TRAP-NEUTER-RETURN
Saving Lives, Money, & Resources by effectively reducing Outdoor Cat populations!
Feral cats are the descendants of domesticated cats that were abandoned by their owners or that strayed into wild areas from their homes. When the domesticated cats mated, their offspring were never handled by or associated with humans, thus making their kittens feral.
Adult feral cats, that were never socialized with humans, can rarely be socialized enough to become adoptable. Feral kittens can sometimes be socialized to live with humans. The ideal time for capture is between six and eight weeks old. Taming at this age may only take a couple of days. Older kittens can be tamed - but it takes longer. Also, an older kitten may only bond with the person working with them, which can make adoption difficult, but not impossible.
The feral cat problem is a human one not a feline one. Persons that abandon or dump cats and kittens, refuse to spay and neuter their outside cats, and do not take the necessary precautions to tag and vaccinate their pet, create a problem that communities and animal shelters must address.
Some advocates are killing feral cat populations by hunting, arguing that it is the most cost-effective method of population control. However, a proposal in Wisconsin to legalize the hunting of feral cats in an attempt to reduce their population (April 2005) was blocked by the state's lawmakers. South Dakota and Minnesota allow wild cats to be shot. Many humane societies and animal control agencies still adhere to Trap & Kill policies, in spite of numerous proven examples of why trap & kill procedures not only do not work, but can make the problem worse. The U.S. spends over $50 million a year to shelter some of these cats ... cats that will eventually be "humanely euthanized" anyway due to lack of space for sheltering and the cat's "unadoptable" wild nature.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, presented as a humane method of feral cat population control, are facilitated by many volunteers and organizations in the United States. These organizations trap feral cats, sterilize them through spaying & neutering, and provide inoculation against rabies and other viruses and sometimes long-lasting flea treatments before releasing them. Frequently, attending veterinarians notch the tip off one ear during spay/neuter surgery to mark the individual as being previously caught. Volunteers often continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives. Many animal care experts believe that it is prohibitively difficult if not often impossible to domesticate and adopt a feral cat unless it is trapped and socialized before six weeks of age. However there is some evidence that many people have adopted and domesticated adult feral cats successfully. (Source: Wikopedia.com)
TigeraCat Rescues Supports T-N-R!
Here at TigeraCat Rescues, we believe that every cat, Feral or Domestic, deserves Life over Death. As in many other communities across America, Iowa has it's own feral cat colonies numbering well into the hundreds-of-thousands. We are looking forward to working in our own communities to provide Trap-Neuter-Release services. We've already received hundreds of contacts from community members who are concerned about feral cats in their neighborhoods. Most of these residents just want the problems to end, but they don't want the animals DEAD. Residents don't want to call "Animal Control" because they know that's exactly what will happen. Many have been trying for years to solve the problem with Trap & Kill and have learned, first-hand, that it doesn't work (The "Vaccuum Effect"). So the problems continue.
One neighborhood in Waterloo, knows this all too well. Residents there have been living with a colony of about 30 cats that have been there for more than 40 years. Many in the neighborhood have been feeding & providing minimal shelter for the cats, but had no resource to spay/neuter them. Hundreds of cats have been trapped & killed by animal control in hopes of decreasing the population, but just the opposite has happened. Over the years the colony population keeps rising. Residents didn't want the cats killed, but had no where else to turn, so they called the humane society. In May and June 2009, Black Hawk Animal Control / Cedar Bend Humane Society did respond ... trapped & euthanized almost all of the adult cats ... and left dozens of nursing kittens behind to die. TigeraCat Rescues volunteers took in more than 20 orphaned, nursing kittens from this colony and gained the support of the neighborhood residents to try TNR instead ... yet the killing continues! See "Precious' Story" here.
UPDATE! 06/12/2010 Received a call today! Resident has several kittens (only days old, eyes not open yet) that were left behind by Cedar Bend Humane Society/Black Hawk Animal Control when they trapped & euthanised the mother and several other adult cats. Please, help us stop this Trap-N-Kill practice...Donate today to our Trap-Neuter-Return fund and tell your Black Hawk County Supervisor you want Animal Control to adopt & support T-N-R as a viable alternative!
Donate Today! To STOP THE KILLING. Even Pennies Help!
I need help with some outside cats I'm caring for.
TNR instituted in Randolph, Iowa!
See this wonderful video about the recent TNR program introduced in Randolph, Iowa after the mayor put a $5 bounty on the head of each feral cat! Best Friends played an integral role in showing the Randolph community how easy it is to save lives and live harmoniously with these beautiful animals! http://www.bestfriends.org/video/tnr_iowa/vidPlayer.html
Farm & Barn Cats Available!
In some cases, cats may need to be re-located for their own safety. This is rarely the best option, but sometimes the only option to save these precious lives and give them a fighting chance at life. When a location is available, TigeraCat Rescues will Trap-Neuter-ReLocate these cats to managed rural properties. If you own a rural property and would be willing to provide a natural outdoor home to some very special rescued, rescued ferals contact us today. Click here for more information: Farm/Barn Cats!
For more information about trap-neuter-return, please visit these sites or search the web for Trap-Neuter-Return & Feral Cats.
Alley Cat Allies
Neighborhood Cats - The Feral Cat Experts
Slope Street Cats - Brooklyn, NY
Best Friends Animal Society
PAWS Chicago - step by step directions for establishing a TNR program
Humanity for Cats