Our Two Year Feral TNR Anniversary

With September comes the second anniversary of our Trap-Neuter-Return effort with our neighborhood feral cat colony. We have to thank the wonderful people at Wild At Heart and the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. The process has proved to be intense and interesting while simultaneously tedious, time consuming, and slow. However, we are showing that TNR does work with the proper persistence.  Persistence is the key, because without it, if we quit, the colony would again increase in size over time.  

Buddy, our colony mascot, supervising the garden
from a sunny high point the day before he disappeared
for good. We suspect that curiosity may have gotten
the best of him.

We've experimented with a lot of traps and tools. We've tracked the population and watched it fluctuate both up and down. We've done our best to record all of the data that we can. Call it a scientific approach to feral cat management. We've been fortunate to find homes for some kittens while they were young enough and unfortunate to find the remains of the others that nature deemed not so lucky. We have never found a dead adult cat and we often ponder about what happened to them when they do disappear. The population is currently half of what it was at its highest point and we can only imagine in dread at the large number of cats there would be if we had not started this project two years ago. We are still optimistic that our efforts will someday lead to a humane end for the entire colony.

"I was told there would be pizza and beer."

We should also say that we have been pleasantly entertained by the cats (at times). It is important to remember that these animals did not have a choice in their current situation. We are witness to the behaviors that have bound Felis Catus to human societies for thousands of years. We choose to observe them in this environment only because there are there, just as they observe us because we are here. Their intra-colony relationships and hierarchies can be quite interesting, and their silly behaviors provide some good laughs. They are ultimately doomed to the same fate as their ancestors before them, just as we are. We can only do our part to prevent their offspring from that fate by directly preventing the creation of offspring while, at the same time, not punishing these cats for simply existing.

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"What have you done to me!? Why is the room spinning!?"

"What do you guys think these are for?" This is the day we bought our traps.

"Thank you Giant Bipedal Mammals. I will spare you...for now."

Feral #37

This was one of quickest captures ever.  It took less than 5 minutes.

"Tawny Tabby"

This brown tabby cat has been in the yard a few times, but we mostly see her in our utility easement. The first time we spotted her, she had a small kitten in tow. We attempted to get the kitten, came really close, but it ended up escaping. Since we knew this cat was still nursing, we decided to wait and let her become more comfortable around us so we could trap her easily once the kitten was fully weaned.  This worked.  We lowered the trap over the fence into the utility easement with some wet food and she went right in! Unfortunately, the kitten is much too old for the Humane Society to socialize now, so we'll have to fix it eventually.  Since it is around most of the time and is clearly interested in us, it shouldn't be too difficult.  We just need to spend a bit more time getting it used to the trap.  As a side note, the kitten came over to greet 'mom' when we released her.  It was super cute.

Feral #36 and Numbers Update

This catch is particularly exciting! This cat has been pregnant many times and we're glad she won't have any more kittens after today.

"The Visitor"

"The Visitor" is an interesting case. She has been present since the beginning of this project, but she has been the most elusive and stubborn cat we've come across. At one point, we determined that she was not a true member of the colony and this probably contributed to her behavior. She would venture through the yard without stopping. We would put traps in her usual route hoping to get her, but to no avail. Members of the colony seemed to strangely tolerate her, as member cats chase away other cats that aren't part of the colony, but not her. 

She is the mother of the kittens from our last post. In the past, we have seen her slowly grow to full term pregnancy, disappear for a few days, and come back not pregnant. However, we never saw her with kittens. This time was different. After giving birth, she was around all day every day. After about 5 weeks, we finally saw the kittens and were able to get them to the humane society for socializing and adoption.

Now that we knew she wasn't nursing any more, we set out on a mission to trap her. We were nervous that after we took the kittens, she would revert to her wandering ways. She had never been in a trap and couldn't figure it out, though she clearly wanted the food we put in it. Eventually, the drop trap we sometimes use turned out to be the winning ticket! Her legacy as a mother can finally end and she can live out the rest of her life without having to deal with the relentless pursuit of unfixed males and the inevitable pregnancies & kitten rearing that follow.

Numbers Update

It's been few months since the last numbers update. There was a slight uptick in the spring while other unfixed male cats were roaming through the area regularly, but there has been a slight downward trend in population this year overall. The colony has had an overall downward trend in population since we started this project twenty-one months ago, and it is almost half the size it was a year ago. For more information about how these numbers are generated, please check out our post about our Procedural Population Tracking.

Fresh Feral Kittens #5 - 8, Straight from the Garden

Kitten season is here and we have been on the lookout, keeping our eyes and ears open. We try to find any kittens we can (as early as we can) and get them to the local humane society to help them avoid the feral life.

There is an unfixed female that we have been trying to catch for the longest time. She comes through the yard, but never stops. We've placed traps in her usual path with moist food, but that isn't enough to distract her from whatever mission she is on. We could tell by her size that she was pregnant, and then she didn't show up for a couple of days. When she did come back, she wasn't pregnant any more. This isn't the first time she's pulled this over on us. However, we have never actually seen her with kittens in tow. We assumed it would be the same this time around.

This is when things changed. She was suddenly around all day, every day. We knew this was odd, and while we didn't want to jinx the possibility, we assumed the kittens must be close by. The weather was really nice and then changed to cold & snowy for a few days. On Saturday, the weather warmed up and the sun came out. That's when we saw them. They are about 5 weeks old and this was probably their first day outside of the den (under a pile of brush). They were laying in a group, enjoying the sunshine. Mom is skittish of us, of course, and ran off when we approached. However, the kittens just looked at us and didn't fuss one bit while we picked them up. We took them to the local humane society where they tend to have plenty of foster moms at this time of year. They will be socialized and once old enough and friendly enough, they will be great candidates for adoption.

Feral #35

It was unseasonably warm again this week which made for another perfect weekend to wrangle another new feral.

"Skulking Small Black with No Name"

This is another black cat with no distinguishing features. We have only seen her in the yard a couple of times and suspect she is part a litter from last summer; probably a sibling of the kitten we found in August. She came into the yard keeping herself low to the ground, investigated the traps and skulked away. She explored more parts of the yard and ended up back at the trap. After a little more investigation, she decided it was safe enough and went in to eat. An easy catch!

Feral #34 and 2017 Start-up Statistics

It has been unseasonably warm recently and the cats have really been out and about (enjoying the end of mating season). We thought we'd take a shot at trapping and ended up getting lucky, leading to this Valentine's Day sterilization! 

"Slender Blue Blind Eye"

This cat is another one of the extremely skittish cats in the colony and is blind in his left eye. We have known about him for some time, but he does not come in the yard if we are there. So after some time watching the traps outside, we decided to switch up our plan and run the trap trigger strings inside and watch from the back door. We had some of the stinky wet food in the traps, so it didn't take long for him to finally come into the yard. He went right in the trap, but the rope we use to trigger the trap broke when we pulled it; such a feeling of defeat. We went out, scared him out of the trap and re-tied the rope. We didn't expect him to come back, but he must have really liked the food. Within a few minutes, he was back and we got him!

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Tracking the cats during the cold months is difficult because they are hiding, trying to stay warm. Since it has been so warm recently, we've been able to update our tracking numbers to a point where we feel comfortable marking today as the starting point for 2017. March and April are technically the snowiest months here, but if current trends are any indication, that won't matter much this year. You can read more about our tracking method by clicking here.

Gatti Liberi, the Free Cats of Italy

Happy National Feral Cat Day!  In honor of the day, I’d like to share what I consider to be a great success story in the management and humane treatment of feral cats.  

Triestine Gatti Liberi.

Every couple of years, for quite awhile now, I’ve visited Trieste, Italy for work.  I’ve been impressed by the decrease in the number of feral cats roaming the city during that time, and the increase in the number of fixed cats (made obvious by the ear-tipping).  My supervisor, who has visited Trieste for many more years than I have (and lived there for awhile), even told me on my first visit that the number cats used to be much greater, so clearly something had changed.  On my last visit, I asked about this and was told that the decrease was essentially due to efforts of local organizations, and one was mentioned as being very important to this effort, the Associazione Il Gattile, founded in 1996.  Lacking time, my inquiry ended there, but this post gave me an excuse to examine it further. With that said, I wrote Il Gattile recently, and would like to give them a very big thank-you for providing me with more information for this post!

My dinner companion on an empty restaurant patio the first ever evening I spent in Trieste.  Back then I had no idea what the ear tip meant.

Starting with the basics… stray cats in Italy are not called “feral” cats, they are “free” cats.  Free as in freely living, liberated, not no-cost and free for the taking. I find that about 25% of the cats I’ve encountered in colonies are not truly feral by our standards either.  Some are quite friendly, and happy to associate with you while you visit their park. Some are more suspicious of strangers, but warm up if you offer food, and I imagine they are completely socialized to their caregiver.  Most of the photos I've put in this post suggest most of the cats are really friendly with strangers, but that's just because it's hard to photograph a cat that is quickly running away from you.

This local forest dwelling cat looks truly free. 

Gatti liberi are protected by Italian law, specifically by an animal welfare law that was passed in 1991, making Italy the first no-kill country in the world.  This law spells out a number of rules for free cat colonies and their gattara/o (their caregivers). Apparently, this law will also be updated soon to include more companion animals (not just cats and dogs) and stronger animal welfare regulation.  

"I'm king of this jungle."

By law, gatti liberi have the right to stay in any location they’ve claimed as their home.  Caregivers are supposed to spay/neuter them, register them, maintain their health (e.g. take them to a vet when necessary), and feed them, while respecting the location of the colony and other people (e.g., cats are to be fed at regular times, in a sheltered location that is not under a car, and trays are not to be left behind).

A very friendly gatti liberi enjoying a good neck scratch.

There are over 630 feline colonies registered in the Province of Trieste.  I can’t help but imagine 630 colonies that are the size of the one we work with, and gasping at that number (that would be a lot of cats!), but I know that the one we work with is not typical by any means.  In my limited experience in Trieste, a colony is usually no more than a few cats in a park, near a particular group of houses, or by an apartment complex.  

Another park dweller, enjoying the fresh air.  This was one of the few cats I saw on my last visit without an ear tip.  I tried to talk to its caregiver, who I ran into a few days later, since I wanted to ask about the cats, but only managed to say "hello" and "pretty cat" (given my exceptionally limited Italian and her not speaking English). 

The obvious population decrease, even given the number of registered colonies, has been due to spay/neuter campaigns and changes in animal welfare education.  The Associazione Il Gattile spays/neuters about 1000 cats per year, finds home for about 400 orphaned, abandoned, or lost cat/kittens per year, and their volunteers have participated in hundreds of spay/neuter campaign trappings.  Other vets in the province also provide spay/neuter services to help control the free cat population. Il Gattile will also provide shelter to free cats that in danger because their home is or has become unsuitable (e.g. living near a busy road) or there is a health threat.

Construction zone cat.

Education, the support of the Italian government, local organizations, and a well-ingrained cat culture has clearly led to healthy, well-cared for cat colonies in the Trieste region, and the work to keep the population of cats healthy and in check is to be commended.  

Il Parco del Castello di Miramare and one of its many residents.

Our nation could perhaps learn from this example.  We may not have the same cat culture, but with more education and will, perhaps we’d see fewer poorly managed, unhealthy colonies, and fewer abandoned cats to begin with.  Personally, we cannot condone letting cats be outdoors on purpose, unless leashed. They are subject to predatory wildlife, roads, and malicious people, and they certainly do kill birds (we have none within at least a 1 block radius, and any that mistakenly land here quickly end up dead and become a feral cat toy).  Plus, letting your cat or dog outside off-leash is illegal in our town, and many others, to start. However, when confronted with an unadoptable feral colony that didn’t ask to be there in the first place, we can condone healthy (fed, sheltered, fixed, and vaccinated), zero birth rate colonies.  We don’t like the "management" alternatives.  Kudos to Alley Cat Allies for fueling the U.S. cat revolution and organizing National Feral Cat Day.  We hope their influence continues to spread!

Another gratuitous park cat photo.

And another.

And to close, one of the many resident cats on the not too far away island of Burano, Italy.