Susan Turner set up a pet carrier in her mother’s backyard next to Whisperwood Villa in Charlottetown.

 

              Inside the carrier was a kitten. Beside it was a metal cage trap.

 

             Turner waited nearby while the kitten meowed.

 

             After a while, a small ball of fur came to check the carrier.

 

             It walked inside the trap, and the door closed behind it. 

 

            Turner got another kitten.

 

            The Cat Action Team is constantly trapping cats like this all the time. Barn, ferals, and strays.

 

            Turner took her trapped kitten to the veterinarian. He told her she had a 50 per cent chance of surviving.

 

            She took the cat home, and it was her companion for 18 years.

 

            “That was a success story.”

 

            Two decades later, she uses this story as motivation for her role in the Cat Action Team (C.A.T).

 

            Turner, 68, serves as vice-chair for the group, a charity dedicated to humanely controlling the Island’s feral cat population.

 

            The team follows a ‘trap-neuter-release’ method, where feral cats are reported by residents, then captured, neutered or spayed, and returned to where they were first found.

 

            C.A.T. funds neutering services performed by UPEI’s Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) and private clinics. Around 14,000 cats have been neutered since the team started in 2000.

 

            It is up to residents to trap the cats and care for them after the team neuters them.

 

            “We don’t just release them. They have to go back to the ‘owner,’” said Turner.

 

            An average month of neutering can cost up to $5,000 in each of the Island’s three counties.

 

            Turner manages various fundraisers to keep up with costs and monitors a neutering waiting list.

 

            But the number of volunteers is limited.

 

            C.A.T. only has seven members and needs more.

 

            “Some of us aren’t young anymore, and we need people to help out.”

 

            Each county has its own co-ordinator who is just as busy as Turner.

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             Beverly Hillier, the treasurer and a co-ordinator for Prince County, also helps with fundraising and is working to restart grant funding the team lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

            “Fundraising and donations are great, but it’s not enough because the list of cats never seems to get smaller.”

 

            Other organizations like Keeping Cats Homed and the P.E.I. Humane Society have helped the team manage the feral cat population.

 

            “Even though it feels like a never-ending battle for us, I think you definitely contribute to helping with that.”

 

            Some caregivers also require assistance for catching and caring for their cats.

 

            Gayle Adams, the West Prince County co-ordinator, provides help when she can.

 

            “We’d love to be able to do as many as we can, but we can’t travel all across P.E.I. trapping and gathering these cats up.”

 

            She has seen a rise in private property owners helping to trap cats, and said proper care creates a positive impact.

 

            “You can take a six-week-old kitten that’s feral, and in a day or so you can have them purring.”

 

            The team will have a board meeting next month to discuss recruiting volunteers and grant applications.

 

            Until then, Turner and the team continue to maintain their presence through fundraisers.

 

            She said community education is a goal for the team going forward.

 

            “We know it needs to be done, but we just need the volunteers to do it.”

 

            She added while her work can be challenging, her love for cats keeps her going.

 

            “We’re very passionate about what we do, and it’s very rewarding when we can get cats in and get them looked after.”