Two Alabama women have been convicted of multiple charges related to their efforts to feed stray and feral cats on public property and get them spayed and neutered.

Beverly Roberts, 85, and Mary Alston, 61, had been feeding and trapping cats on the grounds of the Elmore County Courthouse in the city of Wetumpka, the Montgomery Advertiser reported . When they trapped cats, they would pay to get them spayed or neutered, and then either find them new homes or return them to the area.

Trapping, neutering and returning cats to their former location is a common technique aimed at reducing the outdoor cat population, typically in cases where the cats are too feral to adjust to an indoor home.