The Feral Cat Coalition has been around since 1995. Clinics are located in Portland at 4522 SW Water Ave but there are caregivers in Oregon and Washington. Their work is to advocate for spaying and neutering on homeless cats to keep down the population of cat colonies. They also have other services supported by donations.

The feral, stray, and barn cats who are caught and brought in, are fixed. This is known as T-N-R which means trap-neuter-return. Cats that are spayed and neutered are taken care of and then released.

“We first ask if someone is feeding the cats before they are brought in to ensure they are being taken care of. They are then brought back to the same place they were trapped,” said Ashley Foley, event and volunteer coordinator at the Feral Cat Coalition. It is very important to release them in the exact same place they were trapped because they know the area.

They don’t adopt out cats because they are not used to human contact and can be aggressive and skittish. However, if the kittens are friendly enough, they are fixed and taken to the Oregon Humane Society.

Students who want to help can volunteer for a long amount of time or a shorter amount of time can help out with flyering or volunteering in the clinic.

“Some students have made cat shelters, cat beds and cat toys.  The number one way people hear about our services is from word of mouth,” said Foley.

Here is some more information about the Feral Cat Coalition. Link for their website is: http://www.feralcats.com/