Brooklyn park neighbors want to take action against growing colony of stray cats

BROOKLYN PARK, Minnesota (FOX 9) – In Brooklyn Park, a colony of feral cats quickly grew and settled in a quiet neighborhood. Things are now so bad that Brooklyn Park Police are asking owners to call them if they notice where the cats are congregating.

“We realized a lot of neighbors are frustrated, we’ve heard about it,” Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Elliot Faust told FOX 9 on Tuesday.

The cat colony has recently exploded in size with over 200 animals coming out at night and taking over the block.

“How many did you see at once?” FOX 9’s Babs Santos asked a neighbor.

“Um, probably around 20,” Sean Masterman replied.

Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Elliot Faust said the city looked into the issue and found two residents who played a role in it by feeding the animals. Corrective orders were issued to these houses, but by then it was already too late; because the size of the colonies had taken off.

“There were 30 to 40 cats in at least one of the residences,” Faust said. “We deployed trail cameras to try to get a sense of where the cats are moving.”

Other neighbors complain that the cats are messing up the area with their feces…and even worse, spreading disease among local pets – the rapidly growing population was too much for animal control to handle, so the police of Brooklyn Park asked for the help of two volunteers. relief organizations.

“So far we have trapped over 70 cats, neutered over 70 cats and those cats have been returned,” Faust said.

The city’s plan to get the situation under control is now in full effect, but they don’t expect the work to be done until mid-2023.

“We realize this is a way out and I know people here are frustrated by this,” Faust concluded.