Trap – Neuter – Return and Combating Cat Overpopulation |
|||||
During the night or early morning you may see them in city alleys or country roads. Feral cats seem to be everywhere yet, like other wild animals, they are rarely seen during the day. But there are an estimated 60 to 80 million feral cats in the United States, according to Alley Cat Allies, a national feral cat advocacy organization. Many people make the mistake of confusing them for wandering pets or an occasional stray and hesitate to get involved. But thanks to a growing number of organizations and individuals practicing Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) - a relatively new and increasingly wide-spread humane method of managing feral cat colonies - there is hope that we can drastically reduce the number of cats born on the street while also respecting the lives of these animals. What does feral mean? Feral literally means “wild” or “savage” and is a term applied to cats born on the street who have never been socialized to human contact, or domesticated cats who have reverted to a wild state after being lost or abandoned. Feral cats typically live in groups called colonies and can be found in both rural and urban areas where there is a food source. What is the difference between a truly feral cat and a formerly domesticated stray cat? Feral and stray cats are commonly confused, although anyone who practices TNR will tell you that they have different behavior patterns. Truly feral cats will generally only come out from dusk until dawn, will not approach humans, will not eat food in front of a human, and are usually not vocal. A stray cat on the other hand, will often approach humans even if cautiously, may be seen at any hour, will eat food in front of humans and will often be very vocal. What exactly is Trap-Neuter-Return? Trap-Neuter-Return is described by Alley Cat Allies as “a full management plan in which stray and feral cats, already living outdoors in cities, towns and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and sterilized by veterinarians”. Kittens and tame cats are adopted into good homes. Healthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are returned to their familiar habitat under the lifelong care of volunteers. The Reality Until as recently as ten years ago, feral cats were left to fend for themselves and were unaided by nearly everyone, including most animal welfare organizations. Even today, open admission shelters generally have no better solution than to euthanize the feral cats that arrive at their facilities. Limited admission or “no-kill” shelters often turn feral cats away because they don’t have the time, knowledge or resources to socialize them in order to make them more adoptable. At Tree House, we are proud of our mission’s focus on sick, injured and abused stray and feral cats. However, there are far more homeless feral and stray cats than we can help to socialize in our shelter. So we deal with the reality of the situation as best we can. Before anyone had even heard of TNR, we provided an outdoor enclosure to offer neighborhood stray and feral cats a safe shelter, regularly replenished with food and water, until we could trap them, offer them medical care, and try to socialize them. Tree House’s innovative Socialization Program gives these special cats the time and care that they need to learn to trust humans and find the loving homes that they deserve. But socialization can take months, even years, and it is not an exact science. Different circumstances and personalities determine the progress made by each cat and our resources are limited. Unfortunately, some cats never learn to trust humans, and we can only offer them food and comfort. While we will continue to work with these stray and feral cats, we firmly believe that the answer to the overpopulation issue lies in aggressive spay/neuter and TNR programs, so that future generations of cats will not be forced to endure such dire circumstances. The Debate
Is it inhumane to release cats back into an outdoor environment when there is a chance to socialize them? At Tree House, with 35 years of experience working with stray and feral cats, the idea of returning cats to the street is especially difficult to imagine when we have an innovative and successful program to socialize them. The situation is not always ideal, but if a cat must endure life on the street, it is much better off having been spayed or neutered and vaccinated and under the supervision of a colony caretaker. After lives spent on the streets, many feral cats are much too ill or injured and cannot safely go back to living outdoors without regular medical care. These cats are admitted to our shelter and become participants in our Socialization Program. As with all of our admissions, we always try to ensure that we are helping the neediest animals and intervening in the most urgent situations. What makes us unique is that we still give these feral and shy cats the extra time and attention that they need to feel comfortable with humans again and even if they never get adopted, they have a safe, warm place to call home with regular veterinary care and lots of love from our staff and volunteers. Some of our greatest rewards come when a formerly anti-social or even aggressive cat is given a second chance and gets adopted into a loving home. TNR Today
It is an exciting time for TNR supporters around the country. Local government officials are starting to realize that the problem is not going away and there are many concerned citizens who want to do something about it. On May 3, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 1235 proclaiming October 16th as National Feral Cat Day throughout the state.Here in Chicago, Dr. Daniel Parmer, Director of Cook County Animal Control, is proposing a TNR bill to the Cook County Board. The bill would allow local shelters, including Tree House, to operate as official TNR agencies to help colony caretakers evaluate, vaccinate, sterilize and monitor the cats they trap, as well as submit their paperwork to the county on behalf of the caretaker. Making TNR efforts legal and getting agencies like Tree House involved will make it much easier for colony caretakers who have had little resources until now to help them with this overwhelming problem. With an effective and efficient way to manage the overpopulation problem, we believe that the number of homeless animals will gradually decline in Chicago, and that the number of cats being euthanized at the city’s traditional, open-admission shelters will continue to drop as TNR gains more widespread acceptance. How Do I Get Started? If you know the location of a feral colony and you want to help them, there are a few things you’ll need to get started. First you’ll need a humane trap. Tree House makes these available for our supporters at the shelter for a $10 rental fee. Call 773-784-5488, ext. 221, to make an appointment to pick one up. If you are caring for a large colony or if you want to be prepared to do more TNR work in the future, you may want to consider buying your own trap. Two good manufacturers are Tru-Catch Animal Traps www.animal-traps.comand Havahart Traps www.havahart.com. There are many sizes and models to choose from but you should plan on spending about $70 for a good one. They also can be used to catch other animals such as raccoons, possums or skunks. Go to the location armed with canned cat food (the smellier the better – tuna usually works well), thick gloves and towels or other linens. Put the trap in the most secluded place as possible and cover it with a towel or blanket so the cat feels more comfortable about going inside. Cats will often be hesitant to enter a trap if there is someone watching, so do your best to hide or leave the scene for a few minutes. We recommend that you do NOT leave the trap unattended for more than HALF AN HOUR. Check back often to make sure that everything is fine. You’ll need to take precautions against things such as cruel humans and trapping other animals, especially in extreme weather conditions. Once the cat is trapped, you’ll want to make an appointment to get him or her sterilized, vaccinated, virus-tested and treated for any illness or injuries. You can make an appointment at our Munder Clinic by calling 773-784-5488 ext. 229. Due to a very generous donation by long-time member, Sabrina MacLean, we are able to do FREE spay/neuter surgeries for a limited time while funds last. Otherwise, we will offer our regular low-cost service at $10-25 for a neuter surgery and $20-45 for a spay service. Other services provided include vaccines ($15), virus-testing ($15), flea treatment ($10), and micro-chipping ($25). We will also tip the cat’s left ear so that they will be easily identified in the future. After the surgery we recommend that you care for a male cat for 2 - 3 days and a female cat for at least a week before returning them back to the colony to be sure that they are healthy and properly healed.
Summary We are proud to be part of the TNR movement and believe it is the preferable approach to managing the feral cat overpopulation problem. TNR advocates life over death, effectively reduces the number of cats being born on the street, and therefore reduces the number of cats being euthanized in shelters every day. As a no-kill shelter specializing in the rehabilitation of sick and injured strays, TNR is a humane alternative that we can live with. TNR legislation varies by location. Anyone interested in becoming involved in TNR should consult their local ordinances. Helpful websites: |
