How Trap-Neuter-Return Saves Lives
The dictionary defines the word feral as "in a wild state, esp. after escape from captivity or domestication." Feral cats are the "wild" offspring of domestic cats whose owners have either abandoned them, or failed to spay or neuter them, allowing uncontrolled breeding.
Feral cats live in colonies, or groups, and are found everywhere. Feral cats are elusive, and generally do not trust humans. Though no one knows for sure, it is estimated that there are 30 to 60 million feral cats living in the United States.
Trap-Neuter-Return
The goal of trap-neuter-return (TNR) is to reduce the number of feral cats while increasing their quality of life. Studies have shown that TNR is the single most effective method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat colonies for the least possible cost. TNR is endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the ASPCA, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, the Cornell Feline Health Center, and many humane societies, shelters, and organizations. And slowly but surely, animal control organizations have begun to realize that TNR is a better way to control feral colonies than extermination.
Feral cats are trapped in humane traps and then taken to participating veterinarians and humane societies for spay or neuter and vaccinations. The cats are also identified with an eartip -- a permanent form of ID for feral cats. During surgery, technicians clip 1/4" off one ear; the edge is then cauterized to reduce bleeding. Cats with eartips can easily be identified by trappers as ones who should not be recaptured. And if the cat ends up with animal control, the eartipping tells them that the cat is altered, vaccinated, and has a caretaker. Some animal control departments will release eartipped ferals to their caretakers instead of euthanizing them.
After a brief recovery period (typically overnight), a cat is returned to its colony. The colony's caretaker provides daily food and water, and often shelters (as shown bel0w), and also monitors the cats' health.
Why TNR?
Many people are aware of the importance of spaying and neutering their pets to help prevent animal overpopulation. But what many don't realize is that the huge number of unaltered stray and feral cats also contributes to the millions of animals euthanized in our nation's shelters each year.
One scientific study of 2,332 female cats showed they gave birth to an average of 1.4 litters each year, at an average of 3 kittens per litter. It is estimated that 42% of feral kittens will die in their colony by the age of two months. Many others will end up at a shelter and be euthanized. The rest will become prolific breeders over their short life span, which averages three years -- and the cycle will repeat itself, generation after generation.
But overpopulation is not the only concern. Just like unaltered pets, unaltered feral cats are at risk of contracting numerous serious and life-threatening medical conditions (see lead article). TNR not only helps decrease animal overpopulation, it can prevent illness and suffering among the cats who have been trapped.
Kim Deserio has been involved in TNR since 1997. "I was volunteering at a no-kill shelter, and one night a fellow volunteer and I were at a shopping center when we noticed two kittens run across the parking lot and duck into a storm drain," she says. "We went back to the shelter, got a humane trap, and got both kittens -- one of whom needed treatment for a neck wound."
She continues, "The teenagers hanging out at the McDonald's said there were more cats by the pizzeria across the street. We kept trapping and discovered a whole feral colony. I trapped sporadically for the next several years and then decided that I wanted to focus on spay and neuter, and started a TNR program in 2003." Deserio learns about trapping opportunities from local humane groups that don't have their own TNR programs, from other trappers, and from feral caretakers she's helped in the past.
Deserio cares for feral colonies, and traps twice a month -- sometimes more. "It depends on emergencies arising between clinics, and availability of vets," she says. "Some weekends I do multiple locations, or loan out traps to caretakers and assist as needed." She works with a local TNR group that operates two low-cost spay and neuter clinics. "I bring cats to those clinics and also volunteer at one of them," she says. "There are also a couple of local vets who will alter ferals on weekdays."
She continues, "I may do a large [25-30 cat] colony or a small colony, or just try to get one cat, like a newcomer to a colony or 'the one that got away' on an initial trapping. In my most productive year I trapped 292 cats and kittens. Most were TNR'ed; some were tame, or tameable, and adopted out."
"We sometimes find tame cats that have joined a feral colony," she says. "These cats may have been abandoned or are lost pets. In other cases the cats were born outside but have been handled by the caretaker since they were young and are, therefore, pretty tame. If the cat is obviously friendly -- if it's purring and rubbing against the side of the trap, wanting to be petted -- then it's tame. Sometimes it's not that easy to tell, however. A tame stray that is scared or skittish can behave like a feral. I find if the cat's talking in the trap, it's probably tame."
Although Deserio has successfully adopted out a number of cats that came from feral colonies, she emphasizes "Not all feral kittens tame up. There's a big difference between bringing a kitten into your own home and being okay with it remaining skittish, or trying to adopt out to the public -- for example, expecting the kitten to deal with a noisy place, like a pet store, where strangers want to pick it up and hold it."
She continues, "Feral cats are generally not adoptable as pets, and when they end up at shelters they're euthanized. The goal is to keep them out of shelters and recognize that they need their outdoor freedom -- but that we have a responsibility to provide them with basic vet care."
Relocating feral cats should only be done if there's truly no other option, she says, like if the property is being sold to developers. "It's not that easy to find barn homes, as most farms already have cats and they're often not altered. Even if you can find a place for the cats to go, the relocation process is stressful to them. And removing the cats creates a 'vacuum,' allowing new cats to move into the territory -- and the new ones will be unspayed and unvaccinated. It's better to TNReturn than to remove'."
Deserio feels it's important to focus on how you can do the greatest good with limited resources, including volunteer time. "Focus on stemming the tide of new births. The goal of TNR is to stabilize the current population. By keeping up with spay and neuter, there have not been any new kittens in my colonies."
How You Can Get Involved
Individuals, organizations, and rescue groups around the country provide TNR services. You can make a difference by volunteering to help Folsom Feline Rescue (FFR) with humane trapping. FFR's volunteer information form can be found at www.folsomfelines.org/volunteer_sgnup.shtml.
As a community service, FFR's Borrow-A-Trap program loans humane traps in Folsom and neighboring communities. There is no rental fee; a $60.00 cash deposit is refunded when the trap is returned. For more details about the program, including our trapping policies, please visit www.folsomfelines.org/trap.shtml.
To learn more about TNR, visit www.alleycat.org or www.neighborhoodcats.org.