Tonawanda Island, a small patch of land located just off the city of North Tonawanda, in Niagara County, New York, is currently suffering from a serious case of cats. Hundreds of abandoned felines freely roam the 85-acre island, and they’re multiplying at an alarming rate. Believe it or not, there are already more cats than people on the island!

“This is a small island with a big cat problem,” said islander Danielle Cooligan. Most of these cats are forgotten or unwanted pets who were left to fend for themselves. “They’re just everywhere,” said Wayne Howard of North Tonawanda. “People drop them off. I’ve caught people dumping them on the road; they just unload them on the island.”

While most of the island’s human residents are seasonal, the cats live there all year round. Most of them hide during the day and come out at night. “The messes they make, especially the feces around the island and where people walk, it’s disgusting,” Howard added. “I’ve caught them on my boat a few times and they made messes; they’re just a problem.”

Photo: video caption

Coogan said that she’s launched Operation Island Cats, through which she hopes to fix the problem, one cat at a time. She’s already trapped 10 cats in the past 10 days. “They’re just cats that no one really cares about so we are going to try and clean up the island,” she said.

The kittens will be put up for adoption, but the adult cats will be returned to the island. “They’re going to be spayed and neutered, they’re going to be vaccinated and they’re going to live the rest of their days on their beautiful island home where they’re comfortable and they’re not going to keep reproducing.”

She has also arranged for a few people to come in several times a week to fill trays of food for the cats. It will cost Coogan $25 to neuter each cat though, so she is trying to raise money. You can visit her donation page here, if you’d like to save a few cats yourself.

via WIVB