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Surrey is being overrun with tens of thousands of feral felines, while local animal groups are mobilizing to confront what they call a “cat crisis.”

The number of homeless, stray and feral cats prowling the streets and parks of Surrey is between 20,000 and 34,000, according to estimates.

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That’s about 100 to 170 times the total in Vancouver, which is home to fewer than 200 feral cats, according to the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA).

“There’s virtually no more feral cats left in Vancouver,” said VOKRA co-founder Maria Soroski. “There may be the occasional one by the port, or a few here and there, but it’s been reduced dramatically because of TNR,” she said, referring to VOKRA’s work with Trap-Neuter-Return programs over the last 14 years.

VOKRA volunteers humanely trap feral cats, which live in colonies in places like Surrey. They then have the animals spayed or neutered, help them recover and then return them to the location where they were found.