Cat Utopia seeks county support for feral cat sterilization program

Cat Utopia Union County asked county commissioners for $1,500 to keep its Trap Neuter Return program moving, pressing the county to address a service gap that leaves stray and feral cats largely to volunteers, pet owners and local fundraisers.

The group, formed about five years ago, says it works by helping residents and landowners trap cats, loaning traps and covering part of the sterilization bill. Under the program, Cat Utopia pays $30 for each female cat and $20 for each male cat while Animal Health Center performs the surgeries, leaving the trappers with a smaller bill than if they paid full price. The nonprofit said earlier grants once reduced the out-of-pocket cost to as low as $10, but those grants are no longer available in Union County.

That cost gap matters because the numbers continue to climb. Cat Utopia reported 131 cats were spayed or neutered through low-cost runs in 2025 and 171 feral cats were handled through the TNR program. The organization also said it took in 425 cats last year, adopted out 160, transported 256 to larger rescues, returned three to owners and recorded one death. Most of those cats came from Union County, including a large share from La Grande, with additional cats coming from Cove, Elgin, Imbler, Island City, North Powder, Summerville, Union, Baker County, Wallowa County and Umatilla County.

The county’s own animal-control structure helps explain why the issue has landed on the commission agenda. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says the county currently has no ordinances covering stray or feral cat removal, and Animal Enforcement does not respond to lost-cat calls or cat complaints. Animal Control serves rural Union County and the cities of Imbler, Cove, North Powder, Summerville, Union, Island City and outside Elgin city limits, while La Grande contracts for 50% of the Animal Control Officer’s time and pays into the animal-control budget.

Commissioners Beverly Beach, Matt Scarfo, Donna Beverage and Kathleen Cathey signaled some hesitation about county funding, since so many of the cats handled by Cat Utopia came from La Grande. Even so, they agreed to return to the request as a budget line item next month, while also considering whether the county should develop a formal cat ordinance. County officials noted that any ordinance would take time to write, especially with the sheriff’s office warning that domestic cats are considered property and an unreturned cat could create theft concerns.

The discussion comes as Oregon’s policy landscape shifts. Oregon Humane Society says House Bill 3604 was passed and signed into law in 2025, creating a statewide framework for stray cats and preserving TNR and shelter-neuter-return programs. For Union County, the question now is whether to keep relying on volunteer capacity and city support, or put county dollars and county rules behind a problem that already shows up in shelter pressure, nuisance complaints and the daily cost of caring for unowned cats.