Walnutport's feral cat problem may finally have a solution. Martha Kahan of No Nonsense Neutering spoke to the borough board council on Thursday about the trap/spay, neuter/release program designed to help boroughs and township keep the wild population from growing.

Over 18 Lehigh municipalities are budgeting for the program, Kahan said. She told the board she was not asking for funding. "I'm really here to educate."The program starts with target trapping, catching the felines where they are frequently feed. After the animals are trapped they are spayed or neutered and treated for rabies, distemper, fleas and ear mites. The tip of the left ear is then clipped to make it easier to identify the fixed felines. The cats are then returned to where they were captured."We don't have any place to take Walnutport cats. They don't belong to anyone. People started feeding them out of the kindness of their hearts. Not to be bad neighbors."Mayor Wayne Weidner asked, "Where do you release them, where do they go?""They go right back where we trapped them. Walnutport cats come back to Walnutport. There are cats everywhere and it's difficult to relocate them. The shelters are full, that's the reality. There are more cats than homes," she said.The cost is $35 per cat trapped, but the nonprofit organization works with municipalities to award grants and take the edge off the cost. "If people have a lot of cats, it gets expensive."Kahan provided Police Chief Pete Wayda with a yard sentinel, or yard deterrent, to hand out to residents who want a cat-free space. "We have two different kinds of devices, a porch or patio ultrasonic device or a scarecrow which is a motion-sensitive sprinkler for yards or gardens. We provide them free of charge.""Usually people leave notes out of frustration, a lot of verbiage comes from frustration."For more information on the free roaming cat program visit

www.nnnlv.org.