2015 Trap Neuter Return Case Study

Since 2007 I TNR’d 183 cats from 20 colony sites within one square mile around me. Today there are only 51 cats from that total left outside. That is a 72% reduction rate in nine years.

I am very happy with these numbers and track them carefully. I visit these colony sites and their feeders all the time to make sure everyone is doing well. The majority of these cats are microchipped to me and I consider myself responsible for them. These days I rarely trap a “new” truly feral cat that made their way to one of our feeding stations. Any “new” cats I find are either people’s indoor/outdoor pet cats (and I just make sure the cats are spayed/neutered), or part of a colony that I learned was relocated here.

The point of TNR is to reduce the outdoor cat overpopulation crisis humanely. I can never say it enough. I dream of the day of not seeing cats in every alley here. We are getting closer to that reality.

Since 2010 I also started TNR at other locations outside of this area to help out other colony cat caregivers. Last year I branched out even more and started doing TNR at more locations with other people, who are also trappers, caregivers and friends, including Heather, Joann, Melissa and Patrice. Thank you!

I call these sites “Satellite Colonies” since they are focused on just one person’s yard, rather than trying to contain an entire area. You can see efforts really escalated last year. We trapped 95 total cats and kittens from eight additional colonies. Out of those cats, one died during surgery. 38 were adopted straight into indoor homes or admitted into no-kill shelters. That is where the collaboration with these rescuer friends was crucial. In addition, I’d like to thank Corinne, Elissa, Joann, Patrice and Robin for fostering some of these cats and kittens!

Download the Trap Neuter Return Case Study 2015 PDF