be used to get a grip on the situation. I know one thing, I love my 18 pound bundle of fluffy fur, Andy, and I will give him an extra hug when I get home tonight! :)

[ANuttyReader]

12:27 PM on 02/07/2011

Humans have taken over the world, with 7 billion, killing and devastating everywhere near them, caging, looking or exterminating animals around them, good for the cats.... give the cats a break

[Happy Cat]

03:00 PM on 02/07/2011

Fan'd & Fav'd!

[SukiTheCat]

10:33 PM on 02/08/2011

true!

[Happy Cat]

12:04 PM on 02/07/2011

As a volunteer for a cat rescue group, trap neuter, or spay, & return to colonies, as well as cat owners spaying & neutring pet cat, the population well decline. Cats in each colony is given fresh water & food daily, and cats which are tame adopted to caring homes. It worked so well in our small town that now we have a rat problem & people that felt the strays were a nuisance are begging for cats.

[Dewts]

11:36 AM on 02/07/2011

give a the teenage boys in the town some 22 rifles. the cat problem will go away.

[jdunaway65]

11:44 AM on 02/07/2011

Oh yeah, GREAT solution! Maybe we can give one of your neighbors a gun and help raise the IQ of your town.

[Dewts]

11:55 AM on 02/07/2011

was that supposed to make sense?

[Happy Cat]

12:05 PM on 02/07/2011

Up YOURS Dewts!

[Dewts]

12:36 PM on 02/07/2011

when deer run rampant, we sho.ot them. when squirrels run rampant we sho.ot them. when woodchucks run rampant we sho.ot them. when cats run rampant we should sho.ot them.

[Nolana]

07:46 AM on 02/07/2011

My opinion - the only reason to have a cat you allow outdoors is if you have a barn full of mice and rats. The toll that feral and free-roaming cats take on songbirds is horrific. Birds that nest on or near the ground have almost no chance against these non-native predators. As a child I saw a cat toying with a half-de ad wood thrush, and have never been able to understand how people can countenance this.

There is also the little matter of toxoplasmosis, a parasite carried by cats, and deposited into the ground in their fe ces. cats using vegetable gardens as litter boxes can transmit this parasite to humans, and it can cause miscarriages, stillbirth and infant de ath - and if the infant lives, can cause developmental delays and neurological problems. My sister had to give up on growing her own organic vegetables when she was pregnant because of a plethora of feral cats that po op ed in her garden.

If you want to expose yourself to the parasite by cleaning a littler box, that's up to you. But keep your cats indoors and out of my vegetable garden.

[pammiethekid]

08:52 AM on 02/07/2011

I've heard that if you put a line of mothballs around your garden, the cats will stay out.
(Haven't tried it, the cats didn't cause problems in any of my gardens back when I had cats.)

[KarlaElisa]

10:40 PM on 02/06/2011

The cats are crapping on top of the cars?

[Amalek]

10:41 PM on 02/06/2011

I call B.S. on that.  I can't see a cat taking a dump on top of a car.  The footing is too uncertain.

[KarlaElisa]

11:45 PM on 02/06/2011

It does seem extremely out of character.

[FranklinCat]

12:17 AM on 02/07/2011

That's an attempt to hide the fact that too many of these people don't look before emptying their chamber pots out the upstairs windows.

[KarlaElisa]

01:17 PM on 02/07/2011

NICE!

[satanlite]

09:14 PM on 02/06/2011

Cats take over town. Cheeseburgers wiped out.

[FranklinCat]

12:57 AM on 02/07/2011

"Without and army for the cats, there is nothing for the cats."

--Meoa Sy Tong