It is so REWARDING and HEARTWARMING when I drive past SPCA FLORIDA early weekday mornings and see people in line for the BACKYARD CAT PROGRAM -

By Street Cat Project of Polk County

It is so REWARDING and HEARTWARMING when I drive past SPCA FLORIDA early weekday mornings and see people in line for the BACKYARD CAT PROGRAM. Doing the right thing by bringing the cats in for SPAY/NEUTER/VACCINES and allowing them to live their lives.

The ANIMAL CRISIS in POLK COUNTY is OVERWHELMING. In the first 2 months of 2026, POLK COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL KILLED 107 DOGS AND 463 CATS for no other reason than these animals were unfortunate enough to be brought into their facility. It is not a SHELTER. It is a JAIL FOR ANIMALS to go to wait to die when their time is up, and it is run like a JAIL with no cameras or phones allowed, NO VOLUNTEERS to help the animals, and NO HEAT OR AIR CONDITIONING. Sadly, it is funded by our tax dollars and run by our elected COMMISSIONERS AND SHERIFF.

If you have free-roaming cats, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THEM TO ANIMAL CONTROL unless they are sick or injured. FEED THEM and HUMANELY GET THEM FIXED to stop the population growth. KILLING THEM DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. We have been killing them by the thousands since SHERIFF JUDD took over POLK ANIMAL CONTROL 20+ YEARS AGO. Yet we are still overrun with CATS. Killing them doesn’t work.

KILLING IS NOT POPULATION CONTROL

STREET CAT PROJECT has fixed and vetted 365 CATS so far in 2026. We receive no funding from the County for this much-needed Community Service. DONATIONS ARE GREATLY NEEDED AND ALWAYS APPRECIATED. We need a Countywide FUNDED PROGRAM. Please email the COMMISSIONERS AND TELL THEM TO SUPPORT A TNVR INITIATIVE IN POLK.