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Try to wrap your brain around these numbers: it is estimated that 12,000 feral cats are roaming the streets of the ZIP code 90037 — a two-square mile of South Los Angeles that's roughly centered on Vermont Avenue and Vernon Avenue.
The reasons are many, rescue groups say: the city's Animal Services Department is stretched too thin and in a bum economy, residents can't afford to get their cats neutered, according to The Los Angeles Times. The story unfortunately does not explain where it got these mind-boggling feline figures from.
The Stray Cat Alliance is targeting 90037 and aims to trap and neuter at least 7,000 cats in the neighborhood — in the hopes of at least stopping the population from growing even more. They nonprofit is using a grant from a private unnamed company.