Right now I am feeding what I call the horde: somewhere between 11 and 14 cats who have taken up residency outside my house after a  person down the street was evicted. What started as two regulars turned into a full colony of cats, many of them adolescent to juvenile, because there were a couple of mom cats in that house and the litters just kept coming. These cats did not choose this. They are the leftovers, the left behind, the ones nobody wanted, and every day I am out here making sure they have food, water, and at least some temporary shelter.

This is bigger than my house and bigger than one caretaker. I feed twice a day, make sure the food is picked up before dark because raccoons run the cats off, and I do what I can with little winter shelters, but I have already said it plain: this is not enough for all of them. Most of these cats are friendly and handleable. Apart from two males, everybody in this group is already fixed, which shows exactly what works when people have access to support. The problem is not the cats. The problem is leaving communities and caretakers to deal with abandonment and unchecked breeding alone.

That is why I am asking local leaders to fund trap-neuter-return and winter shelter support for community cats. We need real backing for spay and neuter, trapping help, basic outdoor shelter supplies, and coordination with caretakers who are already doing this work on the ground. If we want fewer litters, fewer crises after housing displacement, and fewer animals suffering outside, then we need to support the humane solution that actually prevents the problem from growing.

If you believe abandoned and community cats deserve better than being ignored until it becomes an emergency, please sign and help push for real local support. I can keep doing my part, but this should not fall on one person with some donated food and a prayer that everybody makes it through the night.