Orange Beach officials are looking toward a partnership with two nonprofits and a shared goal to protect two species of endangered beach mouse from one of its many threats: feral cats.

An agreement between the city and Coastal Cats & Critters Inc. will provide for the housing and care of feral cats removed from beach mouse habitats, and one with Safe Harbor Animal Coalition will allow the group to remove the cats from the area.

The Alabama beach mouse and Perdido Key beach mouse are both endangered species with habitats in Orange Beach.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's website, Alabama beach mice are only found living in "coastal sand dune areas" along the Alabama and Florida coast with most Alabama sightings reported between Ono Island to the end of Fort Morgan. Their main threats are natural and human-made, ranging from severe weather events and invasive species to coastal development.

The National Park Service's website says Perdido Key beach mice only live in Perdido Key with most sighting reports coming from Johnson's Beach, Gulf State Park beaches and Perdido Key State Park. These mice also live among "beach dunes and coastal scrub." Their main threats are human activities, such as development and artificial light, along with natural threats, such as hurricanes, sea level rise and predators like racoons, owls, coyotes and foxes.

"When human developments are near the habitat of this beach mouse, house cats and feral cats become predators as well," the site says on Perdido Key beach mice.

Both resolutions state, "The feral cat population in Orange Beach poses a great threat to the endangered beach mouse species due to the predatory nature of the cats."

Coastal Cats & Critters is a nonprofit sanctuary for "abandoned, unadoptable and feral cats" in Baldwin County. The Safe Harbor Animal Coalition (SHAC) is a nonprofit with the goal of addressing an "unabated feral cat population" with its Trap, Neuter, Removal (TNR) program.

Orange Beach has reached an agreement with the two organizations to remove and care for up to 50 cats found in beach mouse habitats in Orange Beach. The agreement is set to last for 18 months starting as soon as the resolutions are approved and ending at the end of October next year. It is liable for renewal by city council.

The $25,000 required by Coastal Cats & Critters and the $200 required per cat caught and neutered by SHAC will be funded through the city's Alabama Beach Mouse Conservation Funds and Perdido Key Beach Mouse Conservation Funds.

Coastal Cats & Critters has agreed to house and care for the feral cats only once they have been "spayed/neutered, ear-tipped, vaccinated and microchipped," according to the agreement documents. The city has requested that the organization notify the city when there is no space available for new cats and maintain a record of all cats accepted because of this agreement.

SHAC is also to keep records of which cats are caught with photos taken for documentation and "detailed location" of where each cat was found. It will also be responsible for ensuring the specifics for the agreement with Coastal Cats & Critters are completed before the cats are delivered to the sanctuary.

Orange Beach City Council is set to vote on these resolutions at the next council meeting on May 6.