Credit: Melissa Smoot/Submitted
Core Creek Park – once a frequent target of complaints about a large and often stinky feral cat population – has seen progress over the past several years due to the efforts of county officials, inmates, and dedicated volunteers.
After a growing chorus of complaints about the hundreds of cats living in the county-owned park causing problems in 2015 and 2016, the Bucks County Commissioners teamed up with a number of animal organizations to tame the feral cat problem.
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Chase Miller, the director of operations for The Bridge Clinic, a nonprofit veterinary clinic in Bensalem Township, said Wednesday that the feral cat population in the 1,200-acre park in Middletown Township now numbers about 150. In 2016, the feral cat population was said to be 500.
Credit: The Bridge Clinic
“The Bridge Clinic has a team of 25 to 30 volunteers who are going to the park daily to maintain the colony areas,” he said.
The volunteers feed the cats, check on them, and get treatment for those who need it or are newly dumped at the park, Miller explained.
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Recently, the cat houses constructed several years ago by inmates at the Bucks County Correctional Facility for the feral cats were fixed up and upgraded to protect against birds, deer, and other animals who threaten the cats and steal their food. The upgrades were made by the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation and inmates at the county lockup.
Miller said the program started in 2016 with about 500 feral cats throughout the park. About 500 cats were trapped neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped at Core Creek Park. He said through the work several groups about 300 felines were adopted out and 200 were returned to the park because they were deemed too feral for placement.
Credit: The Bridge Clinic
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia praised the work on the volunteers who tend to the cats. She also thanked the county departments – corrections, parks and recreation, and general services – and inmates for their help in controlling the problem.
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Unfortunately, the county still deals with cats being dumped at Core Creek Park and others. The Bucks County Rangers and municipal law enforcement have attempted to crackdown over the years, but catching those who leave the cats – and other animals on occasion – are often hard to capture in the act.
“I don’t really understand why this is still happening. I want to make a statement: people need to not dump cats in Core Creek Park or any park, even if you leave, as some people have, cat food with them. It’s not very nice,” Ellis-Marseglia said.
Ellis-Marseglia urged people to call places like The Bridge Clinic or Bucks County SPCA before they dump a pet into the wild.
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Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo praised the work of the volunteers at the park.
Commissioners Chairperson Bob Harvie presented the volunteers with tiles with cats on them as a gift of appreciation.
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