Homeowner finds more than 40 cats in yard

Imagine waking up to find 40 feral cats in your backyard.

For Jim Monserrat, that’s been his reality for the past two and a half years since he moved into his home on the corner of South Von Elm and Primrose Ave. in Pocatello.

“They’re everywhere! They’ve reverted to being ancient cats – they live underground, in the bushes, and in the trees,” Monserrat said.

He said he counted six when he and his family first moved in, but over the years, that number has steadily multiplied, and there was nothing he could do to get them to go away.

On Tuesday, a police officer heading to work saw the cats in the backyard of the home and called it in.

Monserrat said he called Animal Services back in July when he found a cat eating the head of a newborn kitten – on his porch.

“They said they could get me on a list for a trap and I’ve just been waiting until today,” Monserrat added.

But he is still grateful for Pocatello Animal Services to have gone through the lengths they did on Tuesday to round-up the cats that had scattered across several of his neighbor’s backyards.

“At night you could hear them fighting and mating. It’s horrible. I’m extremely grateful animal control is here because my backyard has been a giant litter box and my granddaughters can’t even go outside and play. It’s disgusting.”

Animal Services directors said the cats will be taken to a holding facility to be checked. They said this has only happened one other time in Pocatello.

Monserrat said the moral of his story – if you see feral cats, don’t feed them.