Virginia Dieppa, a 70-year-old retiree, has dedicated herself to feeding stray cats near a Lowe's in Kendall, using her Uber Eats earnings to purchase food and supplies. Despite her efforts, she faces opposition from local authorities and nearby businesses concerned about sanitation. In recent events, a proposal to ban feeding stray animals was retracted after public outcry. This situation highlights the challenges of community-supported care for strays amid changing policies by Miami-Dade County, which has transitioned to a Trap, Neuter, and Return program to manage the growing stray cat population.
"I was in shock," Dieppa said of the pushback against feline feeding outside the Lowe's. "Those cats have been fed for 18 years."
Last year, the county's Animal Services Department released back onto the streets nearly 18,000 stray cats - each of them sterilized after being caught in a county-supplied trap or turned in by a member of the public.
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