As you may know, cats are seasonal breeders and typically can have 2-3 litters of kittens during the warmer months of the year. In Montgomery County alone, there are tens of thousands of community cats roaming the streets. Out of these cats, we know that 97 percent of them are statistically not spayed or neutered and therefore can reproduce.
Although many comments we hear fall into the “just trap and euthanize the cats” theory, we know that this is not an effective or ethical solution to the problem. For decades, euthanasia has been used in cities throughout the country as a tool to try to manage the cat-overpopulation problem. Simply put, it does not work. Communities cannot adopt their way out of this problem and they cannot euthanize their way out of this problem; cats reproduce too quickly and there are too many of them reproducing.
The Humane Society of Greater Dayton is using a proactive program to stop cat reproduction in its tracks safely and humanely. It is called Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). As you may know, our community is not the only one in the nation dealing with this issue and with time, TNR has proven to be an effective and humane approach to addressing and lowering the cat population in cities nationwide.
With the help of concerned cities, citizens, volunteers and staff members, the Humane Society targets communities and humanely traps unidentified, free-roaming cats. These unowned cats are brought back to our shelter where they are spayed or neutered and vaccinated. During surgery, their left ear is also “tipped.”Ear-tipping removes a ¼ inch off of the top of a cat’s left ear. This ear-tip is the universal sign that the cat has been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
Once the cat recovers from surgery, the healthy stray cats that are at least six months old and have an apparent food source (based on body condition) are placed back where they were originally trapped. If TNRed cats are trapped in the future, they can be released immediately with this visual identification.
Returning a cat to its original habitat after it has been spayed/neutered and vaccinated is the most effective and humane way to control the population of outdoor free-roaming cats. Not only does it save the cat’s life, but it prevents it from reproducing and drastically reduces the number of free-roaming cats over time. Yes, cats are returned to the area where they were trapped, and if you thought they were a nuisance, then we can understand why you don’t want them returning. However, when you spay or neuter a cat, you are not only stopping them from reproducing, but you are making them less of a nuisance. When you take away their ability to mate, they stop spraying, yowling and causing many of the issues people complain about.
We strongly believe that Trap-Neuter-Return is the most humane and effective solution to the cat problem that is occurring throughout the Miami Valley. As the saying goes, it takes a village. The cat overpopulation problem will never be solved by one person or one organization. We as a community must come together, create a plan for all of the cities in the Miami Valley and then work together to fix this problem. If you would like more information on trapping cats or would like to report problem areas in your neighborhood, contact the Humane Society at (937) 268-PETS (7387).
Brian Weltge is the President and CEO of the Humane Society of Greater Dayton. The Humane Society of Greater Dayton is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that receives no county or state funding and is not affiliated with any other organizations. It is the area’s largest “no-kill” animal welfare agency and relies solely on individual and company donations as well as grants to run all programs and services. For more information, visit www.hsdayton.org.
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