I am proud to announce that HCASF is currently in the process of working with the City of Weirton and Hancock County Officials to initiate a program to control the feral or wild cat population around Weirton and throughout Hancock County. After Mayor Harris brought the issue to the spotlight in October, we have been working to devise a humane and sustainable solution to the “alley cats” around some local businesses. This project is truly a community project because our Feral Cat Project’s success hinges greatly on your willingness to help us prevent any harm from coming to these animals.

A select group of concerned citizens have helped us to lay the groundwork for this very important project. Their efforts to trap the feral felines for sterilization, rehabilitation and either re-homing or release have provided us with invaluable information on these felines. The sample of felines which have been taken into foster care have ALL been negative for Rabies, Feline Leukemia and FIV. This gives us high hopes that communicable diseases are not present in any of the cat colonies.

Our goal is to seek funding and foster homes to support the trap, spay, rehab and re-homing or release of these animals. They will all be assessed as to whether they can be rehabilitated and re-homed or if they will need to be released back into the wild after they come into our care. Because the ultimate goal of this program is to place these animals into loving homes, the best place to do the rehabilitation is in a home environment.

What can I do to help?

1. Sign up to become a Feral Foster Family.

We are in the process of developing a training program to educate interested community members on how to rehabilitate these cats. If you download a foster application and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text6839 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or print out the application and drop it off at the Hancock County Animal Shelter during regular business hours. As the Feral Cat Project comes closer to launch, we will be asking for foster families willing to assist in the rehabilitation.

2. Donate to the Feral Cat Project.

We are in the early stages of developing a separate “Feral Cat Fund” to assist in the cost of maintaining the vaccinations and other medical care. If you wish to send a donation now, please click on the donate button in this article or send a check with Feral Cat Fund in the memo line for now, and we will make sure that it goes to help fund this project.

3. Adopt a Shelter Cat

We have an abundance of adorable, adoptable felines in our care in all ages, shapes and sizes. All cat adoptions include testing, vaccinations and spay/neuter of the feline.

4. Spay/Neuter Your Cat!

This is the easiest thing that you can do to help us with not only the Feral Cat Project, but feline overpopulation in general. It only takes one night on the town for your house cat to become impregnated. Left unchecked, the feline population can grow VERY QUICKLY! The cost of feline spay/neuter is relatively low compared to the benefits to not only the community, but also your cat’s overall health.

Call Your Local City Councilmen

For residents of the City of Weirton, call or write to your District Councilmen to tell them you support the Feral Cat Project. It all starts with us receiving the funding for this project to move forward.

Call The County Commissioners

Let them know you want them to cooperate with the City of Weirton to further our goal of finding a humane solution to contain and control the feral cat population of Hancock County. Feral cats colonies exist all over the country, not just here in Weirton.

Call You State Senate Representatives

During the 2008 West Virginia State Senate session, Senate Bill 560 (SB560) "Feral Cat Care and Management" was defeated. Write or Call your WV State Senator to ask them to modify as needed, re-introduce and support a Feral Cat Care and Management Bill in 2009.