TNR

ACCORDING TO MANY, we have a cat problem
in the U.S. With population estimates in the tens of
millions, ferals—felines who live their entire lives
outdoors with little or no human contact—are
everywhere. Which means that no matter where
you live or work, chances are there’s a colony nearby.

“People feed the cats, but then they call their
local shelter for help, and the shelter doesn’t know
what to do except tell them to get a trap and bring
them in,” says Costco member Becky Robinson,
president and co-founder of Alley Cat Allies (ACA).
Once at a shelter, though, the cats are “not going to
get adopted,” Robinson continues. “Seventy percent
of all cats taken to shelters are killed, and when it
comes to feral cats, virtually 100 percent are.”

It’s not only an unpleasant way of dealing with
them, but an ineffective one: “Euthanasia as a
method of population control isn’t cheap, easy or
quick,” notes Costco member
Dr. Margaret Slater, senior
director of veterinary epidemiology
for the American Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals (ASPCA). Robinson
cites the case of a large
Midwestern county that spent
$185 per cat to eradicate ferals,
numbering into the tens of
thousands of dollars annually.
“We’re talking about a massive
production line that ends the
lives of healthy animals, that’s
cruel and inhumane and a total
failure, [because] there are
more cats than ever,” she says.

That’s why ACA, the ASPCA and other organizations,
such as the Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS), advocate trap-neuter-return (TNR),
in which the animals are safely captured, sterilized
and vaccinated, then returned to their colony. This
stops breeding and limits the spread of diseases such
as rabies—crucial for all cats, says Slater, since
unneutered indoor pets may be allowed to roam.

TNR is also better for the cats: “It stabilizes the
colony and they’re not reproducing, so their health
improves,” Robinson concurs. And while kittens and
a few adult felines may be socialized and brought
inside, most cannot be.

-- Costco Connection, October 2013