A kitten prepares to be operated in the Fix'n Wag'n during a spay and neuter clinic sponsored by the Community Cat Network.

Thirty six feral or stray cats and kittens from the Island neighborhood were present at Thursday's spay and neuter clinic at the Butler City Farmers' Market, 209 S Chestnut St.

But it was the two cats that were registered and were no-shows that weighed on the mind of Cheryl Shields, a board member of the Community Cat Network, the nonprofit group that sponsored the event.

“Two people did not show up. We had 45 people on the wait list,” Shields said. “So many people wanted to come and that time is just wasted.”

Those two missing cats could be responsible for another 200 feral cats by the end of the year, Shields said.

This incredible fertility has led to an exploding population of stray feral cats and the creation of the Community Cat Network, a 501(c) 3, all-volunteer, grass-roots organization working on humanely controlling the population by trapping and spay and neutering cats, and fostering them when possible.

This is an excerpt from a larger article that appears in Friday's Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read the full article.