Wild about helping cats

Feral cats aren't warm and fuzzy. They don't curl up in your lap or purr when you walk in the door. But that doesn't mean these wild, undomesticated cats don't deserve a good home.

Barb Horton and Sally Halela, founders of South County Cats, rescue feral cats from area shelters and find homes for them in barns and garages. The cats don't become house pets, but they do please their owners and themselves by keeping mice and other pests under control.

"[South County Cats] are such an incredible help to our shelter operation," said Al Dams, acting director of King County Animal Care and Control.

South County Cats is the only rescue group that partners with King County animal shelters to move feral cats to barns or garages. Other groups spay or neuter feral cats and return them to the wild, Dam said.

South County Cats became an official nonprofit last year — and a continued mission for Horton and Halela.

In addition to relocating wild cats, the group spays and neuters hundreds of them each year. It costs the group $15 to spay or neuter a cat. They recently received a $3,500 grant from Washington Federation of Animal Care and Control Agencies to spay and neuter feral cats, Halela said.

The group accepts donations, but does not charge a fee to adopt out cats.

King County animal shelters get about 1,000 feral cats each year, Dams said. The animals end up in shelters after being trapped by pest-control workers or turned in as strays.

They stay in shelters for at least 72 hours and then are typically euthanized because their wild nature makes them unfit for adoption, Dams said.

Only known organizations that rescue wild cats can take one from a shelter, Dams said.

The animal shelter checks to make sure the organization is legitimate and tries to make sure the animal won't be abandoned, Dams said.

Feral cats can't become house pets because they don't want to interact with people, Horton said.

"The only thing a feral cat wants is to be free," Horton said.

A barn or garage gives a feral cat somewhere to live and something to do.

It's easy to find homes for the cats. Some people want rodent control. Some want a cat around. Others just want to save the animals' lives, Halela said.

And although they're not pets, feral cats are easy to keep.

"They're wonderful employees," Horton said. "They don't take holidays. They don't take vacations. They don't ask for raises."

They usually stay in the area, going outside to hunt and coming inside to sleep. They rarely conflict with other household pets, even dogs, because they keep a different schedule, Horton said.

When Horton brings a feral cat to its new home, she usually leaves it in a cage inside the barn or garage for a little while until it gets used to its new surroundings. After an adjustment period, the cat is ready to roam, Horton said.

Lauren Vane: 253-234-8604 or lvane@seattletimes.com