College Sophomore Looking to Help Stray Cats Survive the Cold Winter Months in South Dakota

VERMILLION, SOUTH DAKOTA - A university of South Dakota sophomore by the name of Allaina Howard is interested in keeping the cats safe and warm during the long, cold winter months with do-it-yourself cat shelters.

The idea came from an organization called “Alley Cat Allies”. It is they who provide solutions and ideas on how to properly deal with stray and feral cats. Among those suggestions is a manual on how to create a cat shelterand it includes several design options. Howard’s shelter only cost about five dollars and it took her less than 10 minutes to built one.

“It’s best for the safety of the cats because they often take shelter under people’s cars and so I think if they have an alternative place to sleep there is going to be less cat death and hit cats on the road,” Howard said.

Howard currently has three shelters set up in Vermillion, one right next to a Domino’s Pizza and the other two on private properties. She is hoping that her idea inspires others so that it eventually leads into an extensive program by the city. As of right now, if reported stray cats are trapped they are often times euthanized.

“I hope that this leads to a trap neuter return program,” Howard said. “And I think it’s a community problem and I think with a whole community effort, it’s entirely possible and we can solve this whole problem.”

Trap neuter programs are quite common throughout the country, stray cats are caught then neutered and properly vaccinated. It helps keep feral cat populations down but healthy.

“If there isn’t someone that’s going to provide food and water they are going to end up having to fend for themselves,” Director of the Siouxland Humane Society, Jerry Dominicak said. “There are a lot of diseases feral cats can get. They maybe the solution to giving these animals shelter but a good program is a trap neuter release program.”

As far as the shelters in Vermillion go, the cats seem to like them quite a bit. Especially the location close to Dominos is popular. And while the cats might not come to enjoy a slice of pizza, the place is a “go-to” for the “Verm Cats.”

“There is always cats out here,” Howard said. “And there is even a regular, they call him Domino.”

And what a wonderful human being you are, Allaina Howard.

Source: www.siouxlandmatters.com