Community Cats Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Colony Management Overview

Transcription

1 Community Cats Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Colony Management Overview Congratulations on your decision to start a TNR project and help the cats in your community. If you follow these instructions carefully, you can have your colony TNR d in about a week! You will prevent the births of countless homeless kittens and significantly improve the lives of the cats and your community. Initial Preparation Establish a routine feeding schedule. This is the most important thing you can do to ensure trapping success. Train the cats, don t let them train you! Put food down at the same time each day and take it away about an hour later. Don t worry, the cats will learn the schedule. Never leave food out overnight, as you have no control over who comes and when. Possums, raccoons and skunks are even more nocturnal than cats and tend to come in the night. Site Evaluation: If the cats are not on your property, seek permission to set traps from the property owner. Communicate with Community Members: Identify all parties who are feeding the cat(s) and let them know you are planning to do a TNR project. You may need to explain what TNR is and refer them to for more information. If you know other feeders exist, you may want to establish a joint-feeding schedule to share in responsibilities and ask that they offer to help pay for veterinary services and collaborate with you to practice proper colony management in accordance with our guidelines and the Cook County Managed Care of Feral Cats Ordinance. Assess the colony. Using a tracking sheet, document the cats and kittens in the colony. Note a description of each cat including their name, gender (if known), color, markings, and any known health factors, such as visible infections, injuries, and pregnant or nursing cats. Note if any are very friendly strays can they be adopted? Are there any kittens that can be socialized and adopted? Obtain a trap. Get one humane box trap for each cat. Secure a sign that reads Humane Trapping in Progress Do Not Remove to the trap. Tape a sign that reads Feral Cat Do Not Handle to the trap door. Test the trap. Become familiar with the trap. Ensure that all pins are locked in place and that the trip-plate mechanism works. Use a lubricant such as WD-40 on moving parts if they stick.

2 Decide which day you want to trap and make an appointment with a low-cost spay/neuter clinic. You may want to give yourself a week to feed in the traps to acclimate the cats to them. 3-5 Days Prior to Trapping Place the trap(s) in the feeding location. You can proceed in one of two ways depending on whether or not you can leave the traps out at the feeding site until you start trapping: 1) If you can safely leave the traps at the feeding site: Place an unset but open trap in the feeding location for a few days prior to trapping feeding the cat in the trap each day. To do this, use sturdy plastic twist-ties to secure the back door in an open position. Line the floor of the trap with a layer of newspaper, tape it down so it doesn t blow in the wind, and place the food at the opening of the trap. Each day, put the food deeper into the trap by a few inches. If trapping multiple cats, stagger the traps, facing them in different directions. Depending on the situation, you may need to feed half of what you normally would or withhold food the day or meal before trapping so the cat will be hungry enough to enter the trap on trapping day. If there are multiple feeders for the same colony, make sure to coordinate with each other. Always make water available. 2) If you can t leave the traps at the site, bring them for each feeding and repeat the above scenario. After the cats finish eating, pick up the traps and take them with you. Prepare your supplies. Plan on using about a half can of tuna, sardines or something else stinky and appealing as bait for each cat. If you have had time to feed the week ahead and know what they like, use that. You ll also need: Can opener, newspaper to line the bottoms of the traps, large towels or single fitted sheets work well to cover traps on all sides, paper plates if desired (can also put bait directly on paper), flashlight (if trapping when its dark) tracking sheet and pen, extra water and food, hand wipes or paper towels, thick gloves, WD_40 or other lubricant, pliers. The Day Before Trapping Prepare your vehicle. Lay down a plastic tarp then cover with a thick layer of newspaper. Bring extra for use on return trip if necessary. Pack your supplies. Prepare the recovery area. The cat(s) will need to recover for 24 hours in a secure, dry, warm, isolated place. Depending on the weather, this could be a basement, garage, shed or spare room. Spread a large plastic garbage bag on the floor and cover it with several layers of newspaper or towels. When your living area must be used, it s a good idea to

3 spray the room with a flea control product. Condo and apartment dwellers might consider putting the trap in their bathtub. Reminder: You must withhold food for at least 12 hours prior to surgery. Fresh water should always be made available. Trapping Day (one day prior to scheduled surgery) Have the large towels/sheets and gloves ready for use. Place traps on level ground and remove twist-ties (if applicable). Line floor of trap(s) with fresh newspaper and tape down. Cover the rear of the traps. Using an old towel, pillowcase or sheet, cover the trap from the center down to the rear where the trip plate is. If it s a windy day, use safety pins to secure it down. Do not put glass, or ceramic bowls in the trap. Once trapped, the cat may thrash around in the trap until the trap is completely covered. Any breakable objects pose a serious threat to the cat s safety. The bait should go on paper plates or directly on the newspaper. Bait and set the trap(s) Use canned sardines, tuna or other smelly or preferred food to entice the cats into the trap. Put 1-2 very small spoonfuls of food in a path leading them from the front to the rear of the trap where the big portion lies beyond the trip plate. The food must be as far back as possible so the cat cannot lean over and eat the food without stepping on the trip plate. Make sure the baited path is just enough to wet their appetite. You can also sprinkle dry food or tuna oil leading to the main bait in the back. The main portion in the back only needs to be the amount of a large tablespoon. Observe the cats and the traps at a distance. Do not leave set traps unattended for more than 30 minutes. If you are able to stay and watch, put your gloves on and get the draping cloths ready while waiting. However, if you will be leaving, you need to have the set trap covered. Cover sprung traps with a towel or cloth. Immediately after the trap has been sprung, cover the trap on all sides to make the cat feel safe and to calm them down. Remove trapped cats from the feeding location until all cats have been trapped. Trapped cats should be observed at all times. If you trap a seriously injured or sick cat, rush him to a clinic immediately.

4 Board cats overnight or take to low-cost clinic. We recommend trapping the colony the evening before their scheduled surgery so you can be sure they are fasted and to give you an opportunity to trap again in the morning. If you must trap the same morning, be sure to use only a very small amount of bait and remove any remaining food from the trap immediately. Once all the cats have been trapped, gently load them into your vehicle and take them to the veterinarian or to your home for an overnight stay, if applicable. Tips for the hard-to-catch cat Use a drop trap instead of a box trap. Call Tree House to borrow one. Google drop-trap and watch how-to video. Line the trap floor with leaves. Put the trap in a large box so the cat feels hidden. Withhold food for an entire day. Try a variety of foods to entice him/her into the trap. Try to identify which food the cats like best. Pre-surgery Overnight Stay Provide the cat fresh food and water. If possible use a divider (can be borrowed from Tree House) to keep the cat confined to one side of the trap while you carefully place food on a paper plate at the back of the trap along with a bowl of water. To do this: slowly approach the trap and pull the cover back slightly so you can see where the cat is. Do not look the cat in the eye. Talk in a soft, soothing tone. When the cat is on one end of the trap, open the door on the other side about 1 ½ 2 to insert the items. Immediately close the door, making sure it s securely locked. Always wear long sleeves and heavy gloves when opening the door to provide food/water. Check in on the cat before bedtime. Remove any remaining food and ensure she has water and that the room temperature is acceptable. Try not to talk during this time, as it will only add to the cat s anxiety. Again, avoid making eye contact with the cat as it is a sign of aggression. Spay Day! Drop your cats off at the low-cost clinic of your choice. Arrive early for the appointed drop-off time as lines can be long in the morning. At the bare minimum, we recommend getting a distemper and rabies vaccine, as well as a microchip. Microchipping ensures that your cat will always be returned to the colony in the event the cat is re-trapped. It is also mandatory under the Cook County Ordinance to microchip and administer a rabies vaccine to all feral cats that are part of managed colonies. The cat s left ear will be tipped to signify that it has been sterilized and vaccinated. Dissolvable sutures are used so there s no need to trap again to have stitches

5 removed. Unless a cat looks ill, we do not recommend testing for FIV or FeLV. Sterilizing these cats will stop the main means of transmission, such as fighting, and mating. The virus can remain dormant for many years or the entire life of infected community cats. We also believe that we should save our resources to spay and neuter more cats. *If you decide to go to a private veterinary practice, please note they may not be used to providing these services to feral cats, and that you may need to be specific with what you are asking for.* Prepare your car. Remove soiled newspaper from your car and replenish with fresh paper for the ride home from the veterinarian. Pick up the cat(s) from the clinic that evening. Be sure to pick up all records of the procedures performed that day. Make notations on your tracking sheet. Transport the cat(s) to your home for recovery. Keep the cat overnight in the same trap, covered with a towel or cloth. Put the trap(s) on the plastic/newspaper lining previously prepared. Provide wet food. Make sure the cat is alert before offering any food to the cat(s). Start out with a small amount of food. Check the food supply every 2-3 hours. It is normal for the cat(s) not to eat right away due to grogginess. Recovery Period Feral cats recover in the trap that you trapped them in. Be sure to change any soiled newspaper in a timely manner. You can slip in a paper plate with some canned food as soon as the cat is awake and alert. It is not necessary to give the cat water during the recovery period; the cat will get enough moisture from the canned food. If in a special circumstance the cat will be recovering in a trap for more than 24 hours, providing water is necessary. It is especially stressful for feral cats to be captive, so returning them to their familiar environment outside as soon as possible is in their best interest. All cats should be released following a 24-hour recovery period. The purpose of the recovery period is to assure that anesthesia is out of their system, so they do not stumble into traffic. Cats should be fully alert and well-fed before they re released. It is neither necessary nor desirable to hold feral cats any longer. Normal behaviors during recovery include deep sleep, head bobbing, wobbly movements, fast breathing, and shivering. Slight bleeding from the left ear tip is normal but should stop by the following day. Abnormal behaviors during recovery include continued bleeding from the surgery area, heavy vomiting, difficulty breathing, not waking up and lethargy. If a cat displays any of these signs, call the clinic where surgery was performed immediately.

6 The R is for Return (Not Release) Return the cat in the same place where you trapped him or her. Never, release the cat into a new area. Contact Tree House for further counseling if you feel that relocation is necessary since it is a very complex issue. Put food and water down at the regular feeding spot. Release the cat(s). Feral cats typically bolt out of the trap very quickly. Bring the trap back to the spot you trapped the cat. Point the trap away from traffic and wait until there are no people, dogs or anything else that could scare the cat. Open the door of the trap, remove the cover and walk away. Follow-Up Clean the trap(s). Wash trap with 1:10 bleach solution and return to Tree House or other source. Record colony data. Keep a log of each cat that you trap and each cat in your colony. You can find a pre-formatted Feral Cat Colony Data Sheet at treehouseanimals.org/tnr. Colony Management Continue to provide fresh food & water at designated feeding stations during regular feeding times at least once a day. Remove uneaten food at night to prevent attracting wildlife. Provide required veterinary care as needed. Watch for any sneezing, discharge from eyes or nose, limping, flesh wounds or weight loss. Monitor the colony. Trap any newcomers to the colony as soon as possible. Provide waterproof shelters. Line with straw or wood chips and periodically spray for fleas. We also recommend that you provide a covered feeding station and outdoor litter boxes or sand pits to contain urine and feces and keep the area sanitary. Avoid any potential issues with neighbors before they arise. Communicate with your neighbors to let them know that you are caring for the community cats. Be ready to address any nuisance issues and to assist neighbors who need help trapping cats on their properties. Most of the time, once you become the neighborhood colony manager you also become something of a TNR ambassador. We are here to help you in this role. Please refer people to our website or have them call with any questions or concerns. You can find more information on how to manage a colony including, winterizing tips, food and supplements, nuisance prevention and more on our website. Thank you for taking this important step to help outdoor cats and you community. Please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. Community Cats/TNR Program tnr@treehouseanimals.org treehouseanimals.org/tnr