Oldtown
- Caitlin Lewis
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Local news covering the Oldtown area
The Cat’s Meow: Laurel Cats Builds on Success with New Way to Help Cat Owners
In 2012, Oldtown resident Helen Woods and a small group of volunteers saw a need in Laurel: the feral cat population was huge, with feral cat colonies all over Laurel, and the main method for dealing with the excess cats was euthanasia. Woods considers the housing crisis largely responsible for the large feral population, noting that when people lose their homes, their pets become homeless, too. She estimates there were around 2,000 stray cats in Laurel at the time.
Initially, Laurel Cats focused on catching feral cats and getting them spayed or neutered. Alley Cat Allies, a Bethesda-based animal protection organization, assisted in providing traps. Laurel Cats conducts an annual survey of the cat population in Laurel and has documented a 60-percent decline in the feline residents of Laurel. (Woods noted that Laurel Cats serves all of Laurel, not just the officially designated region inside Prince George’s County.)
After five years of focusing solely on spaying and neutering, Laurel Cats launched a foster program for stray cats. Currently, over 100 active volunteers work with Laurel Cats. Woods says they frequently receive calls regarding stray cats. The first step in their process is assessment: gathering enough information to make an educated guess about the ownership status of the cat. If the cat seems well-fed and appears infrequently, they surmise that it’s probably a pet. If the cat comes very frequently and shows signs of hunger, they suspect it’s either a stray or significantly separated from its owner.
After capturing the cat, a volunteer has the cat scanned to check for a microchip. If there is no microchip or if they cannot locate an owner, a volunteer from Laurel Cats fosters the cat. Depending on where the cat was found, Woods says they file a found report with one of the five area animal control centers (Howard, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, or Prince George’s County, or the City of Laurel). Most of these centers require a hold of two weeks after filing a found report before the pet can be adopted. Howard Country requires a 30-day hold.
When asked about any particularly memorable rescues, Woods recalled receiving multiple calls about a stray cat near City Hall. After capturing and scanning the cat, they were surprised to find that it had a microchip and belonged to a family in Olney. Woods suspected that the family had dumped that cat, since it would be odd for a cat to have wandered so far away on its own. But upon calling the family, they discovered that the family did want the cat back and had not dumped it. However, the family had recently delivered a couch they were selling to an individual in Laurel. The cat, apparently, had stowed away in the sold couch without the family realizing it.
After fourteen years in existence, Laurel Cats rarely has to capture a feral cat, according to Woods. In fact, she would very much like the general public to know that Laurel Cats offers free spaying or neutering to all cats, not just strays. She’s concerned that cat owners are not having their cats spayed or neutered, and what breeding now occurs in Laurel is mainly from domesticated cats.
Despite their success in humanely reducing the stray cat population in Laurel, Woods observes that the present economic circumstances are once again increasing the number of abandoned pets. A lack of affordable housing and a rise in the number of evictions has increased the number of pets wandering around Laurel. Laurel Cats does offer assistance to the community via a cat food pantry, but of late, Woods notes, the main requests for assistance are for monetary help with veterinarian bills. Costs for medical care are among the many services that have seen a significant increase in recent years, says Woods.
In answer to this increase in the cost of veterinary care, Laurel Cats is partnering with H.E.A.R.T. Inc (Helping Every Animal Receive Treatment, Inc.) and the City of Laurel Parks and Recreation Department to provide a mobile, low-cost vet surgery vehicle, located at the maintenance facility at 7705 Old Sandy Spring Road. The surgery will service both cats and dogs. A grand opening celebration was held on March 4.
Upcoming Plays at Laurel Mill Playhouse
The Laurel Mill Playhouse on Main Street will present Assassins! by Stephen Sondheim over four Spring weekends: April 3–4, 10–12, and 24–25, as well as May 1–3. On April 17 and 18, the Playhouse will host The Music of Lennon & McCartney. During the last two weekends in May and the first weekend in June, the Playhouse will present Dracula, a play based on the novel by Bram Stoker.
Main Street Festival
The 42nd Annual Main Street Festival will take place from 9 am–4 pm on May 2. Interested in participating in the parade? Contact parade manager Jody Broughton at jodybroughtonlbotparade@gmail.com by April 23. Vendors can apply via the Laurel Board of Trade website: https://laurelboardoftrade.org/main-street-festival.
Notable Birthday
Longtime Oldtown resident Benjamin Stevick, a Special Olympian, is turning 38 on June 28th. Happy Birthday, Ben!
Caitlin Lewis holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Covenant College. She worked as a high school English teacher both in the U.S. and Greece, but currently works at home raising her four children and writing her column.
Comments