Opinion: South Idaho Has A Cat Crisis: A Top Stray State In U.S.

It's no secret that the Magic Valley has a lot of stray cats. Just look in any alley in Twin Falls. Apparently, it's not just a major issue in the southern part of the state.

Until recently, I didn't know the extent to which Idaho shelters cats. It's shockingly apparent in my neighborhood. I'm usually greeted by two to three cats every time I take trash to the alley, and they're rarely the same ones.

Over the past eight weeks, my family and I have been transitioning into our new home. Bringing our two dogs over to the new place was something we held off doing until the last moment; they were staying at my wife's mother's place. We figured it would make getting furniture and other belongings into the house easier, and we stalled introducing them to the neighborhood cats cause we knew the challenges that would come with that as well.

Idaho Is A Top 10 State For Cat Ownership

'Remy" has become one of my family's adopted Twin Falls cats  Credit: Greg Jannetta

Until the dogs came over, our backyard was a hangout for about four cats daily. One of our neighbors is a massive cat lover and has three that wander all day. The cat poop was becoming an issue in our backyard. That problem went bye-bye the day our dogs officially moved in.

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I've never been a cat person, but I will admit I'm happy to have the strays still patrolling the alley and keeping rodents away. A Reddit post from 2024 has the Gem State at number seven in the country for cat ownership.

Vermont is apparently the cat capital of the United States, according to Reddit data. Rhode Island has the fewest cats in the country.