Animal Welfare Professionals

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------

My shelter has a lot of property (wooded with dog walking trails) around our building and has had an ongoing situation with an outdoor cat colony growing and being fed on the far edge of our property (not visible from our building or parking lot). We have TNR'ed (had all the cats altered) there over the past two years, but it continues to be a messy eyesore where 2-5 people come every day to feed the cats and leave poorly made housing, plates, wet food tins, etc. We get A LOT of calls about the Cats On The Corner because it's highly visible from the road. 

We have made a decision to embrace our little colony and try to turn it into an education opportunity.  We are getting some nice sturdy well-made cat houses donated. We are going to build a feeding station. We are going to work on moving all those items farther away from the road onto our property (but where the feeders can see it when they pull up in the grass). We also want to add signs to (1) explain that the colony is managed, (2) provide tips for caring for outdoor cats, and (3)share information on our TNR program. 

I would love to hear from anyone who has tried something like this and has any "pro tips" for us to keep in mind. We have had a TNR program to help locals for a few years, but don't have any colonies we're explicitly associated with and monitoring publicly. I'm excited to address this situation that has been hovering over us for years - but I'm also  worried it might lead to more cats being abandoned at the location. 

#CommunityCatManagement
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
Erin Dams
Community Relations Coordinator
Roanoke Valley SPCA
Roanoke VA
------------------------------