Here's an oddity: Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, says experts say neutering and releasing feral cats is actually a better way to get rid of colonies of feral cats than killing individual cats from the colonies, because they reproduce so quickly and the colonies persist. When colony members are neutered and released, the colonies eventually go away. But current Idaho law suggests those who capture, neuter and release feral cats may be running afoul of animal abandonment laws. So at the request of the Idaho Humane Society and other animal shelters around the state, Kelly introduced legislation today to allow local communities to permit and regulate the practice if they choose.

"This is a problem for a lot of communities," Kelly told the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee this morning. Most of Idaho's animal shelters won't even accept cats; the Boise shelter took in 8,000 cats last year, she said. The committee voted unanimously to introduce the bill, allowing for a full hearing later.

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