The Animal Rescue League of Iowa will soon begin rounding up feral cats in your neighborhood.

But don’t worry — the organization will bring them back.

The Des Moines City Council on Monday approved a new approach to handling so-called “community cats” — the ownerless felines that live outdoors. Animal control officers will capture the animals, spay or neuter them, and return the animals to neighborhoods.

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Supporters of the “trap, neuter, return” ordinance say it helps manage cat populations more humanely. It keeps the cats from reproducing and can improve their lives with vaccinations.

“It’s pretty simple, really,” said Tom Colvin, CEO of the Animal Rescue League, which provides Des Moines' animal-control services.

Colvin said community cats live all over the city, from neighborhoods to warehouse districts. Some Des Moines residents, he said, support wild cats “undercover,” feeding or caring for them covertly because they’re afraid the ARL might remove the animals permanently.

The ARL will set traps. Cats that are captured will first be checked for signs of ownership (tags or microchip). Then a veterinarian will decide if the cat is healthy enough to be returned.

Cats will be checked for rabies and other diseases, spayed or neutered, and marked for future identification before being returned.

Colvin said the policy should help reduce the number of cats kept at the ARL shelter, which numbered around 50 animals on Friday at its animal control location. Across all its locations, the ARL is housing more than 1,000 cats.

The ordinance will go into effect March 1, 2019.