Focus on Felines

Keeping cats safe and out of shelters.

Ending the euthanasia of homeless pets is not possible without strategic efforts to help both family and community cats (also called feral or stray cats*). As the following facts illustrate, theres a lot of work to be done to solve the cat overpopulation problem:

• Only 10 to 20 percent of pet cats are adopted from shelters. The vast majority are acquired from friends, family and classified ads.
• Too few of the lost cats who end up in shelters are reunited with their people - 2 to 5 percent of cats versus about 30 percent of dogs. Most of those who are reunited are identified by microchips, which tells us that microchipping cats in greater numbers could have a big impact on the redemption rate.
• Seventy-two percent of cats who end up in shelters are euthanized. Eighty percent of those cats are deemed to be "feral" (i.e., unadoptable because they aren't socialized).
• Only 10 percent of cats entering shelters are spayed or neutered.
• Female cats can become pregnant at the age of four months, so that's a lot of cats potentially being born if free-roaming cats aren't spayed.

How is Best Friends helping cats?

Best Friends' Focus on Felines campaign partners with grassroots organizations and municipalities around the country to help achieve a time when there are No More Homeless Pets. We help communities keep stray cats out of the shelter system by implementing trap/neuter/return (TNR) programs, relocating at-risk community cats and establishing microchip programs.

Our goal is to prove that this humane solution to overpopulated community cat colonies can work anywhere. The first two cities to roll out this comprehensive program are Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Florida. Both programs are highly collaborative partnerships involving government agencies, local rescue groups, animal control and caring citizens.

Cities aren't the only areas that can benefit from TNR, however. In a project called the Four Directions Community Cat Program, Best Friends has been working with rural communities in southern Utah to reduce euthanasia through relocation, TNR, a food program and community education.

These innovative programs are helping to reduce the number of community cats euthanized in our cities and towns but, even more important, they are creating models for how communities can implement humane solutions by sharing strengths and resources.

Trap/neuter/return: What it is and why it works

Trap/neuter/return (TNR) is a method of humanely controlling community cat populations. Cats are trapped, brought to a vet to be spayed or neutered, and then returned to their colonies, where they are fed and watched over by volunteer caregivers.

Why TNR? Twenty years of evidence shows that trap-and-kill programs are not effective population-control methods for community cats. The remaining cats will breed, the euthanized cats will quickly be replaced, and then those cats will breed. TNR has proven to be the most effective method of reducing the number of community cats in a specific area. It stops the problem because it stops the breeding. The caregivers provide day-to-day monitoring of the colonies so that any newcomers can be quickly trapped and sterilized.

TNR also saves taxpayers money: Without TNR, there is an endless stream of cats being brought to municipal shelters, where most of them are euthanized. TNR eliminates the cost to the public of maintaining and euthanizing the cats.

TNR is also good for neighborhoods: Spay/neuter reduces late-night howling, roaming and marking of territory (by spraying urine). Any negative impact of the cats is further reduced as the number of cats decreases. Caregivers can help resolve any cat-related conflicts by educating their neighbors about the effectiveness of TNR and providing humane cat deterrents, which keep cats away from areas where they are not wanted.

How can you support Focus on Felines?

• Adopt your next cat from a rescue or shelter.
• If you are feeding community cats, have them neutered or spayed.
• Spay or neuter all of your pet cats, both outdoor and indoor cats.
• Talk to your friends and family about the importance of spay/neuter.
• Microchip all of your pet cats, both outdoor and indoor cats.
• Volunteer with a local shelter or rescue group that helps community cats.
• Become a foster parent to kittens born to community cats, to help socialize and find homes for them.
• Donate to local programs that help community cats.

For more information

If you want to know more about Focus on Felines, go to the campaign community at network.bestfriends.org/feralcatprogram or e-mail shellyk@bestfriends.org.

Focus on Felines is part of Best Friends'
mission to bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.