Hundreds of stray cats overrunning city in New York state

BATAVIA, NY (KTRK) -- Cats have taken over a town in western New York state. Hundreds of feral cats are roaming the city of Batvia, NY and some people have had enough.

ABC affiliate WHAM-TV reports the cats started showing up a few years ago, and at first neighbors used to feed them but now they don't know how to make them stop.

City officials say between 800 and 1200 feral cats are now running free. The city manager is hoping to launch a citizen's task force to help find a solution.

"You can't trespass on people's property. You can't write people citations for feeding cats. You can't register cats. There's just a lot that's not really understood by the general population," said Assistant City Manager Gretchen DiFranti.

Options include catching and killing the cats, or getting them spayed and releasing them. The city is still in the early phases of developing a plan to deal with the cats, but no taxpayer money is expected to be used.

"They are just all over the whole street. They're all over our yard. They go up and down all our neighbor's streets, in our flower beds," Batvia resident Amy Nichols said. "It's really a nuisance."