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Trap - Spay - Neuter - Release Program
FCC Organization (Feral Cat Coalition) formed by Sally Mackler and Rochelle Brinton DVM.

Many animal organizations recommend the S-N-R Program to help the Feral cat population and put a stop - or at least a partial stop - to the ever expanding problem with “wild”- feral cats.

The program basically concentrates on trapping these animals, spay/neuter them (health check and necessary vaccinations included) and release them again. A study shows that this program is working. San Diego Department of Animal Control reports that while the number of cats adopted or claimed by owners has been fairly constant over the years, there has been a decrease of almost 50% in the number of cats impounded and killed within 5 years. Before this program started, the number of impounded and killed cats had been going up around 15% every year! That means that due to the spay/neutering efforts less kittens are born in the wild and less cats/kittens have to be put to sleep.

Feral cats have their origin in house cats that are “released” by their owners. Be it because of moving, laziness, carelessness, or other reasons, many cat owners - unfortunately- still believe that their pet will survive when let go. The fact is that domesticated animals have lost their instinct for hunting and surviving on their own. Cars and other predators kill many. Another problem is that a great number of these “left behind cats” are neither spayed nor neutered. Their offsprings are now born in the wild and turn into feral cats.

Just to show some mind-bugging numbers: A pair of feral cats can have two or more litters per year. Over a period of seven years the cat population can exponentially increase by ~420,000 offsprings! This is a theoretical number; since many kittens born in the wild do not survive too long, feral cats have also a higher rate of aborting a litter, mainly due to diseases. Nevertheless, even if you cut this number in half, it’s an unbelievable increase, started only by ONE pair of feral cats!

In response to this staggering problem, Sally Mackler and Rochelle Brinton DVM formed the Feral Cat Coalition. The FCC is an organization that traps and spays/neuters feral cats, then returns them to their caretakers. This service is provided to the community at no cost by licensed veterinarians and volunteers with one goal in mind: reducing the enormous number of homeless, unwanted cats.

The trap-neuter-release is the single most successful method of stabilizing and maintaining healthy feral cat colonies. The cost for this program is minimal compared to others and it provides the best possible life for the animals themselves. Spaying and neutering homeless cats stabilize the population and is humane to the animals. In general the trapped and then neutered cats are released back at the location where they were found. This eliminates their space being taken over by other cats that would start the breeding process again.

Trapping feral cats is definitely not an easy task. Most people who have experienced feral cats in their backyard know that they are very suspicious and shy away from human beings. Kittens already learn form their feral mother to avoid human contact, even it’s a little easier to trap them. I blame this in the curiosity factor and lack of experience.

The best preparation to trap a feral cat or a feral cat colony is to start feeding them. Food and water placed in a save place with attracted the cats. Within a few days they will come and expect to be fed. First place the food rather far away from your house. You can slightly decrease the distance over the first few weeks. I have made the experience with a feral mother cat and 3 kittens (later 2, one seemed to have disappeared or died) that they actually let me put the food and water bowl right besides them after about 5 to 7 days. There was some hissing from the mother cat, but never an attack on me.

You can then start the actual trapping procedure. (Sources where you can borrow/rent traps are mentioned at the end of this article). If you intend to trap a larger colony, get several traps!
I did not have a trap to begin with and started putting their food in a large dog carrier. For several days I left the door open so the cats could walk in and out freely. Soon the kittens lost their fear about this carrier, and one even took it up as her personal relaxation spot. She preferred to sit in that carrier, watching the yard and what was going on from this safe spot. Within a week I had all 3 kittens in the carrier at the same time and was able to shut the door. The mother cat was not happy but kept roaming around the carrier. By doing some research I found out that the trapped kittens could be used as a bait to catch the mother. I put another carrier, this one from my domestic cats, in front of the large carrier and put some irresistible salmon in this one. Within minutes the mother cat jumped into the carrier, probably to get the salmon, but also to attempt to get to her kittens. Door closed - success!

So far I have not managed to find the “Daddy”of all these kittens. I highly assume that the males are located at another neighbor’s yard and don’t show up in my place.

Unfortunately the kittens have been already too old to be accepted by a shelter for adoption. According to experts, feral kittens over the age of 8 to 10 weeks are hard to domesticate and therefore are not accepted by shelters.

The cats are now neutered, got their shots and will be released in a short time. I asked for re-location because my 2 domestic house cats have been very upset about the addition in the backyard. The yard was also off-limits for my little 7-lbs dog, because most cats just went after him and tried to attack.

In the meantime I spotted another female, pregnant which whom I started the feeding process recently. This time, having more knowledge and experience, I will try and catch the kittens earlier so they get a chance for adoption. A female cat that found a food source will first hide her kittens as long as she is nursing. As soon as the kittens are about 6 to 8 weeks old she will take them with her to the feeding place. If you intend to trap them, don’t wait too long! The longer these kittens are living a feral live, the harder it is to catch them and you will lessen their chance of being domesticated and adopted.

More information to help you with trapping: