Wild Thing - Feral Feline Fix

06/01/2026

We haven't been trapping much due to the large number of newborn kittens out there right now. It's really stressful knowing we could be taking moms away from their babies, although we return them asap when the vet informs us that a particular cat is lactating.
This Friday after the storm I set traps on Aaron Ct, where we've received numerous reports of a mom cat and up to 6 kittens. I went by last weekend and found mom and a few babies lounging under a truck. Friday evening I caught mom quickly, but no sign of the kittens anywhere. The kittens are probably 7-9 weeks old, so I was comfortable taking her from them overnight. She was returned Saturday evening, several hours after her surgery, to ensure the babies weren't on their own for a second night. I sure wish I would have caught the babies too. Getting them at an early enough age is so important, or they are too difficult to tame and get off of the streets. There are several people keeping an eye out for them.
I also set traps on Rt. M in Taos, for an adorable family of cats that were quickly repopulating. There were 7 adults and 3 of them had kittens. The first litter of kittens are about 4 weeks old, and their caretakers have been socializing them. Another mom had 2 kittens, but she kept moving them, so we didn't know where they were. Another young mom had just given birth the day before I arrived with the traps, and they knew where she had them (it ended up only being one kitten). All 7 cats were successfully trapped and we rounded up the four known kittens to keep with their moms. It worked great to have the babies and moms together throughout the process! There ended up being 3 males and 4 females. Everyone is safely back home and the kittens will be looking for homes in the next few weeks.
Of the five total females, the only one that didn't currently have kittens was pregnant.
Please spay and neuter!! There are so many affordable options and we are happy to loan you traps.

05/18/2026

Only $20 for feral cats!!

Our May special! It is all about our cat friends this month!

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, mother figures and community cat “moms”!

May is Prevent a Litter Month. Ending the cycle of reproduction through Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) prevents litters and so much suffering.

Mother cats have a short gestation period (63 days on average) and can even get pregnant again while nursing. This means female cats can have multiple litters a year. Because cats reproduce so quickly, TNR is essential.

When a female cat is spayed, it means she’ll have a healthier, safer life, free from the stress of mating and the health hazards of repeated pregnancies. It means fewer kittens flooding local shelters and more room for vulnerable cats who need the cage space.

A common TNR question: What should I do if I trap a nursing mother? Should I let her go?

Answer: Do not let her go without spaying her first! You may never trap her again and lose the opportunity to prevent future litters. Almost always, releasing a lactating mom immediately is a mistake. Instead, get her spayed right away. If you’re worried about the kittens being very young, release mom as soon as she’s alert. Experienced veterinarians can reverse the anesthetic after the spay procedure, and the mother can be back with her litter a few hours later.

04/17/2026

These are a couple of girls that we trapped and spayed in December. A neighbor had called us to help get the population under control, and they were looking after them. They really need a new caretaker with a nice barn to live in! They are under a year old.

Name: Gypsy (with white) and Xena
Age: Adults
Breed: domestic short hair
Gender: spayed females

Adoption Fee: $0

Misc. Information: Gypsy was brought in with Xena after their care take had passed away and there was no one left to care for them. They are now looking for a ne barn to clear mice from.

They both were spayed prior to coming to the shelter.

04/13/2026

Eight cats went to Dr. Korn on Saturday. There were 4 spays, 3 neuters, and 1 enucleation.
A very kind gentleman who lives in Cedar City (technically North Jefferson City, but for those of us old enough it will always be Cedar City), has taken in numerous strays that are dumped in the area. He had 3 females that really needed to be spayed. The adorable little calico was in the early stages of pregnancy already. We're so happy to have been able to help him in time.
We also helped with a beautiful stray girl from Michigan St. We were actually supposed to have had 2 girls spayed, but the other gave birth under Jamie's porch Thursday night, so we'll have to help her and the kittens later.
We set traps on Missouri Blvd Ct again, and caught 3 males this time. There are at least 3 cats we still need to catch here, so we'll keep trying.
We also set traps near the commuter lot near the airport, also in Cedar City. There are two cats being fed there, but we only caught 2 raccoons. One of the raccoon destroyed one of our styrofoam shelters, the trap was next to the shelter and he really went to town on it.
Finally, we spayed a female from Holts Summit in March who had an eye injury. We were able to get her back to the vet to have her eye removed. It was a successful surgery.
Kittens are being born every day. If you are feeding a cat it is incredibly important to have it fixed as soon as possible. Please see the attached list of affordable and even free spay and neuter options.

03/23/2026

We've been TNRing cats behind Popeyes on MO Blvd for several years. We thought everyone was finally fixed, but late last summer two female teenage kittens showed up and joined the colony. We caught the calico last fall, but the torti was much more elusive. It was time to get serious about trapping her before she had kittens and we have much more work on our hands. With around 14 cats in this group we can't just set some regular traps, we would never catch the right cat. Jennifer committed her Sunday to set up the drop trap and wait for her. And wait. And wait. With the drop trap you have to watch it and pull the cord when the correct cat is underneath. It took four hours, but she finally decided to come out and get a bite to eat. She was successfully drop trapped this evening and will be going to be spayed Monday.
The amazing caretakers of this colony are great about keeping an eye out for anyone new, sick, or injured. The Popeyes cats are fed and watered every day, rain, shine, or holiday. Thank you Rachel Ratcliff, and Steve and Linda Hope 🩷💜💙

03/13/2026

Mama and Scaredy wish you a lucky Friday the 13th! These girls definitely got lucky in life, thanks to TNR.
They were both trapped by us in 2014 and 2012 respectively.
Mama had originally birthed a litter of kittens in a garage on St. Louis Rd. She was trapped and went to a foster home with her babies. Once they were weaned she was spayed and should have been returned, but I couldn't bring myself to put her back outside after having lived in a home for six weeks. I thought I could find a home for her, but no one stepped up for her, so she stayed with me.
Scaredy Cat was trapped as a part of a feral colony on Lake St in 2012. She was spayed and returned. A cat hating neighbor ended up setting their own traps later and took several of the cats we had already fixed to the animal shelter. I got a call about this one and was given the opportunity to claim her, but she couldn't go back to Lake St, so she stayed with me.
Both girls were really timid, but made great shop cats at our business. After the 2019 tornado destroyed our shop they had to come home with me. Now they spend their days sleeping on my couch or curled up in my bed. Living out their golden years as the luckiest black cats 🖤

03/09/2026

Fourteen cats went to Dr. Korn to be fixed on Saturday. Donna did a lot of coordinating for this trapping, the cats were from four different locations.

One male was trapped on Old Lohman Rd. We were trying to catch four at this address, but we are pretty sure multiple people are feeding in this neighborhood, which makes getting them hungry enough to be lured into a trap a real challenge.

Three cats were from Valley Dr in Russellville, two females and one male. Both females were in the early stage of pregnancy.

Eight cats were trapped on a farm on W Lohman Rd, in Lohman. There were six males and two females. Both females were in the early stage of pregnancy. Several of these cats were pretty friendly, we could tell the kids on the farm had spent some time with them.

Two females came from County Road 4002 in Holts Summit. We had trapped here last summer but didn't get everyone. Their caretaker was nice enough to round them up and bring them to us, since we were trapping in the opposite direction. Both females were in the early stage of pregnancy. One of them had a ruptured eye that will need to be removed soon. We will help with that next month.

We also assisted with a male cat that was already neutered, from Tammy Ln. He either is or was owned, but no one is claiming him. At least two different neighbors feed him. He has had obvious issues with his ears for a while so we got him an appointment at Westside Veterinary Clinic. This was the second time we've made an appointment for him, but he eluded his capture the first time. He was diagnosed with an ear infection in both ears and had to have fluid drained. He received a treatment, but will need a follow-up in a couple of weeks. Let's hope he cooperates for that.

Of the six female cats that were spayed on Saturday, every one of them was pregnant. If you are feeding an outdoor cat that hasn't been spayed, she will be having a litter of kittens within the next 9 weeks. Please, please, use one of the many available resources to get your cats spayed and neutered!! There is a list of very affordable options at the end of these photos. The coupons available through the Friends of the Jefferson City Animal Shelter even make it FREE at some clinics! Message us if you need help.

03/03/2026

Feral and community cats are only $20 while this special is in effect! Call The Spay Neuter Project for your appointments!

02/24/2026

Angie and Robin contacted us back in September. They were trying to find help for the cats on their in-laws farm. They had been trapping the cats a few at a time and taking them to the Sedalia Spay and Neuter Clinic, or Dr. Steck in Centertown. They were using the $100 coupons available through the Friends of the Jefferson City Animal Shelter when they could, but there were so many cats, and they couldn't get ahead. The cats were reproducing faster than they could get them fixed.
We finally had room in our schedule to give them all of our vet appointments on Feb 21st. Jennifer delivered 25 traps, covers, and food on Wednesday, and Angie took off work on Friday and spent the whole day trapping cats. There were quite a few that had to be released because they were already fixed, so it took some attention. Angie gets the daughter-in-law of the year award! At the end of the day she had caught 21 cats!
They went to Dr. Korn in Columbia on Saturday morning. There were 11 males and 10 females. Many of the cats have upper respiratory issues, which is why several of them are missing an eye (Feline upper respiratory infections (URIs), particularly Feline Herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), can cause severe, untreated corneal ulcers that may lead to eye rupture, blindness, or loss of the eye). Dr. Korn assured us there was no reason to remove what remained of the damaged eyes, and the cats are certainly better off now that they will not be experiencing the stresses of reproduction.
They think there are only 5 cats that still need to be caught, so we will loan our drop trap so they can selectively trap those.
These are some really beautiful cats, but fortunately they will no longer have kittens