A local nonprofit organization is doing what it can to help homeless cats.

Save the Strays Schuylkill offers low-cost spaying and neutering for felines, fosters cats in need of forever homes, and has a trap/neuter/return program for feral cats.

“We have a handful of people who go out and help with TNR projects,” said group administrator Sherri Stewart-Buckmaster of Ringtown.

Volunteers recently visited Shenandoah, where there are at least three colonies ranging in size from 10 to 20 cats.

“We’re going out, getting the cats and getting them medical checks along with getting them spayed and neutered,” Stewart-Buckmaster said. “They are also receive rabies vaccines.”

Once everything is done, the cats are released.

“It’s helping the community by reducing the numbers of cats being brought into the situation,” she said.

The “fixed” cats, she explained, have their ears tipped.

“That way, when they’re put outside, you can tell at a glance that they’ve been caught already and treated,” Stewart-Buckmaster said.

In addition to Shenandoah, the group recently trapped felines in Pine Grove, Orwigsburg and Schuylkill Haven, and took them for treatments.

Any friendly cats are taken in and fostered by volunteers.

“We are finding homes for them; that’s one of our goals,” Stewart-Buckmaster said.

Save the Strays Schuylkill also arranges appointments with clients who need their cats transported for spaying and neutering.

“We locate places that offer spay and neuters at a lower cost,” Stewart-Buckmaster said. “We’re kind of like a shuttle service.”

Last year, volunteers — many of whom work full- or part-time jobs — helped get more than 1,200 cats fixed.

As for the adoptable cats, information is available from the group’s website, www.savethestraysschuylkill.com and its Save the Strays Schuylkill Facebook page. Potential adopters need to complete applications.

Save the Strays Schuylkill doesn’t have a facility but visits Tractor Supply in St. Clair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month.

“You can meet and greet cats you’re interested in,” Stewart-Buckmaster said. And for a small donation, the group can microchip and register cats.

“We also volunteer to trim cats’ nails on those days, she said.”

Visits also happen frequently at Pet Supplies Plus in Hamburg.

“We try to visit both those places at least once a month,” Stewart-Buckmaster said.

Save the Strays Schuylkill can always use volunteers, whether they want to help trap cats, transport them to veterinarians or clinics, or house and socialize them.

“We are always in need of foster homes,” she said. “There are so many requests for help and we unfortunately have to decline.”

Over the past year, she noted, the organization has been “maxed out.”

“During the pandemic, when everything was shut down, vets were not allowed to do spay and neuters,” Stewart-Buckmaster said. “Because of that time frame — and people being home and bringing animals in — they weren’t getting spayed and neutered. It kind of caused this landslide we have right now.”

There have even been cases of folks “throwing out” pregnant cats, she said.

“It made a bad situation for all rescues and shelters,” Stewart-Buckmaster said.

Monetary donations to the group, or to the veterinarians who aid Save the Strays Schuylkill through discounted spay and neuter, can be made online.

The Save the Strays Schuylkill website includes helpful links, including one to Making It Pawsible, which offers spay and neuter assistance to Schuylkill and Carbon County residents who cannot afford the procedures.