Ohio town aims to demolish abandoned buildings — but up to 200 stray cats live inside

A series of condemned buildings are scheduled for demolition in a small eastern Ohio town, putting the current tenants in a “high risk” situation.

A huge population of stray cats lives in the abandoned tenements in Campbell, and local animal welfare groups are scrambling to capture and relocate them. But they need help.

“The place the cats call home will be demolished later in the year, and there is concern for their ability to survive as well as harm that could come to them during the process,” Michelle Gonzalez-Monska, head of the Rascal Unit, wrote in a Facebook post.

There could be as many as 200 cats residing in the buildings, she said.

Because the cats are not spayed or neutered, they’ve been able to breed prolifically. Some of the cats are “friendly,” while others are “feral and do not allow being approached by people.”

After the cats are caught, the Rascal Unit will vaccinate and sterilize them, provide medical care, and try to find each a home.

But as of April 10, few have volunteered to adopt.

Only 25 people have reached out to adopt one or more of the cats, Officer Jim Conroy, of the Campbell Police Department, told TV station WKBN.

Conroy helped put together a plan to rescue the cats from the apartments, which encompass roughly three blocks of Campbell real estate, the station reported.

“This is an attempt to trap, neuter and rehome, hopefully, many cats living in these things,” he said.

To learn more about how to support the effort, either through financial assistance or volunteering to adopt, visit the Campbell Cats group on Facebook.

This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Ohio town aims to demolish abandoned buildings — but up to 200 stray cats live inside."