HOULTON, Maine — For the second time in as many weeks, the Houlton Humane Society has received a $10,000 grant for its feline spay-neuter program.
The latest grant was awarded by the Cleo Fund/Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk, which advocates for and provides resources for spaying and neutering pets, puts on educational seminars, organizes spay-neuter clinics throughout the state, and offers resources and services for feral cats and their caretakers. Unlike the first grant, the Cleo grant is exclusively for use in Houlton.
‘’We have a huge amount of feral cats,’’ said Catherine Virgie, manager of the HHS animal shelter, adding that it is a growing problem.
Feral cats, she explained, are cats born to other feral cats or from stray cats as opposed to domesticated cats. They are not used to human interaction and tend to avoid human contact. They are essentially wild and have learned to adapt to living outdoors. They are not adoptable, she said.
The HHS hopes, with the help of volunteers, to catch feral cats, spay and neuter them to reduce their population in town, and release them. Some of the grant also will be used to provide sterilization services for cats that belong to low income owners.
Virgie stressed that neither of the two grants can be used for shelter operations, supplies, or salaries. All of the money must be used only for spay-neuter programs.
“These grants are very specific,” she noted. “If used for any other purpose, you have to pay back the money.”
