SAN ANTONIO – “I’m kind of an animal guy, but cats happen to be one of my favorites,” said San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
McManus denies being a cat whisperer, but he was probably just being modest, as a kitten crawled on his shoulders.
The cat’s out of the bag; McManus is a cat guy.
June is National Adopt a Cat Month, which encourages people to remember our feline friends when considering adopting a pet. If you follow McManus on X, he posts about the cats he has been feeding for the past few years at downtown SAPD headquarters.
This feral cat, part of the little herd I feed, disappeared for a few months after she finally got comfortable with me. Well, she returned from wherever the other day. Took her a little while, but she finally remembered. pic.twitter.com/j8HyaKeIg8
— Chief Bill McManus (@Chief_McManus) April 17, 2024
But, does McManus keep cat food in his vehicle at all times?
“Yep. You go out there right now, you’ll see a big basket of cat food in the rear of my car,” McManus said.
The headquarters kitties definitely have a tail on Chief McManus’ vehicle.
“Gray Cat” is part of the group of feral kitties I feed everyday. Unfortunately, for some reason, it’s lost a lot of weight over the last couple of weeks and is really skinny now. Seems more interested in me scratching his head than eating. Hate seeing it wasting away. pic.twitter.com/cInMH3F7Ew
— Chief Bill McManus (@Chief_McManus) February 23, 2023
“They come when they see the car pull up or come out,” McManus said. “I drive by there on the weekends when nobody’s around. I usually go in on Saturdays, and I’ll feed them in the mornings, and sometimes Sundays, if I’m not doing anything, I run down and feed them.”
He is sharing his love of cats and how he takes care of the downtown feral cats and his adopted cats at home because he wants to raise awareness for cat adoption month.
“We have a lot of feral cats in San Antonio, but we also have a number of organizations, Animal Care Services included, that are proposing and supporting the only real life-saving solution, and that is trap neuter return,” said Lisa Norwood of San Antonio Animal Care Services.
The Community Cat Program is for feral cats that show up at your door, like Chief McManus’ headquarters kitties. The program helps you trap, spay, neuter, vaccinate, and release them back to their community, where they live out their lives outdoors, and people like McManus provide them with food, water, and outdoor shelter.
“There’s a need,” McManus said. “I mean, there’s so many stray animals on the street, and, if they can be taken care of, great.”