MORGANTOWN - Two local cat lovers have until Sept. 15 to find new homes for 13 feral cats they've been caring for at Morgantown Municipal Airport for years.
"They're really like pets," Ann Price said. "A lot of people here really care about them."
Morgantown City Manager Terrence Moore said the Federal Aviation Administration did a recent inspection of the airport and ordered that the cats be moved. Moore got the women an extension as the FAA initially wanted the cats relocated much sooner. If the women are unsuccessful in relocating the cats, the airport will move them, Moore said. He wasn't sure where they would move them. The cats currently live in the wooded area behind the airport's parking lot.
Moore said the FAA considers airports "no animal zones" and has been doing more in-depth inspections of facilities recently, which is why the cats must now be moved, although they have been there for years. The cats are considered a safety issue, he said.
"This hasn't been an issue for years, but it is now an issue," Moore said.
Price, one of the feline caretakers, said she fears the airport will take the cat colony to the Monongalia County Canine Adoption Center where they would likely be put down. That's why she hopes to find great homes for the cats as soon as possible.
So far this year, the center has taken in 905 cats and has had to euthanize 714 of them, manager Dana Johnson said. Feral cats run the risk of immediate euthanization if they aren't healthy or if they attack workers. However, Johnson said, if the cats are friendly enough to be handled, she doesn't consider them feral. Those cats will get a shot at adoption.
Price said eight of the nine adult cats have had all of their shots and have been spayed or neutered. The only exception is one female cat she's never been able to catch. That cat recently had a litter of kittens. Two of the kittens are spoken for and two still need homes.
Price said two of the adult cats are leery of people but would do great on a farm. The others would make great house pets, she said, particularly George, a large gray male friendly enough to be picked up. Any cats to be kept outside would have to be kept in an enclosure for a few weeks so they get used to the area and do not run off, Price said.
Price and friend Marcia Michaels have been feeding the cats for almost eight years. One cold, wintry night Price and her husband went to dinner at the airport and saw the cats. Someone had been feeding them, but their water bowl was frozen. Now, Price visits the cats in the morning to feed them breakfast, and Michaels comes in the evening to serve dinner.
The women get some assistance from Mountaineer Spay Neuter Assistance Program and the Monongalia County Humane Society, but a lot of the cost of feeding the cats comes out of their own pockets.
Sometimes, however, someone at the airport stops by and gives them a donation after hearing about what they do for the cat colony. One recent day, for example. Randy Shearer walked over, handed Price a $20 bill, and thanked her for helping the cats. Shearer said he saw the cats and asked the owner of Ali Baba restaurant about who feeds them.
Shearer said the cats don't seem to bother anybody but said he can understand why the airport might not want them around.
Price said the cats she cares for present no safety threat to the airport.
"These cats never go over there," she said, motioning to the runway. "We know it's not ours getting onto the airfield." She said other cats from a nearby trailer park often wander closer to the airfield.
"I don't know what the war is on the cats all of a sudden," Price said. "They've been here for years. They've never been a problem. People here like them."
FAA spokeswoman Arlene Salac said the FAA mandates the removal of feral cat colonies for safety reasons.
"Any wildlife in the airport operating area could potentially cause problems for aircraft landing and taking off from the airport," she said by email.
To adopt one of Morgantown Municipal Airport's cats, call Ann Price at 304-296-7578. Many of the cats are spayed or neutered and are up-to-date on their shots.
RON RITTENHOUSE/THE DOMINION POST
Two kittens peer around a plastic tub. The felines have been living at the Morgantown Municipal Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration says they must be removed from the area by Sept. 15.
