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Questions about free-roaming, “stray”, or homeless cats 2. How can I tell if the cats are tame or feral cats 5. My neighbor is feeding cats, can AzCATs come get them? 6. My neighbor is feeding cats can you come trap them and get them sterilized? 7. My neighbors [employer, landlord] are complaining about the cats. What can I do? 9. I don't want anything to happen to the cats, but they can't stay here. Where can they go? Questions about the trap, neuter, return (TNR) process 13. What are the alternatives to TNR? 14. I can't touch the cats, so how can I get them to the vet for spay/neutering? 15. I've been told that cats should be indoors only, so isn't it cruel to leave them outside? 16. There are several cats to be trapped, but I only have one trap. Will that do? 17. What is eartipping and why should the veterinarian do it? 18. Do I need to test the cats for Feline Leukemia (FeLV) or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)? 19. What is the vacuum effect? 20. I'm secretly feeding feral cats at work [school, other property owned by someone else]. I want to get them sterilized, but I can't let the property owner find out. Will AzCATs help me trap them? Questions about the cost 22. These cats are not mine, why should I pay anything to get them sterilized? 23. I don’t want to pay any more than I have to pay. What is the minimum donation that you require? 24. I cannot afford to give any donation. Can I get the cats sterilized for free? 25. These are feral cats, why should I pay anything to get them sterilized? 26. Is there any other program that might help me with the cost of getting the cats sterilized? 27. We are feeding cats at work [school, church], I don't have much money. What can we do to help cover costs? 28. I’m on AHCCCS and heard that there is a program to help me get cats sterilized? Questions about finding homes for cats and kittens 30. A stray cat that I’ve been feeding had kittens, where can I take them so that they can find homes? 31. I have kittens that I need to find homes for. What should I do? Questions about nursing kittens (with or without a mother cat) 32. Should I try to trap a mother cat that I know is nursing kittens? 33. Is a mother cat able to nurse her kittens after she is spayed? 34. How old do the kittens need to be before they can be spayed or neutered? 35. There is a very young kitten(s) in my backyard all alone. What should I do? 36. I’ve waited for 18 hours and mom still hasn’t returned to get the kitten(s). 37. I found a kitten(s) yesterday and brought it home. Can you take it? 38. A cat had kittens in my yard [on my roof, in my shed] can you come get them? Miscellaneous Questions 40. I have a tame cat or dog that I need to get sterilized. I don’t have much money what can I do? 41. I called two weeks ago why haven’t you helped me yet? 42. I need to get rid of my cat [dog] where can I take it? 43. A cat is dying in my yard can you come get it? 44. One of my feral cats is injured is there a vet that will treat it for me? 46. I don’t want cats in my yard. How do I keep them out? Questions and Answers:Questions about free-roaming, “stray” or homeless street cats1. What is a feral cat?Feral is just another word for wild. It means that the cats have not been socialized to humans and that they are afraid of people. It does not mean that the cats are aggressive or dangerous. Feral cats run from people. They do not attack unless they are cornered and feel that they have no other alternative but to fight for their lives.Maricopa County’s Maddie’s Pet Rescue Project uses the following definition of “feral cat”: Over the age of 8 weeks and not sufficiently socialized to people and, therefore, reasonable and caring owners/guardians in our community would find them unsuitable as a pet. 2. How can I tell if the cats are tame or feral cats? Observe the cats’ appearance and behavior. A tame cat is likely to approach you, although usually not close enough for you to touch. If you put food down, a tame cat will likely start to eat it right away. A tame cat is often vocal, sometimes meowing insistently, and may look disheveled, as if unused to dealing with conditions on the street. A tame cat may be seen at all hours of the day. A feral cat is typically silent, will not approach humans, and generally will be seen only from dusk to dawn, unless extraordinarily hungry and foraging for food. A feral cat has adapted to conditions and is likely to appear well groomed. If you put food down for a feral cat, the cat will wait until you move away from the area before approaching the food. 3. There are a lot of cats in my neighborhood. Can you help me catch them and take them somewhere so they can find homes?AzCATs may be able to help you. However, the first thing we need to know is whether the cats belong to anyone in your neighborhood or if they are free-roaming, homeless street cats (usually feral) that someone else if feeding. Your first step is to do a little investigating to see what you can find out about the cats. Are some of them owned by neighbors who let them run loose? Are some being fed by people in your neighborhood? Ask your neighbors about the cats, look for food dishes outside that tell you that someone is feeding cats in the neighborhood. You might also consider posting flyers about “lost” cats throughout the neighborhood. Try to look at the top of their left ear from the side. If the left ear is flat across the top that means they are sterilized cats and part of a managed colony that someone is feeding. If you do find out that someone owns the cats or that someone is feeding them but you can’t see that they are eartipped, please go one step further and ask the person if the cats are sterilized. If they tell you the cats aren’t sterilized let them know that there is low cost spay/neuter information available for tame cats by calling the Spay Neuter Hotline (602) 265-SPAY (7729). You can also download information to give to them from www.adlaz.org. If the cats are afraid and they can’t easily catch them, tell the caregiver that AzCATs can help them sterilize the cats and that they should call us at (480) 968-4TNR (4867). If you are able to determine that the cats are tame and you cannot find their owner, consider registering the cats online at www.Pets911.com in the found pets section. There are an estimated 350,000 free-roaming, primarily feral, cats in Maricopa County Arizona. Please realize that there are almost 60,000 dogs and cats euthanized in Maricopa County, Arizona every year. Even the tamest, healthiest, cutest cats that are taken to a shelter may well become one of the 60,000 euthanized every year. The cats you see on our city streets may be completely tame or completely feral but most often they are somewhere in between. If a cat or kitten you see on the street won’t walk right up to you, you need to assume that it would have little chance of being adopted from a shelter. The shelter environment is a stressful one where there are other cats, dogs, and a lot of people the cat has never seen before. If you can’t walk right up to the cat and pick it up the best chance it has of staying alive is trap, neuter, return (TNR). One added word of caution, in the spring and summer kittens flood into our shelters sometimes literally by the bucket full. An adult cat has even less chance of getting a home then. Summary: The most important thing to do is to stop the breeding. Living in an outdoor home is better than becoming one of the almost 60,000 dogs and cats dying in area shelters each year. If the cat is totally tame with everyone and you really feel you must try to get the cat a home, have it sterilized then try to find a home with family, friends, or co-workers and not through our overburdened shelter system. If the cat is not totally tame it definitely won’t get a home and it will be euthanized. The fee to euthanize one un-socialized (feral) cat at Maricopa County Animal Care & Control is $96. The fee at the Arizona Humane Society is $75. 4. There are a lot of cats in my neighborhood. I don't know who feeds them, but they need to be sterilized. What should I do? The first thing to do is locate the owner or the caregiver. If the cats are tame and you find their owner, ask if they are sterilized. If not, let them know that there is low-cost spay/neuter help and that they should call the Spay/Neuter Hotline at (602) 265-SPAY (7729) or visit www.adlaz.org to get more information. If you don’t find an owner, there are flyers on this website that you can download and use in your neighborhood to try to find out who the caregiver is. Looking for food and water bowls is the easiest way to start. You may have to leave a flyer under the bowls if you can’t locate the caregiver after you locate the feeding station. If you find the person that is feeding the cats and they tell you the cats are “stray” and that they can’t catch them to take them to a veterinarian, tell them about AzCATs and that we can help them humanely (safely) trap the cats to get them to a vet. Tell them the cats will be returned to them. Give them our number and tell them to call us at (480) 968-4TNR (4867) or to visit this website to complete an online request for help. Since free-roaming cats are a neighborhood issue, please consider offering to help them with the work or even with the cost. If you are willing to help it greatly increases the likelihood that they will be willing to do what is necessary to stop the breeding. If you cannot find an owner but can pick up the cat, please consider contacting the Spay/Neuter Hotline and getting the cat sterilized yourself. If you cannot find a caregiver for cats you cannot catch, consider calling AzCATs yourself. We can offer you advice about the best way you can go about ending the breeding cycle with our help. 5. My neighbor is feeding cats. Can AzCATs come get them? No. AzCATs provides trap, neuter, return (TNR) assistance for free-roaming, primarily feral cats. The cats are humanely trapped, sterilized, and returned to their outdoor environment. AzCATs does not have a fostering or adoption program. There is no rescue or shelter organization in Maricopa County that will come and remove feral cats. There are extermination businesses that may come and remove the cats for a price. If you catch feral cats yourself and take them to a shelter that accepts animals from the public be aware that they will charge you a substantial fee to take them and that they will euthanize the cats. There are approximately 350,000 free-roaming, primarily feral, cats in Maricopa County and only one organization, AzCATs, doing anything on any scale at all to help with the problem. Trap, neuter, return is the least costly, most humane, and effective way to manage this problem. Remove these cats and more will come to take their place. (Please take the time to read the answer to Question 19 below.) Please tell your neighbor that AzCATs can help them stop the breeding. Give them our contact information and let them know how you are willing to help them solve this neighborhood problem. 6. My neighbor is feeding cats. Can you come trap them and get them sterilized?AzCATs can help get the cats sterilized. However, the best way to do that is for us to work with the caregiver (or person who is feeding the cats). That is because we must have their cooperation in order to be able to humanely trap them when it is time to take them to the vet to be sterilized. Please give our contact information to the person who is feeding the cats. Our phone number is 480-968-4TNR. Caregivers can also request our help from this website by filling out an online application for assistance. You may also download some of our flyers, or our brochure, from this website so that you can give that information to the caregiver when you speak with them. AzCATs also welcomes your help with this process. If you can assist with the trapping and transportation of the cats to and from the vet, let the caregiver know. If the caregiver is unable or unwilling to participate in humanely trapping the cats and you are willing to do all the work of trapping and transporting the cats, give us a call. We can try to assist you though you need to understand that without the cooperation of the person feeding the cats it is going to be much more difficult to humanely trap the cats. 7. My neighbors [employer, landlord] are complaining about the cats. What can I do? Ask what their specific complaints are and try to resolve them. Making sure that all the cats have been sterilized will reduce or eliminate most objectionable situations and behavios. Yowling and fighting are mating behaviours that are reduced or eliminated by sterilization. Spraying is a territorial behavior that is also eliminated or reduced by sterilization. Moreover, the pungent urine smell of intact male cats ends about a month after they are sterilized. If the cats are soiling the neighbors' gardens, place (regularly cleaned) sand or litter boxes at the colony site. Consider building a cat fence, if possible, that will keep the cats in (or out of) a specific area. If others are concerned about health issues, point out that very few illnesses or conditions are passed between species. You can learn more about that on our website or that of Alley Cat Allies at www.alleycat.org. There are many flyers or information sheets available on our website or on that of Alley Cat Allies. You can use them to educate yourself about how to talk about the issues and to educate others. Whatever the complaints there are ways to work together to manage the situation. 8. I am moving, and I can't take the feral cats that I've been feeding with me. Can AzCATs take care of them? No. AzCATs concentrates our scarce volunteer resources on sterilizing the estimated 350,000 feral cats living on the streets of Maricopa County. Find a friend, relative, or co-worker to feed the cats. Start looking for someone to take over feeding the cats today. This could take some time and you want to have arrangements in place well before your move. If you don't already know your neighbors, introduce yourself and explain the situation. You are likely to discover that others in the area are also concerned about the colony you care for. Place flyers requesting help around your neighborhood, in pet stores, and veterinarian offices. Include only your name and telephone number on the flyer, NOT the location of the colony. Consider offering to help pay for the food as an incentive. Another alternative is to purchase large self feeding and watering containers from a pet food store and returning periodically to fill them yourself. Please don’t just abandon cats that have become dependent upon you. Also it will be easier to convince someone to assume care of a feral cat colony if the all of the cats have been sterilized. If you haven’t already done that, AzCATs can help you. Don’t delay, call today. 9. I don't want anything to happen to the cats, but they can't stay here. Where can they go? AzCATs does not remove or relocate feral cats. With an estimated 350,000 feral cats in Maricopa County there is simply nowhere else for them to go. Also if you remove these cats more cats will simply come in to take there place and begin the cycle all over again. (Please take the time to read the answer to Question 19 below.) The cats are imprinted on their current location. Relocation is traumatic to the cats and offers little guarantee that the cats will stay in their new location. It is only in extreme situations that AzCATs will even consider helping with relocation. Generally the location where the cats currently are must cease to exist. For example, an airport runway is being built through their home. Also, the caregiver must find a good place to relocate the cats. That place must be somewhere that the cats can be safely confined for at least 2 weeks while they get used to their new home. Even with all this AzCATs generally does not get involved with relocation because it has been our experience the few times we have tried it, that it somehow manages to end up going badly. If you are determined to relocate feral cats yourself visit www.alleycat.org to learn what you will need to do. Questions about the trap, neuter, return (TNR) process AzCATs provides trap, neuter, return (TNR) assistance for feral cats, primarily in Maricopa County, but increasingly throughout Arizona. We are the only organization in Maricopa County dedicated solely to sterilizing free-roaming, primarily feral, cats. We do not have a fostering or adoption program. We do not relocate free-roaming cats. We are singular of purpose. For information on shelters or adoptions visit www.pets911.com. For information on sterilizing tame cats or dogs visit www.adlaz.org. Cats are humanely trapped using food as bait. The cats are taken to a veterinarian where they are spayed or neutered. Their left ear is “tipped” so people will recognize that the cat has been sterilized. After the anesthesia wears off and the cat has begun to recover from the surgery, they are returned to their original outdoor environment where the caregiver continues to provide them with food and water. AzCATs walks caregivers through the process. We provide any necessary equipment like humane traps and give instructions every step along the way. Volunteers may help with any part of the process that the caregiver is not capable of performing by themselves. Extremely ill or badly injured cats will be humanely euthanized. Through trap, neuter, return, cats are trapped using humane traps, sterilized, and returned to their habitat, where caregivers who have been providing for them continue to do so. TNR stabilizes the population, prevents future generations of kittens, and allows the colony to diminish naturally over time. (See the answer to Question 19 regarding the vacuum effect.) TNR works because people are much more willing to volunteer their time, effort, and money to humanely end the breeding cycle. Few people will volunteer to trap healthy cats when they know they will be killed. Therefore, attempts at eradication fail because it falls on the government to pay for people to do the work. It is too expensive for our government to expend the funds that would be needed to hire the help and incur the expense to totally eliminate the free-roaming cat population. TNR is a process that first manages the free-roaming cat population then gradually, over time, results in an ever-smaller population. It is not a quick fix. Remember it is our past history of cycling through periods of trap & kill and doing nothing that has gotten us to where we are today. TNR is practiced throughout the United States and in other countries throughout the world. 13. What are the alternatives to TNR? Do Nothing: Eventually the problem will reach unmanageable levels and cause untold suffering.
Trap & Kill: Aside from being inhumane, this approach is not a solution. The problem is everywhere. More cats will simply move in to fill the void and start the cycle over again. This method is also more expensive than trap, neuter, return.
Catch & Tame: This approach is not realistic, particularly somewhere like Maricopa County, Arizona, where there are an estimated 350,000 free-roaming, primarily feral, cats living outside. Wild adults cannot be socialized to humans to the point where they are able to find homes as pets. For the small minority that could be tamed, the time and effort that goes into helping just a few cats is prohibitive. Even with very young kittens, taming can take several weeks of intensive socialization work. Shelters in Maricopa County, Arizona euthanize almost 60,000 dogs and cats every year for lack of homes. It makes no sense to expend all the time and effort to tame cats or |