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A dozen or so feral cats at Glen Maury Park – down from nearly 200 just a few years ago – were the focus of attention at this past Thursday’s Buena Vista City Council meeting.
The caretaker for the cats, Mary Huffman of Furever Friends, asked to address Council after receiving a letter from the city last month directing her to cease her cat caretaking activities at the park and remove all items associated with those activities.
Huffman expressed her dismay over the letter, noting that she and her husband Phil, along with other advocates for the city’s feral cats, have expended much time, energy and money caring for the cats at the park, and enjoyed success at greatly reducing their number.
She said she began the “clean up of cats” at the park more than eight years ago. She put into practice techniques of TNR – trap, neuter/spay and return – with the help of Cats Unlimited, an advocacy organization. In the first year-and-a-half, 178 cats and kittens were trapped and spayed or neutered. Homes were found for all but 43, with those deemed too feral to tame returned to the park, after being immunized against rabies.
Since then, the remaining colony, through attrition and no reproduction, has been reduced to about 12 cats, which Huffman described as a “much better manageable colony. Every one of the cats left are healthy feral cats with rabies immunization.” The Huffmans feed these cats every day. A few small cat houses are placed around the park to provide the cats with shelter during the chilly months of the year.
The efforts of Furever Friends, said Huffman, have benefited the park and saved the city tax dollars. The few remaining cats take care of rodents at the park’s facilities, which in turn keep snakes away. Having fewer feral cats in Buena Vista saves the city in its share of expenses for the Rockbridge SPCA.
“Since 2020, the SPCA budget for Buena Vista has decreased by $8,934,” Huffman told Council. “As you know, we are budgeted by the SPCA by the numbers of the animals received the previous year. [We have saved] the city almost $9,000. This is not just because of the cats and kittens that we take out of Glen Maury Park but the cats in BV generally that we spay and neuter, then find homes for.”
The Dec. 6 letter Huffman received, signed by City Manager Jason Tyree, was written at the behest of City Council’s parks committee, which is composed of several members of Council. City Attorney Brian Kearney emphasized that the letter did not represent an action of Council, which had not previously discussed the matter during a regular meeting.
Huffman said she found it “sad” that the committee “couldn’t find the decency to contact me if there was a problem that could be discussed like adults. I also find it sad that these members couldn’t find more important items that needed our elected officials’ attention.” Council’s attention, she said, “needs to focus on fixing our problems, not creating them.”
Several Council members defended the letter, saying they were responding to complaints citizens had made to them about the cats at the park. Cheryl Hickman, Stanley Coffey and Steve Webb said they’ve received complaints about odor and mess associated with the cats. Melvin Henson said cats need to be removed from the park’s barn, which Council has plans to fix up as an events venue.
Council’s meeting room was packed with supporters of Huffman who took issue with complaints about the cats. Wayne Fitzgerald, who camps at the park, said the city should be commending Huffman for the good she is doing for the city. Elizabeth Hull, who operates the Holy Cow ice cream shop at the park, said the remaining cats are a benefit since they control rodents, which have never been a problem for her business. “Mary is the solution – not the problem,” said Annie Henson.
Alice Burton of Alley Cat Allies traveled to Buena Vista from Maryland to vouch for the TNR practices undertaken by Huffman. “It’s absolutely a community service,” she said.
The consensus of Council appeared to be to back away from the message in the letter and to support a suggestion by Mayor Bill Fitzgerald that the city manager work with the Huffmans to perhaps make some changes to their practices such as moving the cat houses and feeding station away from the areas of the park utilized by the park’s patrons.
Mary Huffman told The News-Gazette this week that she, Burton, and Nancy Sullivan of Furever Friends met with city staff at the park Friday morning to discuss the various issues that had been raised. She characterized the meeting as encouraging and came away from it feeling that the city is now supportive of her efforts to look after the cats at the park.
