4. Schedule the spay/neuterAfter you’ve established a feeding pattern, have an accurate count of the cats andarranged for an adequate holding space, it’s time to schedule an appointment for thespay/neuter surgeries. There may be a variety of resources available in your area and youmay need to do some research to locate them. Once you’ve located a spay/neuterprovider, be sure to check that they treat feral cats.The past few years have seen the rapid growth of High Quality High Volume(HQHV) spay/neuter clinics which specialize in altering cats and dogs. Many clinicshave been trained by an organization in Asheville, NC, the Humane Alliance(www.humanealliance.org), which has pioneered high volume spay/neuter and offersextensive training and support to groups seeking to open their own HQHV clinics.Because the focus of these clinics is almost exclusively spay/neuter, they are able toprovide high quality care at low prices.Low cost spay/neuter services in your community may also be offered by a shelter,another animal welfare organization or an animal care and control agency. In some areas,mobile clinics, which you bring cats to or which brings the clinic to the cats, areavailable. A mobile clinic may operate out of a specially outfitted van or trailer withsurgeries performed inside. Or it may be a MASH-style surgical unit that can be set upfrom scratch at almost any location.Another popular approach for delivering affordable surgeries is a Mass Spay Day – alarge-scale clinic capable of handling 100 or more animals a day. Typically these clinicsare held once a month at the same location for one or two days at a time.Private veterinary clinics may be a resource, especially if they are willing to discounttheir normal fees when treating free-roaming cats. There may be an animal welfareorganization or animal care and control agency in your area which sells low costspay/neuter certificates that can be redeemed at local clinics. SpayUSA(www.spayusa.org or call 1-800-248-7729) has a national certificate program offeringdiscount spay/neuter rates at participating veterinarians and clinics. For a list ofproviders in your county, click the “Find a Clinic” button on the home page and selectyour state in the drop-down menu. Then select your county from a drop-down menu thatwill appear. A similar certificate program is also offered by Friends of Animals(www.friendsofanimals.org).A word of caution if you do make use of a local or national spay/neuter certificateprogram. The vast majority of veterinarians who participate in these programsunderstand the need for affordable spay/neuter and offer valuable services at a truediscount. However, there are occasionally abuses, such as charging for items which aperson would normally assume are included in the cost of the certificate, like anesthesia.Or requiring payment for services in addition to those covered by the certificate, such astesting or extra vaccinations. The best way to protect yourself against an unexpectedlylarge bill is by obtaining a complete estimate of all costs before the spay/neuter surgery.Try to get this estimate, in writing, when you make your appointments.One way to start looking for a low cost provider is by using the Low CostSpay/Neuter Locator, a joint project of PetSmart Charities and the ASPCA. It can befound on the websites of both organizations (www.aspca.org/spay;54
www.petsmartcharities.org). Type in your zip code and the tool will list low costresources in your area.The availability of low cost spay/neuter remains a significant issue in manycommunities, especially for feral cats. It is one of the most important factors in howquickly TNR can advance because it is difficult to alter large numbers of cats if costs arenot affordable. If there is no low cost provider for ferals where you live, then advocatingfor these services may become a necessary part of your work. Study the advantages ofTNR discussed in Chapter 2 and meet with leaders in your community, such as shelterdirectors, animal control officers, municipal officials and veterinarians. Especially inplaces with a severe free-roaming cat overpopulation problem, you might find a willingaudience. Propose a pilot project to start, one small enough that it doesn’t demand manyresources but large enough to demonstrate TNR’s effectiveness. A positive experiencecould go a long way towards building more support.While you’re laying the groundwork for a larger TNR program in the future, try notto wait to get your cats fixed. Speak to your own veterinarian and see if she’ll give you aspecial rate for the free-roamers you’re feeding. Contact local shelters and animal rescuegroups and find out which veterinarians they use – they may offer you a good price aswell. A veterinarian who recently opened her practice and hasn’t built up a client baseyet may be happy to have your business, even at a heavy discount. Even if you can onlyafford to fix one or two cats at a time, you can still make progress in getting the colonyunder control. If you do have to start out slowly, try to trap the females in the colony first– this will help reduce the colony’s reproductive capacity faster.When you schedule your appointments, find out the unique procedures for that clinic,including drop-off and pickup times and any paperwork you need to completebeforehand, and be sure to follow their instructions closely. If you’re mass trapping, tryto secure enough slots so all the colony cats can get fixed at the same time.5. Arrange for transportationUnless a mobile clinic will be parked outside your holding space or your spay/neuterclinic offers a transport service, you’ll need to transport the cats back and forth for theirsurgeries. Plan ahead if the cats’ territory is distant from the holding space andtransportation will be needed during the trapping. If you’re thinking of using your ownvehicle, figure out how many traps will fit inside. You may need to rent a cargo van, atleast for the day of the surgeries, in order to transport all the cats at once. If more thanone person is volunteering their car, draw up a schedule and let everyone know inadvance when they will be needed.Before placing any trapped cats inside a vehicle, line the seats and floor with thickplastic to catch any urine or waste. A plastic drop cloth at least 3 millimeters thick isrecommended. You should do this every time a trapped cat is placed in a vehicle, even ifit’s only to drive a short distance.6. Reserve or secure traps and dividersOnce your spay/neuter date is scheduled, make sure you’ll have all the equipmentyou’ll need when the time comes to trap. If you’re mass trapping, arrange to have two or55
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TNR HandbookThe Guide to Trap-Neute
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Table of ContentsForeword by Susan
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Chapter Ten: The Neighborhood Cats
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ForewordOne of the first ferals I e
- Page 9: Introduction“If we keep ‘em in
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- Page 23 and 24: for this purpose. Once you can talk
- Page 25 and 26: like the board of a homeowners asso
- Page 27 and 28: information provided because of the
- Page 29 and 30: act to discourage cats from enterin
- Page 31 and 32: epel. It operates on four “C” b
- Page 33 and 34: • Free-standing fencesPurrfect Fe
- Page 35 and 36: • Type of feeding stationThe perf
- Page 37 and 38: Amazon (www.amazon.com) for “Le B
- Page 39 and 40: will be drawn to this easily reache
- Page 41 and 42: a search for “heated water bowl
- Page 43 and 44: interior warm enough to prevent or
- Page 45 and 46: food works best for your budget, th
- Page 47 and 48: steroids, tranquilizers, anesthetic
- Page 49: weather, loud construction work nea
- Page 52 and 53: • Feralvilla Outdoor Cat ShelterD
- Page 54 and 55: • Styrofoam boxesRestaurants and
- Page 56 and 57: Another option is the Snuggle Safe
- Page 58 and 59: apart. Knowing the correct number,
- Page 62 and 63: three more traps than the number of
- Page 64 and 65: Tomahawk Live Trap- Neighborhood Ca
- Page 66 and 67: 11 inches in height. In our opinion
- Page 68 and 69: trap are attached. The transfer doo
- Page 70 and 71: Feral cat densNeighborhood Cats Fer
- Page 72 and 73: drop trap (code: KITDT) - see Figur
- Page 74 and 75: That said, not every community offe
- Page 76 and 77: practice. In our experience, there
- Page 78 and 79: saving one day. Also remember, you
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- Page 82 and 83: doing so. Don’t check too frequen
- Page 84 and 85: Winter trappingSome trappers in nor
- Page 86 and 87: around and inflict a severe bite or
- Page 88 and 89: The bottle-and-string method is use
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- Page 92 and 93: If you might have to care for unwea
- Page 94 and 95: Unless a caretaker objects on relig
- Page 96 and 97: Caddie” by Tomahawk (see Figure 9
- Page 98 and 99: effective, some experienced trapper
- Page 100 and 101: feet long, and lean it up against a
- Page 102 and 103: sodium hypochlorite on the label of
- Page 104 and 105: PreparationsAs with any trapping, i
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11. Caring for Cats in TrapsWhile t
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Feeding and cleaningThe traps shoul
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7. Secure the rear doorAfter you’
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Figure 12-1 shows the Setup fullyas
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unlikely the cat would be able to o
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• Special instructionsAny special
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The FVRCP vaccine, also known as th
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difficult without the ability to te
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windpipe and cut off her breathing.
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“snap” test, it produces a resu
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In our experience, the primary caus
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Before releasing a spayed female, r
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has been created and one set of cat
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and water bowls - see the Feral Cat
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enforcement agency will tell you if
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long will show signs of being socia
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feral at all yet and may tame immed
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When they’re verycomfortable with
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socialize enough, which is very lik
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When the cat no longer uses the cag
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alternatives, like scratching posts
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• Where to lookIn order to attrac
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In case you’re unable to return t
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18. Feral Cat ResourcesBooks Implem
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Petco Foundation (4Rs Project Suppo
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ToolkitsAction Kit: Advocating for
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Appendix BHOW TO BUILDTHE NEIGHBORH
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5. Place piece E two inches back fr
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Trap LogProject/Colony: ___________
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In memory ofBobby Kergis1952 - 2011