Animal Welfare Professionals

Check out my new blog post on AnimalSheltering.org about the life-saving program Return-to-Field and the new RTF Handbook authored by myself, Susan Richmond of Neighborhood Cats, Karen Little of Alley Cat Advocates and Danielle Bays of the Humane Society of the United States: https://www.animalsheltering.org/blog/you-too-can-launch-return-field-program;  The handbook was recently published by HSUS and is available in print and for free download.  Comment on the blog and let me know what you think!

Thanks for sharing this and co-authoring your new RTF Handbook, Bryan! I love the opening story about the ginger cat in the blog post. Seeing him rub noses with his friend upon returning home must have been so rewarding. 

I encourage anyone considering launching a Return To Field program to read the blog and download the handbook -- it's a fantastic resource!

Awesome blog post, and the handbook looks like an excellent resource!

This may be a silly question - but does anyone know if RTF (return-to-field) different than TNR (trap-neuter-return)? Or is it just a naming preference? Maybe regional? Etc.

My group is primarily a TNR group and I've attended a lot of events/conferences related to the topic, but have never heard the term RTF before joining this forum :)

Hi Erin,

Return-to-field, also called shelter-neuter-return, is a variation of TNR. With TNR you identify a cat or a colony, then go trap, vet and return. Return-to-field is where a cat comes in to an animal shelter or animal control agency because a member of the public brought the cat in or an animal control officer trapped the cat as a result of a call/complaint, then the cat is admitted to the shelter, then, if deemed eligible, vetted and returned back to where the cat was found. A lot of the mechanics are the same. The differences can be a bit "inside baseball" but the stuff Bryan, Suzi, Karen and I like to talk about.

There is a lot of good information in the handbook, which is free to download, including information on RTF collaborations between municipal shelters and TNR groups. We aimed to provide helpful information for a wide range of folks.

Danielle