Cat Crisis New York: Census Reveals Cats May Overrun The City

New York is becoming a feline hotspot, with more than 576,000 cats documented as pets, and feral cats "unclaimed and running wild" in the dynamic city, according to the NY Daily News. 

"This shows the benefit and urgency for more spay-neuter programs," said Animal Care Center executive Risa Weinstock.

Census showed that 40 percent of cat owners in the Bronx area had neither neutered or spayed their pets, while people from the south Bronx gave a lot of contributions to the expanding pets being given to shelters and animal care centers.

The NYC Feral Cat Initiative (FCI) is working hard to curb the feline problems with non-lethal methods like "Trap-Neuter-Return," or TNR.

"Stray and feral cats are humanely trapped, evaluated, given a rabies vaccination, left eartipped and spayed or neutered by a veterinarian and then returned to the familiar habitat of their original colony," said FCI on its website. "Tame cats and kittens young enough to be socialized are removed for adoption placement in permanent indoor homes."

Efforts are on to keep the cat population below the acceptable limit, according to HNGN.