It is “kitten season” again! Every shelter in the US and every rescue organization is overwhelmed with daily intakes of mother cats with their litters, orphaned kittens and juvenile cats. This is a national community problem of major proportions.
Animals Abused & Abandoned has been approached by several volunteer rescue groups to help with the only humane solution to this problem that is practiced today – TNR is the acronym, and it means Trap Neuter Release.
Did you know that feral and stray cats are the greatest source of new, unwanted births in this country? A feral cat is the offspring of a lost or abandoned pet cat and is typically too fearful or wild to be domesticated.
More than 70% of the cats that enter city pounds and shelters are euthanized. The current statistic is that 11,000 cats and dogs are euthanized in this country every day.
TNR – How the Trap Neuter Release Program Works
It is the most humane and effective way to reduce a community cat population.
Humane traps are set-up to capture free roaming cats in targeted areas.
Spay/neuter surgeries are performed. During surgery, they are vaccinated against rabies and are ear-tipped on one ear as proof that they have been neutered.
Cats that cannot be tamed are returned to their original neighborhoods.
Once neutered, designated caregivers provide food, water, shelter, monitor for sickness and trap more feral cats for TNR or new tame cats for possible adoption.
TNR improves the quality of life for existing colonies by stabilizing the population, preventing births, reducing the number of injured adults and dying kittens, complaints about cats yowling, spraying and fighting over mates. They stop reproducing and die off naturally.
There is a misconception that feral cats can be eliminated by trapping, removing and killing them. It has been proven to be an ineffective method of controlling feral cat colonies. While using this approach, cat communities continue to explode.
A few Statistics per Havahart, October 9, 2012 that show how effective TNR is:
In the US alone, only 3% of free-roaming cats are neutered or spayed.
One female cat has the ability to produce roughly 100 kittens in seven years.
A female cat may reproduce two to three times a year.
Cats can become pregnant at 5 months of age.
In California alone, animal control agencies and shelters for cat-related expenses spend more than $50 million each year.
TNR costs roughly $50-$60 for the entire process, while it generally costs about $100-$105 to euthanize a cat.
Listed below are a few examples proving TNR works:
An 11 year study at the University of Florida, a TNR program was implemented and the number of cats on campus declined by 66%.
At the Univ. of Texas A&M, a TNR program was put into effect and sterilized 123 cats in one year – no new kittens the next year.
Berkley and San Diego County euthanasia rates dropped 50% since free sterilization and TNR programs were put into place.
Indianapolis Animal Care & Control experienced at 37% drop in feral cat intake since the Indy Feral program was started in 2002.
In a study done by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Petsmart Charities, it states that to trap and kill feral cats nationally costs the tax payers $16 billion a year vs TNR programs that cost approximately $9 billion a year.
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