Community Cats and
Trap/Neuter/Return
• SPEAKER’S NAME
• CREDENTIALS
• ORGANIZATION
AFFILIATION
(If Applicable)
• CONTACT
INFORMATION
• Phone
• E-mail
INSERT A
PICTURE
OF THE
SPEAKER
HERE
Free-Roaming Cat Dynamics
 Ownership status
• Owned
• Unowned
 Lifestyle
• Indoor only
• Free-roaming outdoor
• Free-roaming unowned
 Socialization status
• Friendly
• Unsocialized
 Continuum
• Move from one lifestyle
to another
Community/Free-Roaming Cats
 Exist in all types of
environments
 May impact:
• Public health
• Environment
• Cat welfare
 7% to 26% of U.S.
households feed
community cats*
*American Association of Feline Practitioners
Control Methodology
 Community cats are often
deemed unadoptable and
killed in shelters
 Community cats produce
the majority of kittens
entering shelters
 Lethal control, used for
decades, is the primary
method employed
Trap and Kill
 Ineffective
 Fails to curtail population
growth
 Costly
 Leads to compassion fatigue:
• High employee turnover in
shelters
• Taints public image
 Publicly unpalatable
Philosophical Shift
in Animal Control
“The cost for picking
up and simply
euthanizing and
disposing of animals is
horrendous, in both
the philosophical and
the economic sense.”
(Mark Kumpf, President, National Animal
Control Association, 2010)
Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR)
TNR:
A Comprehensive Management Plan





Humanely trapped
Spayed/neutered
Ear-tipped
Vaccinated
Returned to the
original habitat
 Non-lethal
deterrents
recommended
What? You Return Them?
Benefits of TNR
 Reduces shelter
admissions and
euthanasia rates
 Improves public health
 Provides access to grant
funding and volunteer
participation
 Decreases nuisance
complaints
TNR Successes
Jacksonville, Florida: Feral Freedom
 Net savings: 2007-2010
• $160,000
• 13,000 lives
 Decrease in feline nuisance
complaints
 31% decrease in feline
shelter admissions:
• FY06-07 13,455
• FY09-10 10,302
Jacksonville: Feral Freedom
Impact on Feline Live Release Rate
LRR (%) w/FF
LRR (%) w/o FF
100
Percent of Intake
80
60
40
20
0
JUL 07
JAN 08
JUL 08
JAN 09
JUL 09
JAN 10
JUL 10
Salt Lake City: Feral Fix
 SLC Feral Fix Program (launched in 2008)
• 2008-2010: SLC improved its save rate by 40.4%
Result: overall cost savings of more than $65,000
• 2008-2010: Utah save rate only improved 4.7%
 In 2010, SLC realized a 21.8% decrease in shelter cat
intake from 2009
 No increase in feline nuisance complaints
Other Examples
 Maricopa County, Arizona:
cost per cat
• $61 to trap, hold and
euthanize
• $23 to TNR
 Indianapolis, Indiana:
cost per cat
• $130 to trap, hold and
euthanize (national average)
• $20 to TNR (IndyFeral)
Utah Community Cat Act
§11-46-303
The Community Cat
Act gives cities the
freedom to release
cats immediately for
TNR
Hazards of Feeding Bans
• Impossible to enforce
• Starving cats continue
to breed
• Desperate cats move
closer to homes
• Malnourished cats are
more susceptible to
illness and parasites
• Other food sources are
available
Problems with Cat Licensing
 Difficult to enforce
 May increase shelter
admissions:
• If too costly, people
relinquish cats
 Hard to market for
indoor-only cats
 TNR implications:
• Cost-prohibitive
• Cats are not “owned”
Hazards of Pet Limits
• Negatively impacts
responsible pet
owners
• Difficult and costly
to enforce
• Fails to prevent
hoarding situations
• Limits are arbitrary
Cats Are Not the
Primary Threat to Birds
 “By far the largest threat
to birds is loss and/or
degradation of habitat”
• Human development
• Agriculture
 Chemical toxins
 Direct exploitation:
• Hunting
• Capturing birds for pets
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Threats to Native Birds
www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/conservation/planning/threats
Liability
 Unsocialized cats tend to avoid people, thus
minimizing likelihood of contact
 Community cats are vaccinated against rabies
 Liability results from negligence
A municipality’s involvement in TNR for the
purpose of reducing free-roaming cat populations,
protecting public health (through mandatory rabies
vaccinations), and resolving nuisance complaints is
NOT negligence
Advantages of Adopting a
TNR Ordinance
 Promotes community
involvement
 Establishes reasonable
standards
 Defines duties
 Encourages caregiver
cooperation
 Gains caregiver trust
Effective Public Policy
 Must consider the
human dimension
 No solution works in
every area
 Need creative,
integrated programs
 Must be cost-effective
 TNR (for maximum
effect)
• Caregiver
trust/cooperation
• Adoption
Existing Resources in (insert name of
city/town/or county)
Compile a list of all resources available to
support TNR of free-roaming cats:
•
•
•
•
•
Funding
Existing programs
Volunteers
Cooperative agreements
Etc.
Ask them for what you want
• Be clear and concise
• Do you want:
Money? If so, how much?
Bans lifted?
TNR ordinance adopted?
Thank you!