We talk about wild horses, we talk about wild turkeys. We talk about lots of wild things in Wyoming…but the wild cats haven't gotten as much media attention.

Maybe you, too, have woken to the sound of their night-time turf wars.

Patchy, scarred, and resilient. Such are the feral cats of Casper.

Some refer to them as strays. Their groups are called colonies and each colony adopts a territory.

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Left to their own devices, they reproduce with frantic speed.

The Humane Society of the United States predicts that there could be as many as 50 million feral cats in the U.S.

A female who has not been spayed can produce up to 200 kittens in her lifetime.

In a recent podcast episode of Report to Wyoming, the superintendent of Metro Animal Shelter, Scott Schell, talks about the potential for a trap-neuter-return program (aka TNR) to address the pervasive problem of strays in the Casper-area.

He's been at Metro since 1999 and says feral cats have always been one of their biggest problems.

Schell likens the colonies to a motel; when one cat leaves, another sees a vacancy sign and moves in.

More than 90% of the dogs get adopted, says Schell, but cats are a different story.

Euthanization is currently the number one result of feral cats that come into the shelter, but Schell would like to see changes on that front.

"What can we do to improve our life-saving ability? That's what our focus needs to be on" ~ Schell.

Listen to the full podcast below!

"Managing Community Cats: A Guide for Municipal Leaders"; Kolby Fedore, Townsquare Media
"Managing Community Cats: A Guide for Municipal Leaders"; Kolby Fedore, Townsquare Media
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