Free-roaming cats typically live in a colony—a group of related cats. The colony occupies and defends a specific territory where food is available, usually a person who feeds them, and shelter (beneath a porch, in an abandoned car or building, etc.) are available.

A stray cat is a pet who has been lost or abandoned, is used to contact with people and is tame enough to be adopted. A feral cat is the offspring of stray or other feral cats and is not accustomed to human contact. Feral cats are usually too fearful to be handled or adopted.

Without spaying and neutering these cats, the populations will continue to grow and become out of control. This can lead to overpopulation, diseases spread, unwanted kittens and/or kitten deaths, and more. A well maintained cat colony is beneficial both for humans and the cats.

TNR is a nonlethal strategy for reducing the number of community cats and improving the quality of life for cats, wildlife and people. At its most basic, TNR involves:

• Humanely trapping free-roaming cats

• Spaying or neutering them

• Vaccinating them against rabies

• Surgically removing the tip of one ear (a “tipped” ear is the universally-recognized sign of a cat who has been spayed or neutered).

• Returning the cats to their home.

• Big Bend Pets received a generous donation in 2021 and began Microchipping in Alpine!

  If a previously TNR-ed cat does end up at the shelter they can be returned to their home colony.

Free-roaming community cats live in our communities and make their homes wherever they can find food and shelter. When neighborhood disputes escalate, both the caregiver and you become angry and refuse to listen. It’s important to talk to one another in person, listen closely to all sides of the argument and then find solutions that work best for everyone. There are ways to protect both the cats’ lives and people’s personal property without resorting to killing or removing the cats.

There are many reasons cat problems are rarely solved by trapping and killing a colony. Free-roaming community cats live at a certain location because it offers food and shelter. If a colony is removed, cats from surrounding colonies may move in to take advantage of the newly available resources. The cycle of reproduction and nuisance behavior just continues.

AND, If all the cats in a colony are NOT trapped, then the ones left behind will tend to have larger litters of kittens. The kittens are more likely to survive because there are fewer cats competing for food. The colony’s population will continue to increase until it reaches the number again that can be supported by the available food and shelter.

Here are some of the other factors that usually makes simply removing a colony ineffective:

—No input from the cats’ caretakers, who are the only people who really know the cats’ numbers and patterns and actually monitor the cats numbers.

—Diverting animal control staff from better outcomes and reducing their ability to do their more important public duties

— AND finally, No one watching out for pet cats who are lost or abandoned, aren’t spayed or neutered and could be rounded up and destroyed.

Animal shelters already care for and try to find homes for untold thousands of lost, injured and abandoned cats, in addition to pet cats whose owners are unable or unwilling to keep them.

Many animal shelters don’t have the staff or money to do TNR. However, shelters that receive calls of complaint or concern from the public may attempt to humanely trap and remove feral cats.. Happily, Big Bend Pets works with our region’s animal shelter and many calls are referred to us.

Because feral cats are so scared of people and usually cannot be adopted, those who are brought to a shelter, especially cats who cannot be identified as members of a known TNR-ed colony, are likely to be euthanized after a holding period. It’s a complicated situation: While it’s difficult to accurately identify a feral cat without observing them during a holding period, safely caring for a feral cat in a typical shelter cage is terribly stressful for the cat. In addition, if cage space is limited at the shelter, an adoptable cat may have to be euthanized to make room to hold a feral cat. It is a cycle that everyone wants to change and TNR works!

https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/save-lives-feral-freedom

https://www.alleycat.org/resources/the-vacuum-effect-why-catch-and-kill-doesnt-work/

https://www.alleycat.org/resources/feral-cats-and-the-public-a-healthy-relationship/

https://www.alleycat.org/resources/defendtnr/

TNR means fewer cats, which means fewer threats to birds. As noted on Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “Threats to Native Birds” Web page (birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/conservation/planning/threats), the largest threat to birds is loss (or degradation) of habitat, which results from human development and agriculture. Other significant hazards include chemical toxins and direct exploitation from hunting and capturing birds for pets.