Peekskill police are giving a helping hand to a program to assist a feral or stray cats.

Officials are calling attention to the city’s Trap Neuter Return (TNR) Program, in an effort to effectively and humanely control the community cat population.

They say they have been using the TNR method over the past five years, and say it benefits the cats and the neighborhood, and that other approaches for feral cats don't work.

Through this program, the cats are trapped, then they are spayed or neutered, rabies vaccinated, and ear tipped (the universal symbol of a neutered and vaccinated cat).

The stray cats are then released back to their outdoor home where they were trapped, and they will not reproduce. Once neutered, all the disruptive mating behaviors of loud fighting and foul male urine odor subside.

They say the public can help by calling (9140 815-1107 and leave a message if you are feeding any cats in the neighborhood or surrounding area. The more officials know about where the cats eat and spend their time, the more successful they will be.

They assure the public that no harm will come to the cats, and there will be no retribution to the feeders as long as there is cooperation with the TNR method.