The feral cat situation at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn has become an unavoidable aspect of the environment.
“We’ve had cats wandering around since I started here in 2016,” said Troy Britting, the Program Director. “Sometimes they live under the buildings… we’ve all had meetings interrupted by a cat or two.”
Bri McDonald, who began working as a Maintenance Specialist at the facility in February, quickly grew concerned about the issue.
“People were just used to the cats being around,” she said. “They’re all feral, and nobody’s really taking care of them… I was getting work orders like, ‘there’s a cat in the ceiling,’ ‘there’s a cat under the floor near my desk, and they’re fighting.’”
McDonald gave a tour of the facility, pointing out several locations where cats had been found hiding, including beneath a garden shed and next to the HVAC system outside a building.
Determined to address the problem, McDonald devised a plan to trap the adult cats, get them spayed or neutered, and then return them to the facility to prevent overpopulation and the spread of disease.
With some borrowed humane traps, the initiative quickly gained momentum.
“We caught 15 cats in the first round, got them all spayed and neutered, then scheduled another session a few months later,” McDonald said.
Several local non profits have stepped in to assist with the kittens.
“The Oregon Humane Society was contacted and asked to take in some cats and kittens, especially the more vulnerable ones that needed medical attention,” said Laura Klink, Public Information Officer with the Oregon Humane Society.
“We’ve taken in two litters along with their feral mothers,” said Caroline Joyner, Communications Director with Meow Village. “To stop the breeding cycle, you take in those kittens, spay and neuter them, and then adopt them out.”
Project Pooch, a nonprofit that connects inmates with dogs, also joined the effort, initially serving as a drop-off point for the kittens found on campus.
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“To date, we’ve pulled 75 cats and kittens from the campus. Twenty-two adult cats have been spayed or neutered and returned, and the rest have been kittens that have gone to various rescues,” said Sarah Bradham, Executive Director of Project Pooch. “We’ve had six different rescues come together to help these 75 cats and kittens.”
Organizations such as Meow Village, Oregon Humane Society, Salem Friends of Felines, Tiny Tim’s Tiny Foster Family, and Bottle Baby Rescue have all contributed to the spaying/neutering and adoption processes.
Staff members are hopeful that in the future, some of the youth at the facility can help manage the program, allowing the cats to enjoy a safe haven within the secured grounds.
“We aim to develop a healthy feral cat colony here and demonstrate that such colonies can thrive,” Bradham said.
“The facility is secure, so there’s no need to worry about predators like coyotes, and there’s plenty of food from the dumpsters,” McDonald added. “If you’re a cat, why wouldn’t you want to be here?”
For those interested in adopting any of the kittens from the MacLaren Facility, they are available through Meow Village. The organization also welcomes donations and applications for cat foster homes.
