Our feral cat rescue group chalked up another feral colony success this week. A good neighbor in the East Main and Colby neighborhood called us about a feral cat and her two kittens living under a shed.
We were able to trap the three of them as well as another two who found there way into our traps. They all were neutered and given rabies shots at the Wichita Humane Society. The two adult females and one male were returned to their neighborhood and the two female kittens are being domesticated and the league will find them homes.
Speaking of feral cats, the league and this writer would like to acknowledge Carl and Mindy Crossette, our neighbors, who share responsibility with my wife and me for the feral colony in our neighborhood. Mindy takes the evening feed and water chores and Carl built a feeding station and shelter areas to protect our guys and girls from the elements. Thanks to both of you!
I think our neighborhood in the Sheridan and Cottonwood area might be typical of most neighborhoods in that on our cul-de-sac of 11 homes, five dwellers strongly support our efforts with feral cats, four seem indifferent, one is strongly opposed, and one is an opponent who terrorizes the colony regularly. Valley Center Animal Control Officer Frank Miller has visited him several times to warn him about harming them, which hopefully will protect them from the worst possibilities. Let’s hope so.
While we’re on the subject, there is a school of thought that there is a better way to control the population. That option is not shared by many, but those who harbor those thoughts can be pretty extreme.
When an adult feral is taken to the Wichita Animal Shelter it is put down immediately.
As distasteful as that is, it would be impossible to do otherwise because there isn’t any other way that we know about. Cat sanctuaries would lesson the problem but require land and building modest shelters. One of our members floated the idea at our last meeting, but it was met with skepticism. Stay tuned.
The Valley Center Animal League Father-Daughter Dance will be Feb. 8, 2020, at Valley Center High School.
The following are examples of items that will be in our dance auctions: Kansas State merchandise, Chromebooks, Chiefs merchandise, Paw Patrol motorized ride-ons, mystery boxes with value of $100 or more, drones, video games, power washers, generators and lawn mowers.
Ed Varner is a member of the Valley Center Animal League. Reach him at or 616-7487.