Gina Braden, a volunteer involved in Pacific's feral cat Trap‑Neuter‑Return work, gave a public update on July 15 and asked the Board of Aldermen for modest additional funding to help with a surge in kittens this year.

Braden told the board the program has handled "roughly 215 cats in total" this year, and that about 144 of those were inside city limits. She said volunteers had handled about 61–62 adult cats and 163 kittens, and that at the time of her remarks there were 45 to 50 kittens in need of shelter or rescue placements and another "30 to 40" in Pacific that volunteers could not place or safely treat in the field because they were unsocialized.

"This year we've had about 73% of all the cats that we've done are kittens," Braden said. She asked the city to consider a recurring $300-per-month allotment to buy food; she said a 2,000‑pound pallet of cat food can be purchased for about $300 from suppliers in East St. Louis that work with rescue partners. Braden said caretakers also help elderly and fixed‑income residents by supplying food.

Braden described operational constraints after recent budget cuts and asked the city to consider future code amendments that would allow issuing citations where property owners obstruct humane TNR efforts. No action by the board was taken during public comment.

What comes next: Braden said she will remain at the meeting and is available to follow up with staff. The board did not take action on her funding request during the July 15 meeting.