Palm Beach County Couple Spends $60K on Feral Cats

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Palm Beach County animal control officials estimate there could be up to 250,000 stray and feral cats in the area. Many of those felines live very close to human populations and are often fed by people. There is a network of volunteers that venture out each evening to feed thousands of feral cats in the Palm Beach County.

Jim Strout of Boynton Beach completes his feline feeding duties every single night. He drives all around Palm Beach County in his four-door sedan, which is almost always packed tightly with a variety of cat foods. Strout's preparations begin at approximately 3 p.m. daily. By 7 p.m., he hits the road and is out feeding up to 500 feral cats until about 2 a.m. Everything in his vehicle is for just one night of feeding. "This is just one night. I do this 7 nights a week," he said.

Strout said he spends up to $60,000 each year, between his feedings and his wife's nightly feral cat feedings. Strout said his wife packs her car as well, and completes a different route with hundreds of different cats. The Strouts are part of an underground network of volunteers who say they are keeping these animals from starving, all while keeping the Palm Beach County feral cat population down.

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Written by Dan Corcoran