Stray cats continue to be a problem post-tornado

In October, Alley Cat Allies came to Mayfield to have a day of spay and neuter activity, called Feline Frenzy, to assist in disaster recovery.

Lauren Bailey, veterinary technician at Mayfield Veterinary Clinic, laid out how important this aspect of community upkeep is. “Community spay/neuter is the biggest impact you can make on shelter intake. Shelters will never adopt their way out of overpopulation. They just can’t.”

“This is a community problem, and it takes community solutions. And funding of course is the biggest hurdle,” Bailey said. “When we had the clinics, I would help with caretakers who couldn’t transport.” At the time, many people had the availability to feed cats, but few had the equipment, or the ability to trap and transport to the clinic for surgery.

Deborah Buckingham, of south Chicago, runs Buckingham-Rescue Cats, spent her free time and now her retirement feeding feral colonies, trapping and transporting feral cats into vet clinics for TNR.

“I’ve been doing this for about five years. It’s just something that needs to be done down here because there’s too many homeless cats,” Buckingham said.

Given feral cats’ natural survival instincts and their capacity for breeding, if left unchecked, the colony continues to grow.

“You don’t start feeding a colony and then decide a few months later that this is not for you and just leave them there without food. It’s not fair to the cat. It’s a commitment, a full-time commitment. I don’t think some people understand that,” Buckingham said.

According to alleycat.org, the benefits of TNR are especially important in the recovery of a disaster, as lost cats and interrupted community programs can lead to more kittens.

Buckingham said, “Becky Robinson came down here in December, she was surprised that 95% of my colonies were already spayed and neutered. That was my goal. I officially retired in April, this is my retirement hobby.”

Trap and remove is an older approach to exterminate feral cats. Trapping the cats and turning them over to kill shelters, will only temporarily reduce their numbers. If a cat is removed from its territory, then other cats will sense the “gap” and move in to take advantage. Ultimately this method isn’t reliable in lowering feral cat numbers and it’s inhumane.

“It’s called the vacuum effect, when you remove cats, other cats will move in,” Buckingham said.

According to alleycat.org, the vacuum effect occurs when a portion of an animal population is removed from their environment by humans or natural disasters. The dip in population numbers will be temporary, and the emigrating population will reproduce at a higher rate without being spayed or neutered.

Many communities are seeing dramatic drops in cat intake and euthanasia at their local shelters as a result of TNR and other spay/neuter programs. The TNR program is life-affirming and allows people to help animals in need. TNR attracts volunteers, funding and other resources.

TNR can keep owned pets healthier. If a colony has sick members, once is all it takes for your outdoor pet to get sick.

Alley Cat Allies committed to a year in Graves County, but it has other areas to focus on for 2023. The Mayfield clinic doesn’t have any surgery space for December and, after that, there is currently no other voucher or funding for any kind of spay/neuter relief.

“It’s such a problem, two cats turn into 18 cats in a matter of months and people get overwhelmed very easily,” Bailey said. “I’ve done it in other areas, I don’t want to say that Mayfield has the worst need, but the tornado definitely had an impact on people’s ability to care for their own animals, plus the strays.”

Bailey described how across the country, the northern states are experiencing kitten shortages due to TNR.

The seven steps:

Step 1: Be informed. Working with feral cats safely requires training. Go to neighborhoodcats.org for the Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook, or go to a workshop. Go to Alley Cat Allies.

Step 2: Work the neighborhood. These are the community cats you see lying around all day. The interactions with these cats will range from friendly to hostile. Stay informed, talk to your neighbors about the stray cats. Gain permission from property owners for access. Cooperating and trying to understand your community will make the process easier.

“It was a long learning process, sometimes you have to think like a cat. There are different things you gotta do when you trap,” Buckingham said. “The longer you attempt at trapping the same colony the smarter they get.”

Step 3: Get the cats on a regular feeding schedule. Cats are creatures of habit, so put the food out at the same time and they should come to you when it comes time to trap. Count the cats and assess if they have any needs like illnesses, or young kittens. It’s also important to have feeding stations and shelters in the area so that the sore cats with shaved bellies will have a warm place to sleep.

The cat colonies would sometimes surprise Buckingham with cat shenanigans. She said, “one Sunday morning I sat my cheeseburger down to check on a trap. I walked back and the Big Guy was sitting on it. It appeared that using cheeseburgers as bait was a game-changer.”

“After that, I caught five cats in 20 minutes,” Buckingham said.

Step 4: Find a holding space. When you’re catching the cats one or two at a time, allow two to three days to trap, one day for spaying or neutering, and one to three days for post surgical recovery. During this period of four to seven days, find a good holding space. The space needs to be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit, protected from the elements and safe from strangers or other animals.

Step 5: Arrange for spay/neuter, traps and transportation. Once you gauge how many cats you will be catching, locate a low-cost spay/neuter provider and schedule appointments. Acquire traps, trap dividers and any other equipment you will need from a local trap bank or purchase one in your price range. Arrange transportation to and from the colony site and to the holding space. You might need a volunteer.

Step 6: Now it’s time to trap. Withhold food all day before trapping so the cats are hungry. This is paramount. Make sure to include this step into your routine or the cats won’t be hungry enough to go into the traps. On the scheduled day, transport the cats to the clinic, then pick them up and bring them to the holding space for recovery.

• Pro cat wrangler tip, if some cats slipped through your first round, keep trying to catch them for as long as the rest of the group is resting in the holding space. The hassle of scheduling appointments is usually less than trying to trap them after the other cats are loose.

Step 7: The cats will return to their normal routine. Your job will be to provide food and shelter, and to pay attention to new arrivals. Now, that most of the cats are fixed, the community will have less kittens.

All cats who went through the spay neuter program received yearly vaccines, and flea prevention.

“I love my cats. I love my colonies. They’re always waiting for me. Even in the rain, even in the snow. Last week, I was an hour late, they were still waiting,” Buckingham said. “You know their little paws had to be cold ‘cause they were holding them up.”

For more information about TNR go to:

• neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/getting-started/what-is-tnr

• alleycat.org/our-work/trap-neuter-return/

And for more information about free clinics in your area:

• hopespayneuter.org/spay-neuter-resources-ky--us.html