There are many feral or community cats living on Vancouver island. These cats are unowned and living outside. They can either fend for themselves or have community members that will feed them. If left unchecked, these cats will breed and multiply very quickly.

Community cat vs Feral Cat

Feral refers to a behavior. It is not inherited and usually refers to a cat that has been unsocialized to humans. It is very rare that a feral cat past the age of 12-14 weeks will ever become socialized to humans. These cats were most likely born outside and never had the opportunity to meet and interact with humans when they were young. Feral cats tend to be avoidant and will run away.

A feral mom cat will most likely raise feral kittens unless someone intervenes at a young age to show the babies that humans are safe and reliable. But if a feral mom has kittens and those kittens are introduced to humans at a young age, they will grow up to be regular socialized cats.

Community cats on the other hand are also homeless cats living outside and fending for themselves. But these cats did have an opportunity to learn at a young age that humans are good and safe. They may approach you, ask for pats or food and sometimes have a lovely conversation with you (meowing of course). Both cats deserve to be spayed and neutered so they don’t continue to breed to death. The hope is that with community cats they can be rehomed, but feral cats usually can’t. For a feral cat, the most humane solution is Trap, Neuter Return (TNR). This is where we can help.

What is TNR?

TNR stands for “trap-neuter return.” It is the most humane method for reducing unowned cat populations, while simultaneously providing an opportunity to vaccinate and attend to minor medical concerns. The TNR process involves a coordinated effort on the part of many dedicated players.

1. Establish a feeding pattern, count the cats and set out shelters and feeding stations
2. Humanely trap unaltered individuals
3. Bring trapped cats into clinics where they are sterilized, vaccinated, microchipped, ear tipped and treated for minor ailments
4. Allow 24-48 hrs to recover
5. Return cats to their environment (or find homes for friendly, adoptable cats)
6. Provide continued food and shelter to cats post-TNR

Who does TNR?

Guess what! Everyone can. This is not a special skill. All you need is the time and the equipment. Many times community members will see a problem and knowing that there are not enough resources they will try and help the cats in their neighbourhood. To humanely trap a cat, all you need is:

1. The proper equipment (A live animal trap).
2. The time to feed and babysit the trap. It is inhumane to leave a trap unattended. Never ever set a trap and leave!
3. A quiet location to house them before and after surgery
4. The funds to pay for their spay or neuter

What does the spay and neuter cruiser do?

We believe strongly in the benefits of TNR. If you want to trap a feral or community cat and get it sterilized we will get them an appt. It’s important to know that housing a feral cat for weeks on end waiting for a surgery appointment is detrimental to their health. If you have trapped a feral cat and want to proceed with surgery, please call us and we will try and book you in within a day or two if possible. The costs to sterilize a feral cat are the same as the cost for an owned friendly cat, but we will work hard to do it as soon as possible. We do not cover the cost of the surgery. You must have the funds available to pay for them to be sterilized.

I don’t have the equipment?

Trapping equipment can be very expensive. If you don’t have a quality live animal trap here are some places you can go to for help:

1. The CRD may lend out live animal traps for use by the public (Subject to availability).
2. The SPCA may lend out live animal trap for use by the public (Subject to availability).
3. Broken Promises Rescue can try and help trap a feral cat (Subject to resources).
4. Dee’s Orphan Fund can try and help trap a feral cat (Subject to resources).
5. Greater Victoria Animal Crusaders can try and help trap a feral cat (Subject to resources).
6. The spay and neuter cruiser will rent out trapping equipment for the public to use.

How does your rental program work?

We use tomahawk live animal traps for our rental program. The fee to rent the trap is $20 per week. This covers the cost of sanitizing and maintaining the traps.

However, it is important to note that in order to rent one of our traps, you will need to leave a deposit of $250 (the cost of a new trap). Once you return the trap, we will deduct the rental fee from your deposit and refund the remaining money.

All traps must be returned clean and damage free. If you have not returned the trap within 30 days of your rental ending, we will use your deposit to buy a replacement trap to keep the rental program going and will no longer offer a refund of your deposit even if you return the trap.

Once you have your cat in a trap, call us to schedule an emergency spay and neuter. Your feral cat must come in the trap for us to sedate them safely. You will need to house them for an additional 24 hours post surgery and then you can release them back to their outdoor home.