PETERSBURG, Va. -- Residents in one Petersburg neighborhood are asking the CBS 6 Problem Solvers for help with a growing feral cat colony.
Neighbors said there are about a dozen cats that roam a small area and cross the street near Texas and Oklahoma avenues.
Cincinnati Moore said the cats are constantly roaming his yard and infiltrating the crawl space under his home.
"They just been getting worse, just look at them," Moore said pointing out a cat crossing the street and another lying next to a building basking in the sun.
Something catches the eye of a cat in a Petersburg neighborhood.
Moore said the colony's population has grown exponentially over the last three months.
"They just make a bunch of racket, as if they up under the bottom, fighting and tearing the pipes down and everything," Moore said.
Stephanie McLaughlin is also concerned because the animals have pawed down insulation under her house.
Cats!
"They'll go in there, we'll hear a whole bunch of noises, like they're fighting," McLaughlin said as she mimicked a hissing cat.
McLaughlin said that even after she tried to restrict the animals' access to her home, she could hear them trying to get inside.
"When it was snowing, I heard noise. [They were] trying to get up under there," McLaughlin said.
Cats at play on Texas Avenue.
Some neighbors think part of the problem is that some people living on Texas Avenue appear to be feeding the cats.
Petersburg City Code states that a homeowner can have up to four cats. But all the animals must be spayed or neutered and up to date on their shots. If someone has more than four cats, the must pay a kennel license fee.
While Petersburg Animal Control will not set traps to catch the cats, officials said they will loan traps to homeowners.
Once the animals are trapped, they could be transported to the animal shelter.
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