TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) Program Diary (kittens, feline, ferral, safe)

[jtaustin]

This is going to be an account of how the TNR program goes; I'll try to keep it updated throughout the project in the hopes it might help other people who may be feeding "outside" cats.

11/16/13
Facebook page entry:
Very interesting project going on: a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) program for the 10+ or so adult feral cats and about four kittens who live in my backyard and the neighbor's garage. We've had so many cats around here outside, for so long, but I was enlightened with respect to what to do about it recently: the TNR programs are so wonderful, and staffed by such caring people.

The process--which prevents a lot of suffering in the feral cat population, and lowers the numbers of animals who will not be adopted and cared for--is that (1) put out traps; (2) animals are taken to a vet where they get their shots, fixed, tested for illnesses, chipped, and ear-notched; (3) animals are returned to the colony; (4) expenses are paid by the volunteer organization.

This is really a beautiful thing, since it cuts down on the suffering of these animals, and prevents a population explosion. I have one outside baby who is a baby, herself, and she keeps giving birth to kittens, which has stunted her growth considerably.

Volunteers include college students who have an organization on campus and townspeople--some of whom are, like me, retired and able to devote time to this activity. This is a step up from the usual fostering and AR activism, and a concrete way of supporting the lives of these beautiful animals. I'm thinking most cities have programs like this: it's a matter of locating the lead individuals via google searches.

Google terms:
"spay neuter YOUR CITY" and "feral cats tnr YOUR CITY"

[jtaustin]

The project director has the following information in the footer of her emails (details removed for security reasons):

* Adult feral cats: borrow live trap, set & regularly check trap, take trapped cat directly toeither ANIMAL HOSPITALl (ADDRESS/PHONE AND EMAIL) or for spay / neuter/ rabies vaccination/ ear-tip (ear-notch) & DIRECTOR’s pre-arranged veterinary services; pick up spayed / vaccinated cat; release cat in its original territory; re-set safe trap & repeat process (or return live-trap to person/place that loaned you the live-trap). More tips: trapping Momma kitty. It is hard on the cat to have it fixed while babies are still nursing (& potentially harmful to very young babies). Try "making friends" (with canned food) with the young ones & help along the weaning process & tame the young ones for adoption. When you are certain that the babies are not still nursing, make every effort to trap the mom as soon as possible, especially if you suspect she is already breeding again. Cats frequently become pregnant in the first few days after the birth of a litter. It is very hard on the Momma cat. Vets would rather spay a cat that is impregnated rather than a nursing momma cat. To trap wily cats, try routinely feeding inside of a trap that is set open (with the safety latch hooked, so it won't trap). Once they get confident about going inside, set it to trap. The best time to trap is at night, but you can't take the cat to the vet until morning. On very hot days, do not trap at night because if the cat is in the trap all night without water, & then get fixed, the cat may become severely dehydrated. The cat should not have anything to eat or drink after about 7 or 8 pm the night before a spay or neuter, so again, night trapping is preferable. If you are where you can "tend" the traps, cover the traps or put them in a dark, quiet place to minimize trauma.
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*To use the live-trap safely & effectively
Call or email if you have any questions or concerns PHONE or EMAIL

1. Don’t wash trap in between use—the smells of other cats & the bait should help bring in curious cats. For bait—the smellier, the better: such as canned tuna, mackerel, sardines, etc.

2. To set the trap: with the Door facing you, press the Door Brace fully down against the Door. Pull the Door up until it touches the ceiling of the cage. Grasp the short section of the Trigger Rod that is resting on top of the trap. Pull the Trigger Rod underneath the Hook. For a less sensitive release setting, position the trigger rod deeper under the Hook. Test the trap by inserting a stick or pencil through the trap & press down on the back edge of the Trigger Plate. This will trip the trap: causing the Door to spring shut.

3. Place the trap in a shaded / semi-shaded area, preferably behind hedges or under bushes (the cat will be even more stressed out if it’s visible to people while caught in the trap).

4. Place traps near feeding stations or along the sides of buildings with a hedgerow since cats frequently use these areas.

5. Make sure there are no, low-hanging branches that could get caught in the trap door when it shuts.

6. You shouldn’t need to put water in the trap -- trap in the evenings or early mornings when the cats are moving around, & it’s still cool.

7. If there were cats in the area when you set the trap, check it within 15-20 min. (it doesn’t take the younger cats long to go in); otherwise check the traps within a couple hours or feel free to set the traps later in the evening & check them by 8 am the next morning.

8. Take an old towel with you when checking traps—if you’ve caught a cat, covering the trap with a towel will calm the cat down (don’t be alarmed if the cat bangs its nose on the trap—a bloody nose is better than litters of kittens every year).

9. Once a cat is caught, either keep it in a quiet place (like a garage) until the vet opens or take it straight toTHE VET. They know the “DIRECTOR'S NAME” drill. They prefer the cats to be dropped off between 7:00-9 am. If they are full for surgeries that day, ask whether you may bring the cat back the following morning. Keep the cat in a quiet place overnight.

10. After the surgery, the vet will place the cat back in the live trap so that you may release the cat into the same general area where it was caught or – if instructed to do so: the vet will call ANIMAL SHELTER to pick up cat(s) / kitten(s) for their Adoption Row. If you take the cat back to its territory, just open the trap door as though you were setting the trap. The cat will either run out, or you may need to tip the trap downward to encourage the cat to leave.

Congratulations! You’ve just given a deserving cat a new lease on life. You have prevented litters of homeless kittens. And you have kept open space(s) on Adoption Row(s) for other homeless cats & kittens – who might otherwise have been killed due to lack of space.

The greatness of a nation & its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. Gandhi

[chiroptera]

Excellent! I am glad you are going forward with this!

A few additional tips from experience:
Trapped cats may be docile and quiet, or extremely freaked out. The faster you can get them covered (darkness calms them down a great deal) the better.
I keep trapped cats locked in my van overnight, as long as it won't be too hot. They are safe there, I cover each individual trap with a towel.
PUT DOWN PLASTIC! Especially if keeping trapped cats in a vehicle or your home. They will pee and sometimes poop and you'll never get the smell out. I put heavy plastic sheeting down under the traps/crates and sometimes newspaper too. Then discard it later.
Depending how soon you pick up a cat after surgery, it may need to be kept contained and warm for a while before releasing. Ask the vet. Anesthesia lowers body temperature and the cat may also be unsteady and groggy for a while.
Ask for ear tipping! This is where the tip of the left ear is removed during surgery. Otherwise you risk putting a cat through the trauma of being trapped, transported and operated on (if female) a second time for no reason. Tattoos are generally only visible one the cat has been trapped, transported and is on the operating table. Which is unfair to the cat. I think any place that routinely cares for ferals does this but it's not a given with all vets.
Don't think you will recognise the cat later....right now we have about 15 near-identical gray cats in our colony because of the dominant tom and queen, which have cemented the gray cat gene pretty firmly. There are only three I can identify.
Also the place I use offers pain meds for an extra $10 and I always do this.

[jtaustin]

That's what I meant by ear-notched. You do get that I'm handicapped and this work is being done by experienced volunteers (they just did a colony of 60)? I'm not "picking up the cat after surgery" (for example). But it's good advice for others who might read the thread, I guess.

The director does have crates, etc. They know what they're doing.

You wrote:
>> I put heavy plastic sheeting down under the traps/crates and sometimes newspaper too. Then discard it later.

Oh, I thought you might have kept it!!!

[catsmom21]

Cover the plastic with old toweling or something else absorbent. Plastic will not protect the car upholstery otherwise, pee runs right off of plastic, and right onto the seat.

The correct term is Trap, Neuter, RETURN. It is RETURN, not release, because release implies just letting the cat go any old place after surgery. The goal is to return the cat, once altered, back to his or her original territory. I can't stress this enough, it is very important.

So important, I wish you would ask a mod to correct your thread title.

Glad you are keeping a log of what is happening as it happens with your colony. I look forward to following, and it may be very useful to someone else.

[jtaustin]

Trap-neuter-return (TNR), also known as trap-test-vaccinate-alter-release (TTVAR), is a method of humanely trapping unaltered feral cats, spaying or neutering them, and returning them to the location where they were collected.

Trap-neuter-return - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This of course supports your assertion, catsmom. Easy mistake to make though, I think. They're definitely bringing our babies back here, though, don't worry. Except for the kittens--they're going to adopt them out, and any cats with AIDS or feline leukemia are going to be put down, but hopefully, that's none of them.

[chiroptera]

catsmom, you are correct on the semantics and facts, although I think most people realise that the "R" means return or release to the territory the cat came from.

Cats are fiercely territorial and the resident cats will drive out newcomers, even kill them. The dominant tom cat may kill any kittens he has not fathered. So I agree, it is important to stress that trapped and neutered cats must go back to their original territory!

[jtaustin]

My neighbors next door are on board with this (thrilled, actually), but it was very hard not to feed the kitties this morning, and they are all probably getting really hungry. And probably wondering what the heck is going on with their humans.

[jtaustin]

The volunteer doing the TNR was here and we caught four kitties right away, so it's working. She will be back later on to see if there are any more. They are not thrilled about being in the cage but they enjoyed the food, since they hadn't had anything from the neighbor or myself since yesterday. It's a good 14 cats; we caught three adults and one kitten.

She and the program director said that we'd keep going until we got them all. The volunteer has a nice warm garage. And it's beautiful here now, not at all like the rest of the country. So sorry for the folks in the tornado areas.

[jtaustin]

Volunteer was just here and got two more adults, so that's six, about half of the colony. That should be enough for the vet tomorrow but we'll keep at it until they're all in good shape.

Initially the cats are not happy about being trapped but the director said that even a little bloody nose, which I don't think any of ours have, is a small price to pay for being healthy and cared for. Since my neighbor and I are good friends and we both love and feed the cats, I think the cats know they're loved. Volunteer said that they really don't look or act like ferral cats. But this is a nice neighborhood next to a university, so a lot of them were just abandoned by college kids, probably.