How to Start a Stray Feline Catch and Release Program

Stray cats are a problem for everyone. The average stray cat will kill around 200 birds, or other small wild animals per year. 2 unaltered felines that roam free and all their offspring can amount to up to 420,000 felines in a matter of 7 years. Most strays are either the product of abandonment or an unwanted litter. It's time we all do something to help.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Number to your local shelter
• Rental cat traps
• Number to a mobile spay clinic or low cost vet
• A desire to make a change

1. 
    

   The first place to start is the home. If you have a cat that likes to roam around outside make sure you have it spayed or neutered. Cats that are spayed or neutered are less likely to roam farther from your house, less likely to get into fights with other animals, and generally live a longer, happier, healthier life.

2. Next call the local vet or mobile spay/neuter clinic and ask for prices to have strays spayed/neutered. Some vets used to do free spaying or low cost spaying for caught strays but too many people have abused the privilege by doing their pets this way so they are harder to find.

3. Now call the local shelter or ASPCA and ask if they do any kind of catch and release program. The ASPCA will usually rent you traps to catch the strays and then transport them to the vet to be spayed or neutered. If they run a catch and release program of their own they may even tag the animal, microchipping them or clipping the ear, so that the animal can be identified in the future.

4. Lastly if you can get it done for them, have the vet do their vaccinations as well. Not only are stray cats spreading about litters of undomesticated kittens but they carry disease too and they cn spread this to your household pet as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your tax professional, you may be able to claim some of the money you spend at the end of the year.
• Always save all your receipts for anything you spend on helping strays.
• Who knows you may find yourself a very loving animal thats looking for a great home.
• Starting your own catch and release program can be costly, so do some shopping around to get the best prices.
• When working with a stray animal be aware that they may have never come into any direct contact with humans before, may attack, and could carry disease!
• It's your call to release the cat again or to find it a shelter, most places like the ASPCA, will just put the cat down, more often sooner than later, making spaying/neutering pointless.

[ScarlettOHairy]

on 2/1/2009 Great ideas to control feral cat populations. I love cats and wish I could adopt about 50 but... I can't!

[davidcavalier]

on 1/18/2009 I love cats 5*

[pappy537]

on 1/18/2009 I use a have-a-heart live trap to catch these little guys. I caught one that was so wild he tore up the cage and sh!t on himself when I approached him. He was reloacated to a riverpark where there was a rat problem. I make donations to the SPCA and they inturn treat my critters.

[besells]

on 1/14/2009 this is a great article! its something relatively easy we can all do to make the world a little better, eh? 5* and reccomended:)

[justmeboy22]

on 1/13/2009 thanks for the tips!!! i have 2 wonderful cats, theyre son indepent makes me mad!! 5****