Wild or feral cats live in dumpsters, alleys and under bushes throughout the United States — the number is estimated to be in the tens of millions.
To reduce the outdoor cat population in Manatee County without senseless killing, the humane answer since about 2010 has been to trap, neuter and return.
“Before then, everything that was taken in was euthanized,” said Manatee County Animal Services interim director Bill Hutchison.
“There was not much empathy. The cats were considered a nuisance,” he added.
Outrage over inhumane treatment led Gulf Shore Animal League, a Bradenton nonprofit, and MCAS to forge a trap-neuter-return partnership in August 2011 with the Humane Society of Manatee County.
“What we’re trying to do is turn it off at the source,” said GSAL president Cheryl Wade of her group’s efforts that began in 2002.
The neutered cats are returned to their outdoor homes to live out their natural lives, but not reproduce, effectively reducing the future population of cats on the streets.
County statistics since the partnership’s formation bear out the TNR partnership’s success.
The county killed 2,104, 2,287 and 1,289 cats per year in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Cats killed numbered 68 in 2011, 65 in 2012, 131 in 2013 and 160 in 2014.
In the partnership, GSAL is responsible for the “trap” and “return” of ferals.
With a bank of 75 traps — 20 of which are loaned to community members — a small group of GSAL volunteers responds to calls, sets and checks traps and educates the community.
GSAL uses a retired MCAS truck donated in 2011 for the program’s trap delivery, pickups and transport to the humane society’s clinic. Some cats in traps are gathered by the MCAS animal officers and transferred to cages. Others are delivered by community members to the county’s Palmetto shelter.
Between GSAL and community efforts, about 30 traps a week — set with wet food to attract the cats — produce patients for the humane society clinic, which performs spay/neuter operations and vaccinations. The clinic also implants each cat with a microchip, containing where the outdoor cat lives, and tips each cat’s left ear to signify it’s been neutered.
The last, very important step belongs to the GSAL. Its volunteers return the cats to their place of origin.
Feral cats form strong bonds to other cats in colonies, and a new environment can cause a cat major stress. If relocated, it could try to return to an old home and get lost.
Into the community
The Islander met Wade Feb. 20 at the Humane Society of Manatee County at 2515 14th St. W., Bradenton, to return several cats — recently spayed, neutered, vaccinated, chipped and tipped — to their outdoor homes. The cats were loaded in traps/cages into the truck.
The first stop for two cats was 15th Street East in Bradenton, off the main drag behind several homes.
Wade released them in a sheltered area out of harm’s way.
The two cats — not feral — are outdoor cats and considered part of the GSAL program.
Wade approached a neighbor to talk about the cats. Another goal of GSAL is to educate the community about proper methods of trapping and encourage TNR support.
In turn, Wade learned about the community needs.
“My dad has a shop down the road. He has cats behind his shop, too,” said Cindy Dilcher of Bradenton.
“He likes them, but doesn’t want them to be having lots more kittens,” she added.
“That’s what TNR is for,” Wade responded.
Back on the road to return two more cats, near 49th Avenue East in Bradenton, Wade notices a nearby nursery — a safe location for a release.
Before releasing two neutered cats, we meet neighbor Sharon Stewart, who pointed to other cats in corners of her backyard that hadn’t yet been trapped and neutered.
Stewart told Wade about six cats remain, including a difficult-to-catch mother cat. Wade makes suggestions about types of traps and techniques.
Stewart also pointed out a “cat coop” shelter with clean hay, which she maintains on her property.
“It’s always nice to have compassionate caretakers. Both of them,” Wade told The Islander.
Island and Cortez cats
Cats are abandoned on the island as well as the mainland.
Some have found their way into fosters and others were placed for adoption through the GSAL.
In the summer, league volunteers picked up a mother cat and two kittens abandoned at Leffis Key at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach. Another kitten was found at the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria.
Several weeks ago, a vacationer told GSAL about three kittens living in a storm drain in Bradenton Beach, and Cheryl Hanbury, GSAL vice president, and her daughter rescued them just before a heavy rain.
Wade also spoke about an influx of ferals in Cortez in 2006. A woman who cared for a large colony of cats at her home died, but people continued to bring cats, causing a population explosion, she said.
In a four-month period, Wade said, about 60 cats were trapped. Many were returned and about 20 kittens were socialized and adopted.
Other issues
Ignorance and societal attitudes contribute to the feral cat problem.
Wade said a recent Facebook thread indicated some people were threatening to poison outdoor cats in the county in an apparent attempt to end their colony.
Not only is it inhumane, it doesn’t have the desired effect, according to Wade. A vacuum-effect will be created and neighboring cats will move in, attracted to the same food source or conditions the previous cats enjoyed.
“For people who have issues with feral cats, we send out a volunteer who specializes in giving advice to on how to coexist,” Wade said. Such advice may include changing the feeding location and installing motion-activated sprinklers.
The ideal situation is a maintained colony, Wade said. Howling, fighting and spraying stop when cats are neutered.
Wade’s involvement in GSAL began in 2006 after helping trap feral cats near Blake Medical Center, where she works.
“I never knew it existed,” she said of its TNR program. “Now I’d trap every day if I could.
“You get kind of a fever for it,” she added.
In addition to TNR, GSAL works with other rescues, fosters and promotes adoptions. For the past eight years, the GSAL has partnered with Pet Supermarket in Bradenton and Sarasota to find forever homes for adoptable cats.
Part 7 in The Islander’s series on Manatee County Animal Services will look into the future of the county shelter and its animals.
This article’s headline is deceptive. There is no indication of how large the feral cat population was before or after TNR, only a citation of how many cats were killed. So, through a TNR program, you stop killing cats, which.. reduces the number of cats killed. That’s circular reasoning, not evidence of the program working.
Outdoor cats, even if they are neutered and fed regularly, cause terrible damage to wildlife. Several scientific publications have established this. They also spread disease and parasites. “The ideal situation” is elimination of outdoor cats. A “managed colony” is a compromise, acceptable in certain situations where elimination is unattainable and where responsible volunteers are available for management.
Your headline is mis-leading and is a common lie told by cat advocates. Your article gives figures showing that euthanasia numbers are down. This does NOT equal an actual reduction in population numbers. Of course euthanasia numbers are down with TNR. Feral cats are simply being re-dumped in the streets.
TNR has been an abject failure at actually reducing feral cat populations virtually everywhere it has been forced on people. Do a quick google search of Ft. Lee, Florida and see how it’s working out for them. And here is what the mayor of Palm Coast had to say this past December:
It’s been tried before, Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts says. “We have tried TNR twice in the past, and what happens is, it starts off initially well, then you start looking, and the colony is twice as big as when you started, and there are a lot of cats with not notched ears, and the amount of food that’s being put out by well-intentioned volunteers far exceeds the demands of that colony,” Netts said. “So you’re attracting more and more and more. The whole idea of a TNR program is that over time the population should decrease. We experienced the exact opposite in two different locations at two different times. It’s got to be better managed.”
And using the “vacuum effect” as an argument for TNR over removal is ridiculous. How do the non-colony cats know if the cat missing from the colony was trapped and removed or simply flattened by a car or died from internal parasites? Does the caretaker tweet the information or what? I mean, the non-colony cat has to know whether to move into that open space or not, right? And the idea that the other cats that would come there if the current feral cat was removed ignore the fact that even if this theory was correct (which it is not) then the other cat does not magically disappear, it just exists somewhere else and is someone else’s problem.
Obviously there are many residents who do not want your feral cats running all over their property, as evidenced by stories of poisonings. Do the right thing and remove the cats. Place the adoptable ones in indoor homes. Keep the remainder in enclosures on your own property if you wish, but any that can’t be handled in that way should be euthanized.