ISPCA Launches Trap, Neuter and Return Campaign
Last week was Feral Cat Awareness Week (8th August – 14th August). The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) used the week to educate people on the benefits of the Trap, Neuter and Return Campaign (TNR).
Funds were raised to help support the task of neutering feral cats and the buying of cat traps. According to the ISPCA, Ireland has more than 200,000 feral cat colonies.
Cat colonies are groups of cats, born into the wild, who lives near places where they can find food easily; these colonies can be as big as ten or more in one area. There is a difference between a feral and a stray. Ferals are born into the wild and strays once lived with humans.
In my own home I have seven cats, there used to be ten, they are a mix of stray and feral. They are easy to look after and they are now proper house cats; it is hard to believe they used to live outside scavenging for food and shelter.
The ISPCA advises that it is not a bad idea to feed and provide water to colonies like these if you can, people who do this for the community are called feral caretakers.
TNR is the most caring way of looking after wild animals like feral cats. The reason – they are returned to their environments, there is no killing involved, they are protected against diseases after a visit to a vet, and no further kittens will be born, keeping the numbers in the colony down. They are also useful for keeping rats and mice away from the house.
Anyone can get involved with helping the ISPCA’s Trap, Neuter and Return Campaign, if you can catch a cat, all you need do is get it to the vet and return it after the visit (provided the cat is healthy).
