Colonies: make a plan

Colonies: make a plan

Make a plan for the actual colony you are going to work with

If you are making a choice of colonies to tackle, prioritise the one with the largest number of kittens to have the greatest welfare impact. Understanding the population is important to planning, especially, for example, knowing the ratio of male to female cats to estimate neutering costs because of the price differential. Make a full inventory of the cats you plan to trap as a baseline:

• Include approximate ages, sex, colour and identification of any pregnant or sick cats and any kittens. Ensure that people doing the counting can differentiate between a healthy cat or kitten, and one which is ill or malnourished (assessment of cats’ health)
• Repeat at regular intervals
• If you are working at a larger scale you may need to take survey samples and use this to infer the whole population
• If you are counting cats you will need to consider where and when you record sightings. You cannot simply count the number of cats at one site where cats are more commonly found, and then use that figure to calculate density across the whole area. GPS, Apps (eg the OSM Tracker app for Android) or Google maps can be useful for assessing initial populations, ensuring return to the correct location, and analysing the impact of the TNR programme. For example, in the survey planning using Google Maps and Streetview you can:
  • Check parking
  • Find where you are going
  • Check access to property from the street
  • Use aerial view to show the whole area with other potential sites where the cats go and which may be interconnected (and you may not notice from the road)
  • Use aerial view to show you any likely food source in an adjacent property
• Other considerations when counting cats include weather, time of day, season and having a consistent methodology
• Do not rely on estimates from other people about the number of cats, as they are often inaccurate. You may also need to consider that some cats may be duplicated if they move between closely located colonies
• Have a fallback plan if the veterinary clinic clears slots ready to neuter cats but trappers are not able to catch the cats. For example, have some homing organisation cats starved on stand-by for neutering so the slot is not wasted. This will build up a relationship with the clinic so that they feel confident to book in significant operating time, knowing that they won’t be left without work if something goes wrong with the trapping.

Take details of who feeds the cats and whose property they are on:

• You will need the cooperation of all feeders involved so that food is withdrawn prior to trapping
• If the cats are not being fed then it may help to set up a short period of regular feeding, possibly using the unset traps in order to create a routine and familiarity

Have proof that you have permission from cat owners/carers (if there are any) and landowners to carry out TNR:

• You must ensure that carers understand any likely outcomes – for example, if a sick/injured cat is likely to be euthanised or the kittens of pregnant cats aborted
• Have an official contact number for the TNR programme that can be used by the public, vets and members of your team

Inform the local people of your plans to trap:

• Let the local community know when and where you are planning to trap and why advising them to keep their pet cats in at the times you are trapping
• You may also want to make a note of any pet cats that roam the area or sometimes appear at feeding times. It can be difficult to distinguish an unowned free-living cat from a pet cat that roams freely
• Identification by collar for pets may be useful for the duration of the trapping period
• If there is a population of owned cats that is not neutered it is recommended that you offer subsidised or free neutering to the owners as a way of controlling the wider population and reducing the future intake to the colony
• You may decide to use media to raise awareness of the TNR programme – this may be via traditional methods such as newspapers/radio/TV or using social media
• You may have access to volunteers or organisations with expertise in this area. The extent to which this is useful may depend on the size of the programme and/or the area you are covering

Make a plan with the vets you will be working with:

• Establish how many cats they can take in for neutering, at what times and on what days
• Ensure you have told the veterinarian what to do about testing for diseases like FIV, what other treatments they should give (if any), when it is appropriate to euthanise sick or injured cats, what to do about pregnant cats etc.
• You will want to agree beforehand details such as:
  • Type of spay surgery (midline or flank)
  • Early neutering of kittens
  • Pain relief
  • Use of antibiotics
• Most importantly you will need to make sure that they will ear tip all the cats to show that they have been neutered
• Confirm the cost of their services and when they need to be paid

Know what other facilities are available for the cats:

• If you intend to home any friendly cats (stray or abandoned pet cats) or young kittens you come across as part of the TNR process you will need to ensure there is a good quality homing centre which will be able to take them initially and home them quickly. You will need to agree in advance the type and number of cats they can manage
• If you are planning to use temporary accommodation such as foster homes, this must be well planned to avoid people becoming overwhelmed with too many cats or keeping them for too long
• If you do not plan to home any cats, or if the quality of any local homing centre is poor (and cats are likely to catch disease or become distressed there), then return any friendly cats or young kittens to site after neutering
• Setting up your own centre is costly and you must be absolutely certain that you are able to manage this well and have sufficient homes for pet cats to avoid their lengthy confinement

Don’t forget to check your equipment and safety procedures

Potential transfer of disease:

• Be aware that you may transfer infectious diseases to your own cats after contact with unowned cats. As well as thoroughly washing your hands you may need to change your clothes and remove shoes before going into your home
• Use a domestic wheelie bin as a trap-dipping bath to clean the traps

Preparing for trapping

> Trapping