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Feral cats used to be a big problem at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista. In 2014, there were a couple of hundred such cats roaming the park’s grounds. Mary Huffman, long a local cat advocate, decided to do something about it. With assistance from Cats Unlimited, a local advocacy group, Huffman launched a concerted effort to trap, neuter/spay and return the feral felines.
Within a year-and-a-half, 178 cats and kittens were trapped, spayed or neutered and immunized against rabies. Homes were found for all but 43, with those deemed too feral to tame returned to the park. Since then, through attrition and no reproduction, and continuing TNR activities, the remaining colony of cats at the park has been reduced to a mere dozen. These 12 cats remain at the park, performing the service of keeping rodents out of the park’s facilities. Mary and her husband Phil feed these cats every day.
As if to prove the adage that no good deed goes unpunished, a Buena Vista City Council committee had city staff send a letter to Huffman in December thanking her for her service but directing her to cease and desist her cat caretaking activities at the park and to remove all items associated with the care. Huffman was not pleased.
In response, she and dozens of her supporters packed City Council’s Jan. 5 meeting to come to Huffman’s defense, making it clear that Council should be commending, not condemning, her cat caretaking activities at the park. They pointed out that Huffman’s TNR practices were not only a humane endeavor on behalf of the cats but were also saving the city money.
A decline in the number of cats in Buena Vista being taken to the Rockbridge SPCA is associated with a reduction in the city’s share of costs of the SPCA operations. According to figures provided to the newspaper by Huffman, the city’s share of costs for the SPCA declined by $8,934 between 2020 and 2022.
The outpouring of support for Huffman helped persuade members of City Council to change their opinions about her TNR activities at the park. Instead of asking her to discontinue these practices, they decided, at their Jan. 19 meeting, to spend $2,000, or half the costs, for a wooden structure that is to serve as a cat shelter and feeding station at the park. The 8-by-8-foot structure is to be placed in the woods just off a new path. Huffman is paying the other half of the costs.
Also at this meeting, which was again packed with Huffman’s supporters, Council directed City Attorney Brian Kearney to prepare a resolution of support for Huffman’s TNR activities at the park. The resolution states that the TNR program at the park “has seen a positive outcome.” Cats at the park “are humanely trapped, evaluated, spayed, or neutered by a licensed veterinarian, ear-tipped to show they’ve been sterilized, vaccinated against rabies and then returned to their original habitat.”
The city, the resolution continues, “has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of feral cats living at Glen Maury Park due to the TNR program and as a result a reduction in SPCA costs.” The city, therefore, “recognizes the hard work and dedication of Mrs. Mary Huffman and Cats Unlimited to lead this program.”
The resolution was presented to Council for its consideration at its meeting last Thursday, Feb. 2, in which Huffman’s supporters were once again present. The resolution was discussed but no action taken. The resolution is to be on the agenda at Council’s next meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16. We expect and hope that Council will adopt the resolution then.
The TNR activities of Huffman and Cats Unlimited are being noticed beyond the Rockbridge area. Alice Burton of Alley Cat Allies, a Maryland-based organization that advocates for TNR practices, has made several trips to Buena Vista recently to meet with Huffman and discuss her successes. Huffman was interviewed on an Alley Cat Allies podcast and the organization is awarding Huffman a monetary grant to help pay for her services and to defray the costs associated with the adoption of cats Huffman, her organization, Furever Friends, and Cats Unlimited are to be commended for their efforts to effectively and humanely address the feral cat population at Glen Maury Park and to help find forever homes for these cats, when possible.
