the back-story

(how it all started...with a trap and the best of intentions)

Like most individuals involved in TNR (Trap, neuter, Return), I did not set out to work with feral cats.  I became involved in TNR in direct response to the situation (quite literally) in my own backyard.  In Nov. of  2007, my husband and I moved from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn into a house on Staten Island.  We quickly discovered that the house we had purchased came with a neighborhood full of un-neutered cats.  In place of a house-warming party, we were treated (subjected?) to nightly rounds of howling and yowling; soon accompanied by mating calls as spring approached.  We knew the situation needed to be addressed, and soon; not only for the sake of our sleep and sanity, but in order to avoid the inevitable conclusion: kittens.

We had never heard the term, “TNR.”  But we did the only thing that made sense; we stepped up.
 We did some research, discovered Neighborhood Cats, and attended a TNR-training course.  One month later, we had fixed 19 cats, and placed 4 adults and 4 kittens…despite having to travel to acquire traps, and for sterilization services.  We were determined.  We now live on a street that has seen NO kittens in over 4 years, and where the only regular squabbling occurs inside the house, over the best spot for a nap.  Through attrition, the outside cat count has dwindled from 19 to 8.  And keep in mind that our success should be measured not by contrasting 8 to 19, but by contrasting 8 to what the count would  have been had those 19 cats, (and their kids and grandkids and third cousins by marriage twice removed,)  been reproducing for the past 4+ years.

We are living proof that TNR does work, and that when you combine community motivation with accessible resources, the landscape can be changed for the better.   Our efforts were so clearly and immediately successful that we were inspired to create a community service non-profit with the primary mission of facilitating that same success in every neighborhood on Staten Island.  In 2009, we began instructing the NC certification course on SI – and today are proud to claim 550 TNR-certified citizens, with that number growing steadily.  We have now wholly eliminated the majority of obstacles we experienced during our project, and we help newly trained trappers navigate the rest.  We instruct regular TNR-certification courses on the island, manage a free trap bank available to all certified SI residents, and provide ongoing support to all trained trappers, as well as connecting them with other certified caretakers in their neighborhood.  We advocate, above all else, responsible compassion in the community.  In reality, we support “TNVRRM,” or “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Recover, Return, Monitor,” but that’s clunky to put on a bumper sticker, and even more difficult to say without looking at your cue cards.

TNR just makes sense.  It is, very simply, the only proven method for long-term, humane, cost effective management of the free-roaming cat population.  TNR has a direct and immediate positive impact on quality of life both for the cats and for the community.  The aim of TNR is a smaller, healthier, managed population.  TNR is good for the cats but, equally as important, it’s good for the community.  TNR means fewer cats on the street, yes – ultimately fewer cats in the shelter and lower costs for Animal Control agencies, and fewer complaints from the public.  TNR also eliminates the source of most of those complaints – raging hormones!

TNR is a certainly a method whose time has come; we know this both as animal advocates and as pragmatists.  It has also come time for our city to stand behind those who are striving valiantly to improve the situation today.   We firmly believe that TNR should be mandated as the ONLY acceptable approach to managing the free-roaming cat population in NYC...and then facilitated to the fullest possible extent by the city whose best interest it serves.  This will be the gist of our blog - we aim to alter hearts and minds, not merely cats.