I live in Douglas County and was told the only thing I can humanely do is trap the cats myself and bring them into a shelter.

what state is that - i see that a bunch of states have douglas counties? the post seemed to originate in wilmette, illinois (where i have started to help cats in the last couple of years)

if you trap and bring them to shelter, they will euthanize for sure!! they are not adoptable until someone has about a year to work with each cat and the shelters don't have people to do that. the best thing to do is trap, get them sterilized at a low-cost spay neuter clinic (usually priced from free to $20). they vaccinate and usually microchip them too. then you release them back to where you found them so they can live out their lives but not have any more babies.

you should help provide food (though many will hunt for mice and rats) and provide winter shelters (made from storage boxes (medium sized one inside bigger one with insultation in between boxes - straw inside - tape lids on securely, turn upside down and then cut a relatively small hole in corner so they can squeeze in and out).

this process is called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) - i have TNRed about 400 cats in 10 years. i keep the kittens and tame them up and find homes. i've also found homes for a lot of strays (friendly ones who have had human contact in the past -- true ferals will not allow touch, etc.). there are hardly any cats as a result of my efforts...when i started, they were everywhere. TNR works.

I live in Douglas County, OR. There doesn't seem to be much help in my area, which is the southern part of the County. The nearest city from me is Roseburg. They have shelters but noone to come out and pick up the cats. I am retired and don't drive, so I can't get them there myself. It's too bad because they are multiplying and are all sickly, but noone seems to care.

Have you contacted this group?

http://www.guidestar.org/PartnerReport.aspx?ein=26-4449347&Partner=Amex