(Katrina Morales)
MURRAY, Utah — A Murray woman is taking care of 150 feral cats on the streets every day.
Katrina Morales puts out food and water, and traps them to take them to the vet when needed.
“I started out where it was something I would do in the evenings. But all of a sudden, I was all in on this, and spending crazy amounts of money on cat food and gas and mileage,” she said.
She said she can go through up to 30 pounds of dry cat food and 40 cans of wet food a day, depending on what she can afford, and her daily rounds take about two hours to complete.
“They gather in colonies, so they know where I am going to leave the food. They wait every night and they’ll show up,” said Morales.
In addition to food, Morales also takes the cats to the vet. Every one of the feral cats she traps in Murray is then spayed or neutered, vaccinated and de-wormed. The cat is marked on the left ear. Then Morales takes it back and releases it outside.
Morales said a lot of people don’t even know about these cats living outside because they hide in the day and come out at night.
“Most of these cats won’t let me touch them because they are feral, they are not domesticated. But there is a handful that will let me get close or even pet them,” she said.
She said if she shows up and sees a cat that is sick or injured, she takes it to the vet.
She would like to see more people help take care of the cats in their own neighborhoods. But she does know of other caretakers of these feral cats in other cities around the valley, too. They’ve started a Facebook group called Community Cat Action Group of Utah.
You can see what Morales is up to at Murray Community Kats on Facebook.
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