Grant helps Humane Society program, and cats, stay alive

TAMPA - You have seen them run out from under your car in the morning, or maybe jump into the bushes as you come closer.  Feral cats, a lot of them sick, sometimes injured, can be found all over the area.

Mary Ann O'Donnell is a life-long cat lover. She volunteered at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay for years and now runs the trap-neuter-return program.

"Those that are under eight weeks old and can be socialized will go into our shelter or another rescue to be adopted and removed from the street. Others will go into people's yards." said Mary Ann.

The goal is to lower the feral cat population, now at around 200,000 in Hillsborough County. And now through a $20,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Sun City Center, Mary Ann and her team will be targeting southern Hillsborough County. The grant will provide 500 free sterilizations of feral cats in the Sun City Center area.

"Our volunteers are our strongest support, and our donors as well. Without them we could not survive. The program could not survive," said Mary Ann.