Community Cats
Do you want to help a cat who is living outside? SICSA recommends Trap-Neuter-Return-Monitor (TNRM) for cats who have lived their entire lives outside, regardless of their level of socialization.
If you would like to schedule a TNRM appointment, please click here. To learn more about TNRM and Community Cats, read below.
In over 45 years of being in the “cat business”, SICSA has come to realize that a large majority of calls we receive for cat intakes are not suited for our adoption program. Many of them are what we call Community Cats. Community Cats do not have an “owner”. They may be feral or friendly, and could have several people who care for them in some way (food, water and even shelter during inclement weather). Community Cats are often not adoption candidates because they would not prefer to live 100% indoors. They prefer the freedom they have in the neighborhoods in which they have been living. They have established a network, have a defined territory, and access to the basic necessities to survive.
Because requests for cat intakes outnumber the available homes, SICSA uses a hierarchy of needs model for bringing cats into the SICSA adoption program. Cats less likely to survive on their own are given priority. Those most at need include kittens aged 6 months and younger and adult cats who have only lived their lives completely indoors. Which means, no matter how friendly the adult community cat, intake into our program is rare. What it also means, however, is that often these Community Cats are not spayed and neutered. As a result, they multiply quickly and can become a nuisance to you and your neighbors.
There is a solution to controlling and even reducing the community cat population safely and humanely. Trap-Neuter-Return-Monitor (TNRM) is a world-wide practice which has proven results in communities which apply the practice actively and liberally. TNRM is a process where Community Cats are humanely trapped, sterilized, vaccinated against rabies, ear tipped, and then returned to their territory. They often have caregivers who provide food, water, and adequate shelter, and also monitor the colonies for new cats and for cats with health issues.
Community Cat TNRM programs have proven to be effective in not only decreasing the cat population, but also in decreasing neighborhood nuisance problems such as roaming, fighting, spraying, and howling. Most importantly, it can eliminate the unnecessary euthanasia of thousands of cats annually.
For more information about Trap-Neuter-Return-Monitor, click below.