Favored way to deal with feral cats is to trap, neuter, vaccinate, release

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says we’re in “kitten season,” when spring’s longer days and warmer weather bring litter after litter from feral cats. Animal shelters are under pressure to deal with the influx.

Most feral cats don’t survive past six months, PETA says, but female kittens can become mothers as young as 4 months and males can become fathers at 5 months.

Some city-run shelters have trap-neuter-release policies for feral cats, and others euthanize them. What’s your opinion on these wild urban animals and your city’s policy?

Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) is an effective, humane, long-term solution to help reduce the number of new litters born in community cat populations.

It ceases reproduction and nuisance behaviors that prompt residents’ complaints, reduces overall costs for government agencies responsible for animal care and eliminates such health concerns as rabies.

TNVR improves the health of, and protects the lives of, community cats. It allows opportunities for younger kittens to be socialized and adopted and for stray cats to become pets again.

I understand that Euless does not implement TNVR. But I also understand that it doesn’t prohibit nonprofit agencies and volunteers from conducting TNVR in the city. I hope that Euless fully embraces and implements TNVR.

Trap-neuter-release serves only to prevent propagation. It doesn’t address what to do when these felines get sick, injured and starve, not to mention no access to rabies or other shots.

Statistics show cities implementing TNR see a significant reduction of feral kittens. Trap and kill just allows more kitten-reproducing cats to move in. TNR stabilizes and reduces the feral cat colonies and kitten reproduction stops.

Mainstream Texas cities are embracing TNR with positive results. Unfortunately, Bedford sides with PETA’s radical philosophy that killing is the better solution.

The humane and sensible thing to do is euthanize. If most feral cats don’t survive longer than six months, what’s the purpose of trap-neuter-release? While cats are good at controlling mice and rats, feral cats in an urban area are a nuisance.

Euthanasia alone won’t rid an area of feral cats because, if removed, they are replaced by other colonies seeking food and safety. TNR programs are humane and effective but too expensive when other causes are more worthwhile.

Having practiced TNVR for 17 years and having started or participated with several successful programs on campuses, businesses and in neighborhoods, I can say that managed cats are healthy, the numbers are under control and the cats provide rodent and snake deterrence.

Many managed community cats live normal lifespans. Three on my campus at Texas Christian University are 8-plus years old.

We went from an annual trap/kill to a stable population of 14 cats campus-wide, and most years there are no kittens. .

TNR is the humane solution, but we need to encourage spay/neuter of pets as well as ferals.

American Veterinary Medical Association studies have shown that feral colonies can be reduced by as much as 68 percent in 11 years with TNR.

The Fort Worth City Council did listen to feral cat advocates when code control was trying to force through an ordinance to hamper volunteer efforts. The council did the right thing by approving a policy of letting volunteers continue to work with ferals.

Cats that are trapped, neutered and released are an asset to any outdoor environment. They serve as pest control agents 24/7. Euthanasia doesn’t work. It only causes a vacuum effect.

I live in Bedford and support TNVR.

My opinion of how my city handles stray, community and feral cats isn’t positive. I understand from shelter volunteers that they euthanize most of them that come into the shelter.

Because residents know the city’s stance on stray cats, they fear calling the city for help. They continue to feed the cats and perpetuate the problem.

Bedford spends more tax dollars to hold and then euthanize cats instead of letting a local group, Mid-Cities Community Cats, practice TNVR with donated funds.

Killeen had a feral cat problem but solved it in a humane way. Downtown merchants didn’t want to see the cats go because they helped keep down the rat population.

So the City Council voted for trapping, spaying or neutering the cats before releasing them back onto the streets. To my knowledge, this seems to be working well.

Euless has not yet put TNR into practice, but talks have started. We’re able to continue our efforts to trap, neuter and release without legal repercussions. Our leaders see the trend building and all the good statistics coming from cities that have TNR in place.

Bedford has shortsightedly refused to pass an ordinance legalizing and/or supporting TNR. Many cities have successfully implemented such programs and found that their animal control expenses have decreased.

I have several colonies of cats that are fed every night and all are spayed/neutered, so there will be no more kittens in these areas unless people move and leave their cats/kittens behind to fend for themselves.

TNVR does work.

TNR sounds nice and would help reduce the population explosion, but it doesn’t address other problems if they’re returned to their homeless existence.

Infections and diseases are transmitted among feral cats and would go untreated. If, when trapped, they are vaccinated for feline diseases including rabies, I doubt that they are ever trapped again for revaccination.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cats have remained the most frequently reported rabid domestic animal yearly since 1992. Not revaccinating them for rabies is violating our public health laws. And so is letting them run loose.

TNVR is a far more humane way to address the feral cat issue than killing them! It’s not their fault that irresponsible human beings are so cavalier about their welfare. How about fining the irresponsible humans who don’t spay/neuter their pets to begin with?

I trap in my city with a group of volunteers for a wonderful nonprofit group called Friends of Arlington Animal Services and can see the benefits of TNR daily. Way to go, Arlington leadership, for doing the right thing!

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Favored way to deal with feral cats is to trap, neuter, vaccinate, release."