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So you’ve decided
you want to help the colony of feral cats in your neighborhood. What do
you do? In our experience, the process of trap-neuter-return (TNR)
offers the greatest chance of success both for you and the cats.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is the most humane and effective method
available to end feral cat overpopulation. TNR involves trapping the
cats in a colony, getting them spay/neutered, vaccinated for rabies and
marked for identification, then returning the ferals to their territory.
A caretaker provides food and shelter and monitors for any newcomers or
other problems.
 At
its essence, TNR is not about rescuing cats, it's about population
control and permanently reducing the number of feral cats in an area.
It's not about getting a wonderful cat a great home, it's about lowering
stray intake and euthanasia rates, reducing costs for animal control,
and creating better, less hostile environments for the cats. In
addition, spay/neuter of the cats eliminates common nuisance behaviors
such as yowling and foul odor, and vaccinating them for rabies also
provides a public health benefit.
1. Educate Yourself
First thing you should do is learn all you can about TNR. “The
Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook” and instructional video are available
from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
at www.aspca.org/tnrkit. If
you live in the New York City area, we recommend you attend one of our
three-hour training workshops on feral cat colony management (see
our events section for dates and
locations). In the workshop, we cover everything you’ll need to know
about how to manage your colony and implement TNR. You can also read
through the Info page on the Neighborhood Cats
website to learn the basics.
If you’re
interested in learning about practicing TNR on a large scale throughout
your community, order “Implementing a Community Trap-Neuter-Return
Program,” authored by Bryan Kortis, Executive Director of Neighborhood
Cats and published by The Humane Society of the
United States (see
www.humanesociety.org/feralcats).
2. Build Good Community Relations
In tackling your feral cat colony it is of paramount importance that you
build good community relations. Unless the cats live in some remote
setting, you must take their human neighbors into account and try to
build positive, harmonious relations. A supportive, cooperative
community will make your work considerably easier, while a hostile or
uninvolved one will make it far more difficult.
3. Set Up Feeding Stations and Shelters
There are many benefits to beginning to manage the colony as soon as
possible. Start by setting up a feeding station. By arranging a regular
feeding schedule, you will train the cats to show up at a certain place
at a certain time, and you’ll be able to withhold food and get them
hungry when you want. This will make trapping much easier. Improving the
cats’ nutrition by improving the quality of their food will better
prepare them for the stress of trapping and neutering. Adequate shelter
also promotes their health and assists in locating them.
4) Secure an adequate holding space for
trapping and neutering
Depending on the size of the colony, trapping all the cats may take two
or three days. A space is needed to hold the cats as the colony is being
trapped, and for them to recover in for at least 48 hours following
surgery. While they are confined, the cats remain in their traps – the
traps are cleaned and the cats fed preferably twice a day. To learn how
to do this safely, read “Caring for Cats Held
in Traps.”
It’s best to keep
them in a secure holding space, protected from the elements and heated
in cold weather. It could be a basement, a garage, an extra room, or a
terrace using a tarpaulin, tent or lean-to. One word of warning, during
warmer seasons fleas can be a concern in indoor holding spaces. To
minimize the risk of infestation, keep the traps covered with light
cloths and either flea bomb or vacuum thoroughly afterwards.
5) Decide what to do with kittens and friendly
adults
It is important to decide what to do with kittens and friendly adults
before you start trapping when you still have time to prepare. Ideally,
adoptable cats and kittens will be removed from the colony and placed in
good homes. Decide before you catch them who is going to do the
fostering and how you’ll go about adopting them. You can, for example,
work with a traditional rescue group. If fostering or adopting resources
are simply not available, don’t let that stop you from getting the cats
neutered and halting the reproduction cycle. You’ll have accomplished a
great deal of good by that alone.
6) Arrange for spay/neuter
You’ll need to find a clinic or individual veterinarian, preferably one
who will give you a discount off the regular rates, and set a date to
spay/neuter the cats. Check with your local animal shelter or humane
society to see if there are any low cost spay/neuter resources available
in your area. Whether you bring the cats to a larger organization or an
individual veterinarian, carefully follow their procedures and treat
them with the utmost consideration as you and your colleagues will need
their ongoing support. For spay/neuter resources in New York City and
surrounding areas, go to Free Spay/Neuter
Services in NYC or Low Cost Spay/Neuter
in NYC, Surrounding Areas & NJ.
7) Trapping
Trapping is the last step. Too often, well-meaning people trap first and
think about what to do with the cats later. That’s a recipe for disaster
(we know, we’ve tried it!) To ensure the long-term success of your
project, and to minimize the problems you will need to deal with, you
should ensure that everything else is in place before you put the tuna
into the first trap. This is true whether you’re trapping one cat at a
time, or the entire colony.
Enjoy!
A few days after being released, the cats will return to their usual
routines and you to yours. Although caring for feral cats is an ongoing
effort, and the dangers they face are ever present, there is a strong
sense of satisfaction in knowing you’ve prevented a great deal of
suffering and have given the cats a better chance to live in a way that
suits them and is acceptable to your community.
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