OTTAWA — Representatives from Prairie Paws Animal Shelter, the Humane Society of the United States and other animal experts will have a town hall meeting tonight at 7 to discuss their plan to catch and release many of the city’s wild and feral cats. The program, which is called “trap-neuter-return,” will reduce the number of feral cats in and around the city in a humane manner, Prairie Paws director Melissa Reed said. Once the cats are trapped, they’ll be sterilized and vaccinated and returned to the outdoor locations where they were trapped, she said. The released cats, who are highly territorial, will continue to prey on rodents in the wild, keep away other feral cats while being reduced in population, she said. The program has been successful in other communities, she said. She said organizers have been working for some time on an Ottawa program, but Kansas State University veterinarians will do the spaying and vaccinating for free, making the program possible, she said. The meeting will be in the Neosho Community College auditorium.
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 4 p.m.
