File photo by Krisha Williams Turbeville

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

A central Arkansas cat rescue has taken over trapping and caring for feral cats that were being rounded up by North Little Rock animal control workers this summer near the Burns Park tennis center.

Feline Rescue and Rehome began trapping the cats last week after it learned animal control workers had started taking cats to the city shelter where some were euthanized. The cat rescue is now asking the shelter to turn over any records of cats workers brought in.

“Without those [shelter intake] records we don’t know how many were put down,” said Lynne McAllester, the cat rescue’s board president. “We’ve gotten conflicting numbers. So if it’s a low number and we know there are more cats out there then we need to look harder. If it’s a higher number, then obviously we may have seen them all.” (more…)

A 2001 ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FILE PHOTO — Cats wait in cages at North Little Rock Animal Services.

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

For two and a half years, the area behind the Tennis Center in Burns Park has been home to a colony of six to eight feral cats cared for by a Little Rock rescue group. Now only three can be found after complaints from the center’s management spurred North Little Rock Animal Services to set traps.

Billy Grace, director of the North Little Rock shelter, confirmed that at least three cats from the location had been trapped, beginning six weeks ago after he received complaints from Tennis Center management.

Grace could not verify whether those cats had been euthanized. “But I wouldn’t doubt it,” Grace said. “Probably so.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAKE CHARLES, La. — When the USS Orleck departed Orange, Texas, for Lake Charles on May 18, the Gearing-class destroyer had four secret stowaways. They managed to remain undetected for the vessel’s two-day trip to Lake Charles.

Once the Orleck docked at its new homeport on the Calcasieu River, Debbie Lynn Hoffpauir and other USS Orleck Naval Museum volunteers discovered the kitten quartet as they inspected the newly arrived ship.

Hoffpauir was uncertain how long the kittens had been without their mother, but he later heard reports that a few dockworkers in Orange saw a cat jump from the Orleck before its departure. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WESTBROOK, Maine — The Animal Rescue League in Westbrook, Maine, won’t have to worry about how to feed the cats in its shelter for a couple weeks.

On Friday, an 18-wheeler pulled up and dropped off 87 cases containing 1,044 cans of cat food. The gift worth $1,000 was due to a miscommunication.

The truck driver delivered a load to Hannaford Bros. Co. in Scarborough but the supermarket chain had not ordered the cat food. The driver contacted Portland’s animal control officer who put him in contact with league. The driver said his boss wanted the truck back empty. (more…)

THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

More than 4,700 cats and dogs were euthanized last year in Benton and Washington counties. That’s way too many, say those trying to curb the population of unwanted pets.

Veterinarians offer spay and neuter procedures, but a lot of pet owners can’t afford the rates, so they don’t get their pets fixed. The resulting litters mean a flood of strays, many of which end up being euthanized and incinerated at the local shelters.

A scattered effort to spay and neuter the pets of low-income owners exists, but the region doesn’t have a central clinic for affordable procedures. For now, the spay-neuter effort is a hodgepodge of voucher programs, shelter regulations and a monthly clinic. (more…)