Jury-Duty is committed to developing an effective strategy for the humane reduction of the feral and stray cat populations.
The Problem
 Feral cats are unfortunate domestic cats that have been abandoned by their owners and have reverted to wild or were born to a former domestic cat. Ferals live in the shadows in close proximity to a food source which is often a garbage dumpster or food put out by a good hearted person. Feral cats generally are fearful of humans and do not want to interact with them to any significant extent except to appear at feeding time. Although they live in the shadows and are generally quite secretive, ferals are often feared by human as they are thought, often mistakenly, to be a cause of nuisance and a danger to the public health. Noisy males fighting over the affections of females are often the source of nuisance complaints to local health officials. Being un-neutered feral cats will breed indiscriminately and their numbers will only be limited by their available food supply. Unvaccinated and un-neutered feral cats can certainly represent potential for overpopulation and represent a rabies vector although the incidence of transmission of rabies from cats to humans is extremely low and there has been no proven transmissions of rabies from cats to humans in the United States in almost 10 years. It is for these reasons that some municipalities have outlawed feral cat feeding in attempting to minimize their numbers and feral-related nuisance complaints.
Current Practice
 The practice of "trap and kill" has been the accepted way of dealing with stray and feral cats. The ineffectiveness of a "trap and kill" approach is proven by the simple fact that the number of feral cat-related nuisance complaints does not decrease where "trap and kill" methods are employed. In effect, with a "trap and kill" approach, not only are the ferals in the shadows but the human feral caregivers are also forced into the shadows as they do not want to be seen feeding cats nor prosecuted for breaking any anti-feral feeding ordinances. The feral caregivers want to keep themselves and their feral colonies as invisible as possible for their mutual protection. A draconian feral "trap and kill" philosophy produces a lose-lose-lose and the worst possible scenario. Feral caregivers, in going underground, are not approachable to be educated on how to properly care for their feral colonies.
TNR - The Solution
 TNR is the TLC for ferals: TNR and a Working Relationship with Local Health Departments and Local Municipal Governments is the Solution. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is an inexpensive, humane and proven-effective alternative to the harsh and expensive trap-kill approach to feral cat control. With TNR, feral cats are humanely trapped by their caregivers or their representatives and brought to a local medical facility for examination, rabies vaccination, spay/neuter and id-microchip injectable insertion. Once treated and recovered these cats are returned to their original colony location where their caregiver will continue providing care. Feral cats, treated with TNR, will no longer reproduce and will no longer represent a risk of transmitting rabies to humans. Once ferals in a colony are neutered nuisance complaints significantly decrease as there is no more fighting over females or mating behavior. Microchips allow the identification of each individual cat and if picked up by an animal control officer, that suspect cat's medical (surgical and vaccination) history will be immediately available. If brought to a shelter the TNR-treated feral can be reclaimed by its caregiver because it's microchip allows access to caregiver contact information. TNR represents a win-win-win-win for feral cats, feral caregivers, local health departments and local shelters.
 Feral colonies that have been TNR-treated will:
- Not reproduce and their numbers will decline by natural attrition.
- Become a protective buffer against rabies by virtue of the fact that they are all rabies vaccinated and protected. These cats will be a factor in protecting the public health.
- Be much less likely to provoke nuisance complaints after being surgically sterilized
- Not be a drain on shelter resources as they will be reclaimed by their caregiver(s)
- Be allowed to live their lives without human interference or threat of terror and death
- Provide a public service by controlling local rodent populations, often associated with foodstuff destruction and carriers of disease.
For more information on feral cats or to receive assistance please click below to fill out our application.
|
