What's the story on the feral cat population in Houston?

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Clyde Brown feeds the cluster of cats almost nightly and has had many of them spayed and neutered.

According to Harris County, 2,640 cats were trapped by residents in 2004. The SPCA said it had 15,000 calls about cats and of those, 1,500 were about feral cats.

When the sun sets, critters of all kinds start showing up, but mostly they are cats.

"[There are] a lot of cats around here. How many? There are 30 of 40," said city worker Pastor Jimenez.

They are waiting for a cat lover to start the feline feeding frenzy.

Clyde Brown cares for three wild, or feral, cat colonies along I-10. He comes most nights, and spends about $200 a month on food. He's been doing it for about five years.

Experts say Houston has a particular feral cat problem. They say because our weather is so warm, the cats think its spring or summer all year 'round, and they can can be in heat all year round.

In fact, according to Harris County, 2,640 cats were trapped by residents in 2004. The SPCA said it had 15,000 calls about cats and of those, 1,500 were about feral cats.

Literally next door to the cluster of cats is a veterinarian's office. They have trapped and fixed some of the animals.

"As soon as we get one done, there's four or five more that show up," said vet Dr. Sam Miller.

Dr. Miller says feeding the cats only makes things worse he's not alone.

"That's probably true. Yeah, I really wish that we wouldn't have ever done this," said Brown.

When Brown began, there was just one cat. To his credit, he has spayed and neutered many of the kittens.

"Probably 35 altogether," he said.

No matter what, it's a tough problem for Houston cats and the people who are concerned about them.

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