Koteria
Warszawa ( mapka )
ul. Chrzanowskiego 13
tel.: 535 870 225
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TNR

TNR - Trap - Neuter - Return (in Polish: Złap-Wykastruj-Wypuść)
(The term comes from the English language. We borrowed it from the Neighbourhood Cats, an American organization, which for many years has been caring for the free-living cats and promoting spaying/neutering treatments. The Organization's head-quarter is located in New York. They are authors of the TNR Handbook, and other materials we use. For many years, they have provided trainings for carers of the free-living cats.)
It is the humane way of managing the colony of the free-living cats and reducing its number. The procedure involves catching cats of a particular colony, spaying/neutering them, identifying them by marking an ear of the spayed/neutered cat, vaccinating, de-fleaing and releasing them to the territory they have been taken from. As far as possible, the tame adult cats and kittens that have a chance for socialization and finding homes, are collected. A role of the care giver (feeder) is to control whether there are any new cats in the colony and to prevent conflicts with the environment/ neighbourhood.

Advantages of TNR

  1. Control over the size of the cat population (the lack of new litters; gradual reduction of the herd population)
  2. Less noise disturbing the neighbours (the cat fights and their laud behaviour in March) - this problem disappears when the spaying/neutering treatments are in place.
  3. Less odour (Problem of the territory marking by the non-castrated males, intense smell of cat urine causing the presence of testosterone, disappears as the result of the neutering).
  4. Healthy cats, do not attract an excessive attention of the environment. Factors such as: spaying/neutering, regular feeding and provision of an adequate shelter to them, have a huge impact on their health. One of the advantages is the reduction of susceptibility of infection with parasites, including fleas. Besides, the neutered cats are less ubiquitous, making them less noticeable to the environment.
  5. Less sadness and suffering. You do not need to look at the numerous undernourished or dying cats and sick kittens.
  6. Preventing emergence of rats. Cats naturally protect us against rats. Rodents are already afraid of the smell of cats.
  7. Improving relations between the neighbours - preventing hostility/aversion towards cats and their carers.
There is no effective alternative solution:
  1. Catching the cats and transporting them to another location does not fulfil its role due to:
    1. the so called vacuum effect (in the abandoned environment the new free-living cats will appear and the cycle will start again). This phenomenon has been observed and named by a biologist, Roger Tabor, who studied habits of urban cats in London. The elimination of food sources is not possible: it may be anything: a waste chute, trash, or just food from random people. Stopping people from feeding is impossible in practice - even penalties/fines do not frighten them.
    2. the cats that have not been captured will continue to reproduce
    3. the appearance of abandoned domesticated cats
    4. calling the municipal police is not a good solution either. See: the vacuum effect. The free living cats will not survive in a shelter. They have no chance for adoption and they do not tolerate the life in captivity.
  2. Stop feeding - the cats will not go away, they will continue to reproduce. The free-living cats are territorial animals and will not go far away in search for food. Instead of leaving, they will approach people and their homes in desperation. In addition, cats can live without food for several weeks. An attempt to starve them out will face us with another challenge: dealing with a pack of hungry and weak cats, susceptible to diseases and infected by parasites (including fleas). What seems to be the simple solution can only worsen the situation. Attempts to scare the free-living cats and banning their feeding usually ends up with more suffering of the animals and stricter conflict with their caregivers.
  3. Bringing to asylum or releasing elsewhere. Providing all free-living cats with new homes is not a realistic option. There are too many of them with too few volunteers. Available resources shall be better spent on spaying/neutering, rather than on an uncertain and lengthy process of socialization and domestication of these animals. From the point of view of the free-living cat - it is better to keep them in the wild, rather than forcing them to accept the life in a cage or under a bed.
  4. Moving to a safer place is the solution we choose, when the life of cats remaining In a particular area is at stake (for example, the construction of new settlement, apartment). If we decide to transfer the cats to another location, we must ensure that there will be a person willing to commit itself to the long-term feeding of the cats. The transfer process itself is also difficult for the cats. For the first 2-3 weeks in the new place the cats should be kept indoors, to get used to the new location and encode the fact that there is a new source of food. Even if everything runs perfectly, we must keep in mind that some cats can be lost (if the territory is not a threat)
  5. Doing nothing. If we do not do anything, the herd will be growing until it reaches the natural limit, depending on the availability of shelter and the amount of food. When the potential of the location is exceeded, the size of cat population will be regulated by diseases and malnutrition. We will still deal with the same problems as before, such as noise, odour, dying kittens and municipal police intervention.
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ARGOS Foundation for Animals, 04-886 Warszawa, Garncarska 37A st., KRS: 0000286138
+48 22 615 52 82 | e-mail: fundacja@argos.org.pl | http://www.argos.org.pl
bank account: SWIFT: PKOPPLPW PL 47 1240 6133 1111 0000 4808 5915
The KOTERIA neutering clinic for feral cats in Warsaw, Chrzanowskiego 13 st., Warszawa, +48 535 870 225
Manager of KOTERIA Anna Wypych: tel. 603 651 044 | Chief vet Iwona Kłucińska-Petschl tel. + 48 502 642 932