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Trap-Neuter-Release
A pair of cats can breed two litters twice a year. Within
seven years, one pair of cats could potentially produce up to 420,000
offspring. These kind of reproduction skills translates into an alarming number
of stray and feral cats. It is estimated that there are over 60 million stray
and feral cats within the US, which can cost states upwards of $50 million for
animal control agencies and shelters.
For cats living in a feral clowder (a colony of feral cats), life is a
continuous cycle of hunger, fear and struggle for survival. The lifespan of such
cats is nearly twice as short as a domestic cat. In addition, while they are
alive, most of these animals must endure harsh cold and heat, nagging hunger,
and continuous itching caused by mites, fleas and parasites. The instinctual
desire to mate is another source of angst and unhappiness. For these and other
reasons, we feel it’s best to take care of those that are already born, and also
take action to prevent additional cats from being brought into such a life,
reducing the amount of unnecessary suffering in this world.
And shouldn't that be the primary.. to reduce the amount of suffering in
the World?
As it turns out, we learned that having stray and feral cats euthanized does
NOTHING to help control their populations. Consider this common scenario: If a
certain parking lot or field will support x number of cats, and you kill half of
them, it will take no time at all for the void to be filled with new ones. The
most effective process is what is called TNR (Trap, Neuter and Release).
As mentioned, we began bringing feral cats to the local LA Fixnation clinic.
It's quite a long drive from our warehouse, so sometimes we just bring the cats
to a local vet who gives us a discount. Yes there are still a few good vets in
the world who are not all about money. With their help, we've been able to spay/ neuter
and get shots for quite a few cats. The
clinic also clips the ear of the cat, which tells local animal control officials
that this cat has been fixed and had it’s shots. Then we release the cat back to
it's home ("dumpsterland").
TNR allows the cats to go
back to their home and live out their lives. Feral cats usually never acclimate
well to adoption and they consider the outdoors their true home. Cats are also
very family-oriented, so being released back into their clowder is a happy
outcome for them. Although street cats usually live much shorter lives than
domesticated indoor cats, being fixed usually does prolong their lives,
especially for the males, who will no longer get in fights or feel the need to
cross busy streets. As an added bonus, eliminating the feline mating rituals
also brings more peace and quiet to the neighborhood!
Meet some of the cats who’ve been TNR’d (yes, we name
them)
Thank You FixNation.org
We encourage all Southern California residents to take part
in FixNation’s program.
If you would like to volunteer or donate, you can visit their website for
more info
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