Feral cats may be winning the war, but another ally has joined the struggle to contain them: City Councilwoman Darlene Harris has initiated a trap-neuter-return initiative in her North Side district.

One of several efforts to control their populations, it is the first to be sponsored by the city. In the month the program has been operating, it has trapped 23 cats, starting with a colony in Spring Hill.

Ms. Harris gave $2,000 of her "neighborhood needs" money to get as many cats neutered as the amount allows, she said. Animal Care and Welfare's volunteers are coordinating the work of trapping and planning surgery dates at different local veterinary clinics.

The city is gearing up to start a spay-and-neuter project next year, she said, "but I wanted to start a pilot program at least in my district. The problem is so bad, Animal Control picked up more than 1,000 cats [citywide] the first 10 months of this year, and less than 30 were reclaimed."

The use of volunteers will save some city money. Otherwise, Animal Control officers pick up trapped animals. Most cats are euthanized because they are not adoptable. But the trap-neuter-return method gives the cats a better life, and they can help reduce rodent populations.

The catch-fix-release method -- population control by attrition -- was started locally 10 years ago by the Homeless Cat Management Team. It holds daylong cat-fixing events once a month, now at the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania.

Last summer, the three major animal welfare organizations -- the league, the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and Animal Friends -- initiated the Three Rivers Feral Project and held a free clinic in Hazelwood as its pilot.

The area's cat population was "well over 100," said the Animal Rescue League's executive director, Charlotte Grimme.

"The majority that were trappable we did that day, between 50 to 60 cats," she said.

The league has neutered about 350 feral cats altogether this year.

"Darlene and I are working to put something together for next year that's a lot more aggressive -- using this facility, the money we've raised and money she is getting from the city. My goal for 2009 is 1,000 feral cats," Ms. Grimme said.

Except when the league holds a free clinic, the charge is $30 per animal, which includes a rabies shot and an ear chip to show that the animal already has been altered.

All population control efforts depend on colony managers to help round up cats, keeping track of the members and the breeding lines.

No one is worried about duplication of effort, either.

Fertile cats breed several times a year, and each litter averages about five kittens, two of them female.

"I get calls from people all the time for help [with ferals] in their neighborhoods," said Lee Nesler, executive director of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society. "All these cats are too much for one organization. The more of these programs we can offer, the better."