Animal Welfare Professionals

This is probably going to be a controversial topic. Let me start by saying this does not include the feral cat population as we all know there is a difference between stray and feral cats. On that note, however, I am seeing a surge of stray cats and because they are now labeled as community cats,  they are being left with no community assistance. And by that, I mean no chance for survival. One thing that has always been ingrained in me was, "an inside cat is an alive cat." 

The term community cat is leading to more and more stray cats to fend for themselves when the focus, I feel, should be getting them off the streets and into homes and not die due to unforeseen circumstances. As a volunteer, I have come across shelters that either refuse to accept them or send them right back to the streets. I don't see how this is helpful for the community or the cats.

I welcome feedback and solutions that maybe others have come up with.

Hello, here is the research we used when developing our pathway planning for cats/kittens. We're always looking to the leaders in the industry. I'm confident this will help answer some of your concerns with data, as it was super helpful for our team!

• Best Friends Animal Society Community Cat Programs Handbook: https://network.bestfriends.org/education/manuals-handbooks-playbooks/community-cat-programs-handbook   

• Rethinking the Animal Shelter's Role in Free-Roaming Cat Management: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.847081/full 
• Best Friends Community Cat Resources: https://resources.bestfriends.org/advocacy/community-cats 
• Million Cat Challenge Pathway Planning for Cats 
• Million Cat Challenge – The Cat Superhighway webinar: https://www.millioncatchallenge.org/resources/webinars/cat-superhighway 
• Team Shelter USA - Community Cat Programs Handout 
• Managing Community Cats: A Guide for Municipal Leaders: https://humanepro.org/page/managing-community-cats-guide-municipal-leaders 
• How to Trap a Feral Cat for TNR: https://youtu.be/wF_omFE7Etc 

• Alley Cat Advocates Return to Field Handbook: https://icatcare.org/app/uploads/2020/10/return-to-field-handbook.pdf 
• Neighborhood Cat project: A Lifesaving Community Cat Program by Wenatchee Valley Humane Society 

Hi Melissa. I appreciate and agree with your concern about letting stray cats fend for themselves outside. However, the term "community cats" is not the problem.  As you say, rescuers know the difference between feral and stray/friendly cats. None of the rescuers/rescuer organizations I volunteer with want to release friendlies or make it a policy to release friendlies. Unfortunately, there is often no other option besides euthanizing the cat. I am based in Brooklyn, NY. The cat population is out of control as a result of unsterilized indoor/outdoor pets, dumped pets, and store cats continuing to fuel the cat overpopulation crisis. TNR volunteers can't keep up. Shelters are over capacity. Adoptions have been slow for several years. Foster homes are hard to find, especially during the summer travel season. Things won't get better until the local government, or one of the big organizations that has a lot of resources, invest in programs to educate the public about sterilizing their pets and makes low-cost spay/neuter services available. We also need better laws and enforcement about sterilizing owned indoor/outdoor cats, including store cats.  At least in NYC, we also need more affordable housing that allows pets so we can open up more homes.

Although NYC has some low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter programs, they provide only a fraction of the appointments needed. Furthermore, only a small percentage of those appointment are available to individual pet owners (as opposed to TNR certified rescuers). Last year, for the first time ever, rescuers successfully lobbied the NYC Council to fund a low-cost spay/neuter program. $500,000 was allocated to provide 3,500 spay/neuter appointments - a drop in the bucket, but a start! This year, after more lobbying by rescuers, the NYC Council allocated $750,000 for a low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter program and $750,000 for pet food pantries. These are pilot programs. Hopefully, they will make a difference and encourage greater municipal funding in the future. 

------------------------------
Jean Bubley
Volunteer
Cat rescue organizations
NY
------------------------------