Founder of Catify Cafe and Adoptions speaks to Orrville City Council about feral cats

Shams Mustafa
·2 min read

Paul Eash the founder of Catify Café and Adoptions, Inc. attended Monday’s Orrville City Council meeting to present a solution for the feral cats problem. 

Eash noted that the feral cats problem is not only in Orrville and Wooster areas, but it's nationwide. “We had a crisis before 2020, (and then) many vets had to close up during COVID and a lot of TNR (Trap, neuter, release) stopped,” Eash said.

Eash said that many people adopted cats and dogs when businesses closed and they had time to spend with them at home. However, after people started returning to work they got rid of their pets as they didn’t have time for them.

Paul Eash founder of Catify Cafe and Adoptions, Inc. proposed solution to reduce feral cats population in Orrville City Council meeting Monday.
Paul Eash founder of Catify Cafe and Adoptions, Inc. proposed solution to reduce feral cats population in Orrville City Council meeting Monday.

“These cats have feelings, they feel loved, depressed, pain, they bleed and they don’t understand why they are being rejected,” Eash said.

Outdoor cats have to learn to defend themselves

Once, the animal is outdoors they learn to defend itself and most likely reproduce if they are not neutered or spayed.

Some feral cats can be tamed. Eash gave an example of his cat Woolley that he adopted after he lost his owner. He said it took him over a year for the cat to get used to him and allow him to hold and pet him.

“These cats can be tamed down, not all of them but a small percentage, that it truly is just their personality,” Eash said.

Eash suggested starting the Trap-Neuter-Release program as it’s the best option to reduce the population of feral cats.

He said if one of the business owners in Orrville can give him a temporary spot like Heartland Point to open a TNR facility and a café that can serve coffee and cover the veterinarian's expenses for TNR. He promised to contact Animal Rescue organizations to support the program.

“If you get the male cat fixed you reduce their roaming territory by 80% because their hormones are down,” Eash said.

“TNR works, that's how we reduce the population,” he said.

Other actions

  • City council approved a resolution to make appropriations for the city expenses. Finance Director Janet Strimlan said that one of the changes in the final appropriations was for the purchase of the Fire Truck.

  • City council authorized the Utilities Department to purchase components, services, and equipment needed in the Water, Electric, and Waste Departments for 2024. The list included the purchase of gasoline, diesel fuel, piping, power, and installation of asphalt and concrete.

  • Fall Festival will be Saturday, Oct. 21 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Heller Hall.

The next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6, at City Hall.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Catify Cafe and Adoptions founder offers solution for feral cat issue