A small colony of feral cats have been living on the grounds of Graeme Park, a historical site in Horsham, Pennsylvania, for the past several years (about four or five years), and they have been well cared for by the volunteers. The six resident cats have been an example of how TNR (trap, neuter, return) works well. At the expense of volunteers, all cats have been spayed and neutered, vaccinated, medicated when necessary and fed. Food and shelter and other supplies have been donated by the community. Visitors would often visit the cats. No money from the state, nor any money from the Graeme Park budget, has been used to care for the cats. They have caused no harm to any people or property.

Please see the post from the Friends of the Graeme Park Cats Facebook page: Dear Fans of the Graeme Park Cats: On Monday, 11/2/15, while we were in the midst of taking the cats in for their yearly health checks and vaccinations, we were informed by the PHMC, that the removal of the cats from the park was an immediate priority.  It was assumed by the PHMC that they had never been to the vet. They are all neutered and receive rabies and FVRCP vaccinations on a regular basis when due and other care as needed. We have spent over $1,700 out of our own pockets on medical care of the colony cats, any other cat who wandered onto the property was sent for neutering, and friendly strays were vetted and either adopted out directly or put into rescue, which involves paying a "surrender fee". The cats have ear tips and a 2" thick file of paperwork to back this up; That the colony size was increased since they were last here. Apparently they cannot tell the difference between hay bales (large, square, prickly) and cats (small, furry, cute). There were more hay bales because we buy new for our Halloween program which then replaces the old hay after Halloween (this annual switching of the hay in early November took place before a cat ever set foot on the property). The cats are fewer and fewer each year because we’ve found homes for the tame strays, the colony cats run off newcomers, and several have died. Had they bothered to look away from their outrage at the increase in hay bales and up at the barn, they may have noted neglected maintenance issues, including peeling, potentially lead-based paint and cruddy, broken light fixtures; That an unplugged cord laying on a hay bale was a fire hazard - because we’re women, we must be too stupid to understand science-y things like ‘lectricity and would have plugged it in like that. They claimed concern with public safety, yet we have at least 10 dying trees within the immediate vicinity of the parking lot, picnic areas and house with huge dead limbs that fall on a regular basis. Our well water is poisoned with carcinogenic PFCs which they've known about for over 10 years, the exterminator is not being paid at a time of year when mice will invade our work and visitor space, and we do not know the lead status of the paint that is peeling off the walls in our office/visitors' center. The cats are safe, but very much displaced as their entire lives have been turned upside down; the same applies to their caretakers. We sincerely thank all of you for your support over the five years the cats have lived at the park and been under our care. At least five individuals/couples/families have supplied us with wet and dry cat food on a regular basis, others have made occasional donations of food and toys, meds, heated shelters, helped with vet costs, two private practice vets have generously discounted their services, classifying us as a "rescue", and several people approached me on the property, chatted about the cats and then handed me $20 for cat food – I can’t even remember the last time I had to buy more than a few small bags of dry food out of pocket and your overall generosity and trust in handing me cash and knowing it would be used for the cats overwhelms me. These cats were the true definition of Community Cats, with a host of visitors who came to see them on a regular basis: apartment dwellers who cannot have pets, older people who did not want the commitment of a pet, children who insisted their parents bring them back to see the cats and included them in their drawings of their field trip to the park (the drawings also included pictures of their water bowls and shelters, showing they understood the cats were cared for), and others stopping by on a regular or occasional basis specifically because they wanted to sit and visit with the cats. We see and talk to these people on a weekly basis and have not received one complaint from the public about them. I had the opportunity to educate on Trap-Neuter-Release, the HUMANE way of dealing with feral cats that many progressive government and other organizations have adopted, and network with other cat-lovers who already practice TNR. Two of the cats, Graeme and Orrie, were featured in the Alley Cats Allies calendars, acting as ambassadors for feral cats and painting the park in a positive light. Visitors often commented on the positivity of the cats being allowed to live here and the care that was taken of them – everyone (almost) loves a feel-good animal story. 

https://m.facebook.com/FriendsOfTheGraemeParkCats/?tsid=0.9297413597814739&source=typeahead

Please sign and share.  Tell ]the PHMC to focus their efforts on matters of more importance than displacing six harmless, well-loved cats.