“Trapping is a necessary evil,” says Tod Stephens, shown with a neighborhood cat named Yuki.
By LIZ STOCKBRIDGE
USFSP Student Reporter
Tod Stephens is a self-described multidimensional nerd who thrives in a world of computer-aided design, virtual reality and algorithms.
As a software engineer at Arthur Rutenberg Homes, he designs homes by computer. At his home in Belleair Beach, he used 300 hours of computer time to create a short, virtual reality film titled Fractal Immersion.
“With fractals, it’s the combination of science and art. I’ve always been intrigued by it,” said Stephens, 56. “I just really love the idea of how an algorithm can generate beautiful patterns.”
On weekends, he traps feral cats.
He and his wife, Carolyn, are volunteers for an animal welfare organization called MEOW Now, a tiny nonprofit that is dedicated to humanely reducing the number of free-roaming cats in Pinellas County.
The cats they capture are sterilized and vaccinated. Some are placed for adoption in shelters; the others are returned to their outdoor homes, where other volunteers provide food, water and health care.
Over time, the organization says, the number of feral cats should stabilize and decline.
The Stephenses became involved with this program in 2015 because of an overwhelming population of feral cats in their own neighborhood. They have a cat of their own, Squeaky, so named because she sounded like a squeak toy when she was a kitten.
“You see people that are so overwhelmed and so attached to the cats and they’re using their own money to feed the cats, so to come in and help them out, it’s very rewarding,” Carolyn Stephens, 53, said.
Amber Thompson (left) helps Carolyn and Tod Stephens with their volunteer work.
Chad Thompson, the executive director and only employee of MEOW Now, said that the Stephenses are “two of the best volunteers we have, the most loyal volunteers we have, and the longest-running volunteers.”
Thompson’s wife, Amber, also volunteers for MEOW Now.
When people call Meow Now to help with feral cat populations, their duty does not stop there. Meow Now requests that no one feed the cats 24 hours before the planned capture so that the volunteers can use food to lure the cats into traps.
“You have to collaborate with the people taking care of the cats,” Carolyn said. “There has to be a component of a responsible person to work with Meow Now.”
Once the cats go into the traps, a towel is put over the cages and they’re off for surgery.
“You put a towel over them and they’re totally relaxed,” Carolyn said.
Cat lovers have called feral-cat trapping cruel and inhumane, but People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Stephens have a quick response.
Without vaccinations, feral cats often “die from blood loss or anemia because of worms and fleas,” PETA says. By catching feral cats and vaccinating them, the cats are returned to their homes and without the risk of infection from worms or fleas.
“Trapping is a necessary evil,” Tod Stephens said. “Trapping and euthanizing the cats is inhumane, but trapping, having the surgery and returning them back to their outdoor spaces gives the cats a chance to live out their natural lives.”
Stephens also volunteers at the SPCA in Largo to help socialize and walk the dogs that are available for adoption.
His next project will be a virtual reality documentary to raise awareness of the importance of animal adoption from local shelters.
If you know of free-roaming community cats, contact MEOW Now at (727) 203-5255.