Lenox Hills apartment complex neighbors were at their wits' end. Nightly cat fights and the awful smell emanating from under their apartment complex near the intersection of North Druid Hills Road and Buford Highway had left them frustrated and unsure of what to do. A colony of cats being fed by well-meaning animal lovers had grown to more than 50 and kept multiplying. Since none of the cats had been fixed there was constant cat spraying, fighting and, of course, new kittens.
Apartment management thought the only option was to call animal control and have the cats euthanized, but luckily an animal lover called LifeLine Animal Project last week. LifeLine's experienced staff and volunteers immediately worked with the apartment management and Fulton County Animal Services to negotiate a truce to save the cats’ lives and improve the health and safety of the community for both cats and humans.
LifeLine’s Catlanta program, the first and largest metro assistance program for outdoor cats, has saved the lives of more than 15,000 cats through the humane practice of “Trap-Neuter-Return." LifeLine also has a new Feral Freedom program in DeKalb County where animal control officers bring stray and feral cats directly to LifeLine to be spayed or neutered and then returned to their neighborhoods or placed in adoptive homes. This groundbreaking partnership has reduced the euthanasia rate for cats at DeKalb County Animal Services by 68 percent in its inaugural year.
Through this method, LifeLine is currently helping to stabilize the population at the apartment complex, relocate the cats from underneath the building and prevent disease and overpopulation. According to LifeLine’s Cat Rehabilitation Director Mickie Blair, the neutering method offers many benefits over the traditional practice of euthanizing feral cats.
“When cats are fixed, they no longer have a reason to fight and howl,” Mickie said. “If the cats are just removed and euthanized, unspayed cats will move into the area and breed to capacity whereas a fixed colony keeps unspayed cats away.”
Additionally, neutering helps control the rodent population and saves taxpayers money. Every year, metro Atlanta animal controls spend over $15 million taxpayer dollars dealing with the consequences of animal overpopulation. Research proves that euthanizing animals does not effectively reduce pet overpopulation. Only spaying, neutering and TNR of cats can do that.
Just this past weekend, LifeLine spayed and neutered more than 20 cats from the Lenox Hills colony. They have many more cats to fix and are asking for community support to help cover the cost. You can help by making a donation on LifeLine’s website: http://www.lifelineanimal.org/donate. Please specify that your donation is for the Lenox Hills Cats.
Founded in 2002, LifeLine Animal Project helps prevent unwanted pet litters through low-cost spay/neuter, helps make pet care affordable through low-cost and free vaccine clinics, saves the lives of special needs shelter animals through our no-kill shelter and saves feral cats through our trap-neuter-return program.
This article was provided by the LifeLine Animal Project and edited for publication.