Residents, humane society work to address cat population, treatment issues

Mar. 18—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Five of the 59 cats rescued from what Cambria County humane officials described as "atrocious" conditions are ready for adoption after a week of care, cleaning and evaluation.

Humane Society of Cambria County humane officer Kinlee Whited said she received a tip on an animal hoarding situation in the Dunlo area on March 8. On March 11, she uncovered dozens of felines living together in one bedroom of a rental property.

The animals were suspected to be abandoned.

"We don't even know how long they lived in there like that," Whited said.

Cats of various ages were covered in feces and urine, had urine burns because they couldn't escape the filth, and were malnourished, Whited said, especially the long-hair breeds that had to be shaved.

Because of those conditions, it's hard to determine the age of a lot of the animals.

Whited and staff from Cambria County worked to collect all 59, and were thankful for nearby shelters taking some off their hands — Central PA Humane Society took about 10; Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh accepted 22; and Second Chance Strays took six felines.

Cambria County kept 21 cats from the hoarding case and already had 38 in its care. The shelter's capacity is 60 cats.

Whited said she's thankful for the other shelters' assistance, and there's an open investigation into the hoarding matter to determine charges to file.

The humane officer handles five to 10 investigations per week into cruelty to animals and receives 40 to 50 calls per week with tips, she said, and the stray cat calls are frequent.

Feral cats

Cats in difficult positions is an issue across the area, Roxbury resident Charlene Stanton said.

Roughly a year ago, the lifelong cat lover began hearing stories of feral felines throughout the city of Johnstown — not a few, but colonies of dozens in abandoned houses and less frequented areas of town, such as Old Conemaugh Borough, Moxham and the West End.

In one section of Old Conemaugh Borough, a resident said they've been there for eight years and wild cats have been a constant throughout the neighborhood — one house had about 30, but is at roughly 20 after some were removed.

Whited said she's well aware of a feral feline issue in the city.

Stanton's main concerns are the animals surviving frigid Pennsylvania winters and unchecked reproduction.

"I just felt led to do something to help these cats," she said.

That's why Stanton started building insulated enclosures from average totes and giving them away for free last fall — 82 to date — and has trapped cats to get fixed and cared for them before release to where they were found.

Although Whited said the lifespan of feral cats, which the humane society considers to be wild animals, is about two years because of disease and vehicle collisions, a female cat has a gestational age of about 65 days and can have three to five kittens per litter.

Within a year, one cat can become more than 20.

Stanton added that a female cat can start reproducing at 5 months old.

Kitten season also is a concern.

Whited said feline reproduction ramps up between March and May, typically.

The shelter will reserve space specifically for pregnant cats and kittens during that time to help deal with the influx.

In the past year — January 2023 to January 2024 — the Cambria County shelter has taken in 367 stray felines.

Whited said that's both people trapping cats and dropping them off and animal control situations.

However, she said the Cambria County location, at 743 Galleria Drive Extension, isn't built to house a large number of cats, let alone feral animals.

"It's not that we don't want to help, we're just not in a position to do that," Whited said.

She added that the shelter is working toward a solution for the increased feline population as staff explores more space or a new facility.

Another issue she noted is that if the shelter were to take in feral cats, which can be hard to domesticate and are typically unfriendly to humans, that may take kennel room away from adoptable cats and kittens.

Trap, neuter, release

One solution is trap, neuter and release operations.

In this instance, volunteers, such as Stanton, and/or representatives from organizations, including those from the humane society, trap feral cats and take them to clinics, such as those hosted by the Seven Hearts Project, to be spayed and neutered and released back to their environment.

Angela Law, marketing representative for Seven Hearts, said their program is geared toward those who have financial hardships and people caring for feral cats.

"Our mission is to reduce the community's homeless pet population, and we're finding this is one of the best way to do that," she said.

They do that by sponsoring no-cost spay and neuter clinics in the area.

The local humane society offers monthly neuter clinics and will take wild cats if there are spots available, but resources are limited.

Stanton and Whited advocate for the clinics because it allows for a humane way of dealing with an ever-growing cat population in the area.

"You have to look at it as this is going to benefit community health," Stanton said.

She added that typically during spay clinics, rabies shots are administered.

Concerns such as rabies and distemper — an infectious feline virus that can be deadly to the animal — are another reason Cambria County shelter staff are weary of working with feral cats.

Whited said they have to be cautious of staff's health in working with these animals because bites and scratches are likely in administering care and the health of the feral cats is unknown.

To help raise awareness, Stanton created the FelineFriends814 Facebook page and has spoken to Johnstown City Council and state Rep. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township, about the matter.

"Spaying and neutering family pets is essential to prevent unwanted litters and reduce the animal population," Stanton said. "It will also take the burden off the shelter, which is where these unwanted/unplanned litters would end up at. Here again, people have a heart and take animals in as pets, but the high cost of spaying and neutering makes it impossible to have it done — and the endless cycle of reproduction continues."

Stanton suggests funds be allocated to a nonprofits, such as Seven Hearts, to help with spay and neuter clinics, the city contract with the humane society to set up trap, neuter, release events or start a voucher program for city residents to work with local veterinarians to get their pets fixed.

Johnstown Mayor Frank Janakovic recognized that there is an issue with feral cats and said that city council is working on preliminary solutions.

He noted that stray cats aren't just an issue in the city limits, but surrounding municipalities, and he thinks a collective approach may be the best.

"We're not turning our back on the issue," Janakovic said.

"We know it's there, but it's a bigger issue than Johnstown."

The mayor added that he'd like to see a countywide approach to addressing the matter and the city would be interested in assisting with spay and neuter clinics.

Stray cats aren't the only animal Cambria County shelter officials are struggling with.

Whited said in the past few years, there has been a significant increase in stray dogs in the area.

In the past year, the local humane society has taken in 236 canines — those trapped and dropped off, and animal control calls.

Gov. Josh Shaprio attempted to assist Pennsylvanians with public dog issues in October when he signed into law updated dog laws.

Those went into effect in January.

The new laws include kennels and shelters now having to list their license number in advertisements for sale and adoption; an increase in licensing fees; dogs imported to the state having to be isolated for at least 14 days; fines for unlicensed dogs now ranging from $100 to $500, plus court costs and increased criminal penalties; and kennels adopting or selling dogs at retail being needing to disclose breeder information, medical documents, vaccination records and known bite attacks.

Additionally, annual registration for harboring "dangerous" dogs increased to $1,000, and owners of dogs declared dangerous that attack again are now required to find and pay a kennel to house that animal during court proceedings.

Officials at shelters in Cambria and Somerset counties previously said they haven't experienced any issues with the new laws and don't expect to.

Donations to the humane society are appreciated, especially since the hoarding situation was uncovered. Whited said the shelter is extremely appreciative of the community's support and is likely stocked for years with cat food and litter.

Dog food, specifically Purina One chicken and rice in the red bag, is needed, along with Martingale collars and slip lead leashes.

For more information, visit www.humanecambria.org.