WHAT The concept is simple. Limit the free roaming cat population by stopping reproduction. The cats are trapped humanely, given a flea and tick killing topical medication, and housed until surgery day. Surgeries are typically performed at other locations and the cats are transported in an enclosed trailer.
The cats are anesthetized, surgeried, and while still under they get one ear tipped, are looked over carefully for any health problems, given de-wormer or ear miticide as needed and given rabies and multi-shots. After transport back to Cedar Key, the cats are housed for 2 to 4 days prior to being released in the same location where they were trapped.
WHY There are studies showing that cats that have gone through Trap-Neuter-Return programs are healthier and are better neighbors. They fight, howl and spray less because they are not seeking mates. They have had their shots so are not going to spread disease to people or pets. The cats are back in their home area, so they don’t have to fight for territory with other animals. Most of these cats will lead healthy and happy lives.
One alternative to Trap-Neuter-Return is to allow local government animal control to trap and kill the cats. Stray or feral cats are almost never adopted out, and many animal control shelters won’t even allow them to be adopted because they are not people friendly. Studies show that when you remove a colony of cats from an area, other cats will move in to replace them very quickly because the habitat was suitable for cats in the first place. The term “euthanize” is not correct to describe the killing of healthy cats in animal shelters. Euthanasia is “the act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals (as persons or domestic animals) in a relatively painless way for reasons of mercy”. The feral cats killed in shelters are not sick or injured and would otherwise have led normal lives.
The other alternative is to do nothing and let nature take its course. This leads to large localized populations, widespread disease and mass die-off of animals when infected by terminal conditions like rabies. Yet even this option is better than killing animals that are healthy.
WHO When we moved to Cedar Key in 2000 to purchase and run the Faraway Inn, we noticed an overpopulation of adult cats and kittens. We were initially so absorbed by learning our new business and major renovations that we had little time to do anything else. Yet it always bothered us that there were so many homeless animals on this otherwise beautiful island.
By 2004 we were finally able to find some time away from the motel and we tried to locate cat neuter/spay programs in our area. There were none. The closest was the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital “Operation Catnip” program in Gainesville, over an hour away. Unfortunately, after we brought several batches of cats to be vaccinated and spayed/neutered, we were cut off because we live in a different county. We found no other organization that would assist us.
In October 2006 we were approached by the co-founders of Cat’s Angels from Fernandina Beach. Kim and Beth visited Cedar Key frequently as tourists and it bothered them that there were so many unaltered free roaming cats on the island. Through word of mouth the ladies from Cat’s Angels heard that the Faraway Inn did something with cats in the past. Kim and Beth trained us how to perform TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), a humane form of stray and feral cat colony control.
Cedar Key’s animal enforcement is relatively laidback and we do not have a community animal control officer, which made it much easier to implement a TNR program. Some places have very strict rules about feeding or trapping stray/feral cats. If you are considering a TNR program for your neighborhood, make sure to check your state, county and local laws first.
Some communities prefer to create government departments to deal with their cat problem. This creates a bloated beaurocracy of employees (salaries, benefits, liabilities), equipment (facilities, vehicles, maintenance, depreciation), and supplies (kennels, food, cleanup, drugs to kill, disposal of remains), all of which strain the limited tax revenues of your community in order to kill healthy animals. This is definitely not what we wanted for our island home.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is an all volunteer service. No tax dollars are involved at any stage. We raise funds through personal donations, yard sales, raffles and collection cups placed around town. We work with groups that are 501c3 not-for-profit organizations and tax deductible donations can be made by check to these groups for our use.
We primarily use the services of the Humane Society of Inverness for vaccinations and surgeries. We also use River City Community Animal Hospital of Jacksonville. The cost is approximately $35 to $50 per cat for a general checkup, spay/neuter, rabies vaccination, multi vaccination and de-worming if necessary. Each cat has one ear tipped to show that they have been through the TNR program. This provides an external indicator in case the same animal is trapped again at a later time. The cats are allowed to recuperate from surgery for 2 to 4 days at our home. They are then released in the same location where they were trapped.