The Coplay Feral Cat Committee aims to grow and achieve 501(c)(3) status.

Bill Leiner Jr., the group's current secretary, founded the committee in May 2005 because of problems stemming from feral cats.

"We had enormous problems with feral cats in the Borough of Coplay," Leiner said.

A total of 22 people attended the very first committee meeting. Today, meetings are still held the third Sunday of the month at 2 p.m. at Samuel Owens Restaurant. Nine official members serve on the committee.

The mission of the committee is twofold.

"To operate the trap, neuter and release program in the Borough of Coplay and to educate the Coplay residents on feral cats. That's it," Leiner said. "Unfortunately, it is the attitudes of people in Coplay who don't understand ... who have the archaic thinking that all you do is kill them [cats]."

The committee's other mission is to educate the public.

"They can't absorb the concept that when you kill them, others will come back," Leiner said.

However, some residents appreciate what Leiner and the committee do.

"Some folks have recognized what we've done and they're happy," Leiner said.

To date, the committee has spayed or neutered around 100 feral cats.

The committee has gained much attention and recognition from not only Coplay and the surrounding towns but also larger cities.

"We were getting calls from New York and Philadelphia," Leiner said. "We garnered that much attention. So it's very successful. But the problem is it costs money."

The committee is also seeking monetary funds to apply for a 501(c)(3), a tax-exempt nonprofit status, Leiner said. The committee has to have $600 in its treasury to apply for 501(c)(3) status.

"We tend to get there, but then we do something," he said, referring to making donations or doing face painting at National Night Out.

Leiner would like to see the committee grow both financially and in terms of manpower.

"We need to enlarge the committee," he said. "We need more volunteers. The more the merrier. The more you have helping, the less work there is to do … and that's where you want to be."

"I thoroughly enjoy the people I've met in this movement," Leiner added. "It wasn't about managing a community's problem. They were looking at it for the animals."

For more information on the Coplay Feral Cat Committee, contact Leiner at billleiner@aol.com.