VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. —
The City of Vadnais Heights has a cat problem.
“When you get one call, two calls, multiple calls at city hall, it's time to go out and figure out a solution,” says Tim Sandvik, Assistant City Manager.
The city admittedly didn’t have the capability or expertise to do it alone, so they teamed up with Bitty Kitty Brigade and The Animal Humane Society to fix it. And when we say fix it, we mean that quite literally. They trap the cats, spay, or neuter them and then release them. Trap, neuter, return or TNR.
"We can't adopt our way out of cat overpopulation problem but we can TNR cats so we can control the population,” says Jacky Wilson with Bitty Kitty Brigade.
Thanks to donations, the two organizations can do this free of charge.
The animals are checked for microchips—in case they are a lost pet, they get rabies shots, ear tipped for identification and then returned to where they live. Why? to stop the cycle of kittens, and because most of the cats are feral, they're not good candidates for adoption.
“Eighty-percent of kittens are born outside, less than 25% survive. If that breaks your heart, come learn how to TNR and make a difference,” says Wilson.
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