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July 30, 2021Updated July 30, 2021 7:36 am
No matter where you are, community cats are likely to live among you. What is a community cat you might be asking? One or more community cats are unowned cats that live outdoors in virtually every city and town. Community cats can also be called wild cats – these cats are generally not socialized with humans. These cats can lead full, healthy lives in so-called cat family colonies (outdoors).
Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) is the only humane and effective approach for community cats. Community cats thrive outdoors in their homes. They are used to living outdoors and are naturally adept at finding food and shelter. Since these cats are not socialized with humans, they cannot live indoors and should not be placed in animal shelters or animal controls.
TNR is a humane way of capturing community cats, bringing them to vets to be neutered, neutered, vaccinated, chipped and earplugged and properly returned to their open air homes. TNR helps the community by preventing the cat from mating and reproducing, and helps keep the animal safe from disease.
Unfortunately, there aren’t enough places for all of these cats, and TNR is one of the most effective ways to solve the exaggerated pet population that surrounds us every day. Cat and kitten season is generally when unchanged cats come into season. This season mainly lasts from March to October. The best way to prevent overcrowding from animal shelters and animal controls is to have you spay and neuter kittens every year when you have cats outdoors. Remember, spaying and neutering your pet or wild animals is crucial for unwanted litters, serious health problems, and in some cases can reduce behavior problems.
Katherine E. Conder is the director of Madison County Animal Control in Edwardsville. She is a graduate of Fontbonne University in St. Louis with degrees in social work and special education. She has been with Madison County Animal Control for two years. She set up a no-kill shelter during this period. For more information on this article and Madison County Animal Control’s long-term goals, please call 618-692-1700
Written by
Katherine Conder contributing columnist
