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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

Getting started on TNR

Questions about the ecological impact of Trap/Neuter/ Return (TNR) as well as the quality of life issue will probably remain as long as there are abundant homeless cats, but the evidence is clear that the benefit to the individual cats is immense, even in scenarios in which capture and euthanasia may actually be more humane.

Double click on the image above to see a larger illustration.

Any animal activist can become a cat-trapper. You need only buy or build a cat trap, obtain some smelly cat food to use as bait, find a blanket or sheet for covering and thereby calming cats in traps, and have a clear idea of what you'll do with the cats you trap. Even if TNR of healthy adult feral cats is a humane option in your community, there will be feral kittens and abandoned or lost former pet cats who should not be turned loose. Feral cats removed from unfriendly territory cannot be returned there; euthanasia may be the only option if there's nowhere else for them to go.

At best, TNR is an imperfect solution to the problem of cat homelessness. In a better world, there would be a home for every cat even intractable ferals. But we'll only start to see that world when the feline birth rate drops dramatically.

At worst, TNR is better than doing nothing. Even if the released cats receive no benefit…even if the cats would be better off euthanized than put back where they came from…even if they have no one to look after and feed them ... at least they won't be breeding more homeless cats.

There are numerous manufacturers of humane traps for cats and other animals (including dogs). We prefer the Tru-Catch model #30D for adult cats and their model #24 for underweight kittens.

Cat Pull-Trap

This trap can be used to catch from one to three or four cats at a time, depending on the size of the cats and the number of cats present on site.

The bait (canned cat food or fish) is placed at the very back of the trap. The cord is pulled to release the trap door only when cats are all the way in and eating the food at the back.

Throw a cloth over the trap to calm [the] cats, who will be jumping around and possibly injuring themselves and each other, and either very carefully transfer them to carriers (a two-person job, for which additional thin pieces of board will be needed to secure the cats into carriers before closing the doors), or take them directly for spaying or neutering in the trap.

If possible, try to do your trapping out of sight of other cats who need to be caught and sterilized, as they will become trap-shy if they see other cats captured or in a panic.

The design of the trap can be modified to use materials readily available in your area, and it can also be built longer and narrower, but do not make it shorter, as it must be deep enough for the cat to be fully inside the trap while eating the food placed at the back. Also, please trim the sliding door to provide one inch of clearance between where the door stops and the bottom of the trap so that it does not fall on and injure the tails of cats which may be extended outside the trap.

We order ours from Animal Care Equipment & Services (ACES) at PO Box 3275, Crestline, CA 92325 USA; phone 909338-1791; fax 909-358-2799; email <aces@animal-care.com>; website www.animal-care.com. ACES has a complete line of animal capture equipment, including squeeze-cages which allow injections to be administered through the wire mesh without the cat being handled.

To build your own cat pull-trap, consult the accompanying plans. You'll need only about $25 for materials, plus use of a table-saw, a screwdriver, some glue, and a staple gun.

With one or more molded plastic cat carriers and a roomier holding cage for cats you may put up for adoption, you too will be ready to spend long days and nights trying to outwit wily ferals by edging a food tray back, back, back into your trap an inch at a time for weeks!

Most ferals aren't really that hard to catch, but imagine yourself becoming able to top any blood-spattered hunter's wildest trapping stories with the true tales of how you helped cats.

[An inch (") equals 2.54 centimeters. A foot () equals 0.3048 of a meter.]

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