T/N/R+M is still the ideal practice when it comes to Community Cats
By: Stacy LeBaron, USA Board Member and Head Cat, Community Cats Podcast
T/N/R+M is still the ideal practice when it comes to Community Cats
The Board of Directors at United Spay Alliance (USA) believes that as we rebuild our high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter capacity across the country – as we strive to provide resources that will improve the lives of all cats and dogs – that we should also pause to consider community cats. What would an ideal community cat program look like? How should community cats be treated?
How we take care of our free-roaming cats is incredibly important. That’s why USA has issued a position statement regarding community cats with the support of Trap/Neuter/Return+Monitor (T/N/R+M).
Read our position statement on the management of outdoor cat populations here.
USA adopted our position statement on the management of outdoor cats to encourage others to carefully consider the strategic and programmatic work happening in their communities.
In Massachusetts, where T/N/R has been in place since the early nineties, T/N/R+M is basically the standard. On average, most T/N/R efforts result in a 40-60% reduction of community cat and kitten intake. This may seem high, but it is comparable to what happened in 1992 when Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (MRFRS) was first created, when a significant percentage of cats and kittens were pulled off the waterfront.
However, there are other approaches to the management of community cats.
Return-to-Field, or RTF, is a term that has gained popularity over the last ten years as a “new” strategy to help reduce the intake of cats into shelters.
In theory, RTF and Shelter/Neuter/Return (S/N/R) programs help combat the overpopulation of community cats by ensuring all cats are spayed/neutered before they are returned to the community. In practice, these programs may not be holistic enough to reduce cat overpopulation in the community in any meaningful way.
For eight years, while I was working with MRFRS in Salisbury, Massachusetts, we offered free RTF services to the community. Despite this service, we saw minimal impact on the intake of community cats into our shelter, or any others in the area.
I think of RTF as T/N/R-Lite – a way for large organizations, especially those which lack other services to support community cats, to offer spay/neuter resources without having to take on colony care or management.
Indeed, RTF can be beneficial, but it is best when used in combination with other outreach programs within the community.
This brings us back to Trap/Neuter/Return & Monitor (T/N/R+M). USA believes in a T/N/R+M model that has another layer of support for the community.
When it comes to reducing their numbers, we need to do more for community cats. We can and should aspire to follow the model of Newburyport in Massachusetts, or Alley Cat Advocates in Kentucky. We need to do more than just spay/neuter.
As we weave our programs for community cats in with other community services, we want to instill a high level of support for the cats to ensure their needs are met. Looking at the Community Cat Pyramid, we can see the impact that T/N/R+M programs, especially those combined with the spay/neuter of owned cats, will have for free-roaming cats in the community.
If you have questions, USA is always happy to help. We are passionate about creating meaningful solutions that make your job easier, and provide public health for pets!