By Sarah Snyder
Staff Writer

Spring is in the air, and so is that pesky feral feline problem. It’s especially bad in Leon Valley, which will consider on May 20 a program that traps the cats, “fixes” them, then releases them back in the wild.

This issue evokes strong opinions within the city, ranging from those who regard trap-neuter-release (TNR) as the most effective, to others who prefer the euthanasia method.

“There are some citizens unhappy that these animals are around, but euthanasia is not the solution,” said Leon Valley veterinarian Edmund Meier.

“There are more and more small cities in the area that are seeing the need for a TNR program and moving forward,” the city’s official vet added. “They’re getting a 60 to 90 percent discount in order to get those kitties taken care of. Leon Valley should be no exception.”

The cost to euthanize and dispose of an animal is $50 to $60 dollars. The TNR program would be provided for Leon Valley by the Animal Welfare Society of Bandera County at no cost.

AWS representative Sandra Boehm said that the city of Bandera saved $30,000 in two years from adopting the program.

“The tourists were really upset and making complaints,” she said.

She added that more than being a humane issue, TNR is downright effective.

“Within a year and a half we had zero population growth. It just eliminated a whole group of problems,” she said.

“For years and years, we have been saying, ‘Let’s kill them.’ It doesn’t work.”

However, not all are on board with the TNR idea, which also includes caretaking and feeding stations for corralling and monitoring purposes.

“A lot of people don’t want stray cats walking around on the street. There is going to be some animosity,” said Councilman Jack Dean.

Resident Mary Francis Uptian said that bird and reptile populations are suffering in her neighborhood because of the feral cat problem. She supports the euthanasia method.

“I am so angry about this cat business. I am held hostage by cats. My yard … this is my little world. My lizards are gone. I don’t have any frogs any longer.

The cats are fat and sassy. They are eating me out of my animals.”