MONTICELLO, NY — Stray cats are running rampant in Sullivan County. 

“It’s unbelievable,” said Maria, a Monticello resident who did not give her last name, at last week’s meeting of the legislature’s Economic Development Committee. “All these stray cats, and people are kicking them.”

Maria feeds the cats in her neighborhood. But a neighbor puts laundry soap in the food.

“I go there and I see soap inside the food,” she said. “Come on guys. I mean, you don’t have to be so cruel.”

As evictions have increased, so have the stray cats, she said. “That person who was evicted is sitting already no place to go, he has no house to go,” she said. “That person has like about maybe 20 cats or dogs. So what happens? The person moves out and all the animals are all over the property so the new owner comes up and doesn’t pay attention to the animals.”

In 2022, Sullivan County had the sixth-highest eviction rate in New York, with 8.3 percent of renters evicted, according to the Cornell ILR Eviction Filings Dashboard for New York State.

Maria said she’d made the Liberty Village Police aware of the cat problem, but they have so far taken no action. 

“I’m sorry guys, it’s so bad,” she said. “Who is going to control all of this?” 

Robert Freehill, the county attorney, suggested she reach out to local humane societies or shelters. 

She said she’s called 38 organizations in the area but none were able to help. She also tried the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method—catching strays and having them spayed and neutered before releasing them back into the streets—but it’s costly. Maria said she had spent more than $3,800 of her own money doing this. And doesn’t address the strays’ immediate needs.

“One woman took 13 cats; I took another three,” she said. “I have two sitting next to my door, and one lady from Liberty took about six cats. But how many cats can people take?”

Although TNR prevents the stray population from increasing, the cats that already exist are often sick and live in horrible conditions. Even PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), which famously seeks “total animal liberation,” says euthanizing such strays is the best option. 

Many people don’t want to protect the growing number of stray cats because of their devastating effect on bird populations. According to the U.S. Humane Society and other wildlife organizations, these non-native predators kill an estimated 1.3 to 4 billion birds and 6.3 to 22.3 billion mammals each year in the United States alone. The Audubon Society points to a study by the University of Nebraska that says cats have contributed to the extinction of at least 33 avian species worldwide.

To balance the needs of stray cats with other species, the humane society advocates for humane solutions like TNR.

Legislator Terry Blosser-Bernardo (R, 9) agreed stray cats are a problem in the county.

“I’ve thought about a cat summit for the last 15 years,” she said. “Cats are a problem, and they will continue to be a problem, and I think there needs to be a coordinated effort to trap, tag and neuter. This is a solution; some people don’t think.”

She said there are many stakeholders in the county who might help. “I know there is a lovely facility in Liberty,” she said. “Let’s continue this conversation.”

Blosser-Bernardo said a “cat summit” is in order. She said she will schedule a discussion at the Public Safety Committee meeting on Thursday, April 11.