6:32 a.m.
Sunday, May 29, 2016 6:31 am

Around this time of year, shelters see an influx in stray cats. Although this is typically referred to as "kitten season" because of the high number of newborn kittens, plenty of adult cats arrive at the shelter during this time. In fact, "kitten season" often brings with it an increase in feral cats being taken to shelters. When the weather is warm, people spend more time outdoors and, as a result, are more aware of stray and feral cats, leading to their capture and transport to a shelter.

Feral cats are not the same as stray cats. A stray cat has lived in a home before and may still trust and rely on people. Feral cats, on the other hand, have no relationship with people and are more similar to wild animal than a housecat. Feral cats are not adoptable; they do not want to live in a home. That being said, the increase in feral cats being brought to shelters at this time of year is challenging. If they are not adoptable, what is a shelter supposed to do with them?

Years ago, feral cats brought into shelters would've been euthanized. They could not live in a home and shelters could not care for them indefinitely, so euthanizing them was considered to be the most humane option. Nowadays, programs are in place at shelters to help better control the feral cat population and offer alternatives to euthanizing them.

Trap-Neuter-Return programs, also known as TNR, are becoming increasingly popular and are the ideal solution to the problem of feral cats. While some shelters have their own TNR programs that they run and manage, others partner with local groups and assist with the spay/neuter portion of the program. With TNR programs, feral cats are caught in humane traps, fixed and ear-tipped, and then returned to their feral cat colony. Once returned, they are no longer able to keep breeding and creating an endless cycle of feral cats. The ear tip, which is performed while the cat is under anesthesia, is a visual representation that a cat has been fixed so it's not trapped again. Once an entire colony has been fixed, the cats will live out their natural lives and, over the years, the population of the colony will decline on its own.

TNR programs are great because they are quick, easy, and allow feral cats to continue living the lives they are most comfortable with - ones that don't include people! Sometimes, though, cats are brought in that are not from a colony or the person who found the cat is unwilling to bring it back to where they caught it (this typically happens when people want feral cats removed from their property). For CVHS, from this problem arose the Barn Cat Program.

The Barn Cat Program has made a tremendous difference at our shelter and in the way we are able to help animals. For some cats, a home life is just not possible. They are either too fearful of people or too aggressive to be safely placed in a home. With the Barn Cat Program, feral cats, often in pairs, are adopted with the intention of allowing them to live outside, usually in a barn. Barn Cats are given regular food and water and a warm, dry place in a barn or shed to call home but have the freedom to come and go as they please without ever needing to interact with people. In return, these cats often prove to be great mousers and keep the barns free of pests. Just like with the TNR program, all cats that are part of the Barn Cat Program are fixed prior to leaving the shelter so they cannot keep reproducing.

Thanks to spaying and neutering, we are working towards decreasing the feral cat population. If there are feral cats in your neighborhood, contact your local shelter about what programs are in place to help get the cats fixed.

Alaina Goodnough is the Promotions Coordinator at Cocheco Valley Humane Society in Dover, NH. She lives in Sanford, ME with two parrots, a cockatoo, a cat, and two dachshunds. She can be reached at CVHS at devassist@cvhsonline.org. To learn more about Cocheco Valley Humane Society, go to www.cvhsonline.org or call 603-749-5322.