JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The city of Jacksonville has teamed up with animal groups in an effort to get a handle on the growing cat population.

In a downtown press conference on Thursday the city revealed a program called Feral Freedom, which they said will be an effective and humane way to lower the number of stray cats.

"This really is a revolutionary program that will hopefully change the way feral cats are dealt with around the country, and not just in Jacksonville," said one official.

Previously, feral cats would be brought to Animal Control to be euthanized, but under the Feral Freedom program the felines will be altered and released back onto the streets.

According to experts, the year-round warm climate is the reason behind the large feral cat population in the area. They said routine euthanasia would only control the problem, not eliminate it.

Feral Freedom began on Aug. 1, and so far 1,200 feral cats have been trapped, neutered and returned back to their natural homes.

The trapping and neutering of the cats has been a joint effort between the city, the First Coast No More Homeless Pets Clinic and the Best Friends Animal Society.

"It appears that we would have to get 70 percent of the cats spayed or neutered before we would start to see a drop in their population, and we think we can achieve this in Jacksonville," said Dr. Julie Levy, of the University of North Florida.

Fixing cats also tends to make them less bothersome to residents.

"The behavior generally calms down. It has a lot to do with the fact that they're not seeking to mate all the time," said Gregory Castley, of Best Friends Animal Society.

Jacksonville has about 160,000 cats roaming the streets and is one of the few city governments to take an active role in this form of animal control.

"We've done the old thing for a long period of time but our numbers haven 't gone down," said one official.

The Feral Freedom program also encourages the city's cat lovers to adopt and care for neighborhood cats.

"Really, our ideal goal would be for every pet to have a home and live out its life happily in that home," said First Coast No More Homeless Pets Clinic founder Rick Ducharne.