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Tune in to TNR

© Joy Butler

I read her story with a tear in my eye. Near the building where she worked, a woman who knew nothing about managing stray cats, befriended a young, little tabby - feral and shy, yet innocent and inquisitive. With the best of intentions, she fed all the cats in the colony and slowly came to understand their plight of life on the streets. Working to tame them enough to get them into a carrier, she looked forward to the day they could be sterilized. Success was just around the corner when plans went awry.

Feral cats are a growing problem. Estimates claim that around 60 million of them live on the streets near apartment buildings, restaurants, hospitals, schools, parks and anywhere else there is food available. Life on the street is hard. Starvation, disease and injuries are daily problems faced by feral cats. Some of them were once pets but, now abandoned by their families, they are neither pets nor wildlife. Their babies, growing up with no human interaction, are fearful of people and usually unable to ever make a suitable pet.

They tend to annoy people with their spraying, fighting, and scrounging in garbage cans. Many of them end up shot, poisoned, or otherwise destroyed. And yet, the problem continues because, where cats are removed, new ones from the never-ending supply will move in.

Ideally, all pet owners would sterilize their pets and keep them home. Problem solved! But that's not going to happen any time soon. Stray cats will continue to roam streets and feral kittens will continue to be born, at the rate of several litters per summer per one female cat.

If you care about these cats or if you're just tired of their annoying behaviors, there is a better solution. It's called Trap-Neuter-Return. Developed by cat welfare organizations in recent years, this method employs humanely trapping the cats, neutering and medicating them, and then returning them to where they were found.

At first glance, the cost of spaying and neutering may be a concern but low cost clinics are often available and, in some areas, funding is available as TNR becomes recognized as the most cost effective method of feral cat management. Secondly, returning the cats may appear to defeat the purpose, but there are advantages. While neutered cats do not multiply, new cats will not be readily accepted into the already existing colony, and numbers will gradually decrease. In addition, humane organizations embracing TNR, may offer their experience and guidance on how to care for them in the best interests of the cats and the people. Best of all, neutered cats don't howl at night and neutered males don't spray or fight over females.