Canyon County animal shelters have been struggling to keep up with a growing feral cat population, leading some neighbors to step in.Paris Humphries is a Caldwell native who volunteers with animal advocacy groups and spends her time caring for a feral cat colony living behind a business complex in Caldwell. She and others feed and trap the cats and get them fixed."We're just ignoring the problem, which is why we arrived to the situation we're in right now," Humphries shared. WATCH | Hear from one volunteer on how she's trying to address the overpopulation Caldwell Feral Cat Colony Prompts an Overpopulation DiscussionHumphries said those efforts were interrupted when the resources she provided for the cats were disposed of earlier this month by the property owner."This is a sentient being that gets hungry and cold, and it's really upsetting," added Humphries.She said she earns the trust of the cats by feeding them, making them easier to trap.The property owners are within their legal rights to remove unwanted items and said over the phone that giving the cats food would only attract them and other animals onto the property.Humphries and other volunteers say they have to release the cats back on the property because there is nowhere else for them to go."We're just asking to continue a program which is addressing the cat overpopulation by getting them fixed, getting them vaccinated," Humphries explained."I think it's critical that everyone who lives in Canyon County, regardless of whether you like cats you don't have to understands we have no place for these cats to live," Humphries commented.Many animal shelters in Canyon County are full and accept animals only under certain conditions."They're inundated with kittens and injured cats, but we do not have a place to take adult cats," Humphries said.Earl Laughter owns a spay and neuter clinic in Canyon County and shares Humphries's concerns about overpopulation."There aren't very many high-quality, high-volume spay-neuter clinics. It takes a very skilled and trained doctor to be able to do 40, 50, 60 cats in a single day," Laughter explained.Getting cats fixed reduces overpopulation. The offspring from a first litter can reproduce by the end of their first year, and the cycle continues."One unfixed female feral cat over the course of 10 years can turn into a million cats," Laughter said.For Canyon County happenings, news, and more join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, MiddletonThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less