HONOLULU (KHON2) — The city of Honolulu is aiming to decrease the amount of free-roaming cats in empty lots, alleys and other areas of Oahu.
The city-funded Feline Fix spay and neuter service has seen a sharp decline over the past two years, a key initiative aimed at decreasing the population of the City and County of Honolulu’s free-roaming cats.
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In fiscal year 2021, there were 9,261 spay and neuter surgeries. In 2023, that number has fallen to 6,966 thus far.
The city’s Feline Fix program, utilizing the “Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage” approach to managing and monitoring free-roaming cat colonies, is administered by the Hawaiian Humane Society.
The approach entails the help of community cat caregivers to trap cats in their neighborhoods and take them to a participating clinic to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-notched and microchipped. Once recovered, the cats are returned to their colony and cared for by their caregiver.
“We are committed to working closely with our community partners to bring new energy and needed resources to managing the free-roaming cat population in the City and County of Honolulu,” said director of the city’s Department of Customer Services Kim Hashiro in a news release.
