10/07/2025
Someone came by our adoption event Sunday wanting to know how to get feral cats trapped & fixed (and some of them potentially rescued, a whole other kettle of fish) — they got ticked off that we couldn’t just swoop in and put a bandaid on things, so I wrote this post, and I thought the below might be helpful to others as well who need help with, or are new to, TNR …
The first thing anyone needs to know is that they might have to do some or all of the work themselves.
Unfortunately, sometimes people aren’t willing to hear that, and are in fact so unwilling to hear it (or to tolerate the lengthy answer these questions require), that they won’t accept advice on how to proceed , and will instead stomp off while you’re mid-sentence … we get the frustration, but …
… BUT THE CATS STILL NEED HELP, SO IT’S BELOW FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT. (Topic: TNR, as rescue is another kettle of fish and unlikely unless perhaps there are young kittens or tame adults.)
🌻 First of all, if you are new to TNR or otherwise know you will need some help, join the relevant local Facebook groups in your community if they exist.
Next, MAKE A DETAILED POST in those groups explaining what you need:
— Estimate how many cats need fixing.
— Are they all wild/can you touch any?
— Are there also young kittens, if so how old? They can be TNR’d at 3 lbs; yes, they are sometimes still fairly easy to tame even at that age (roughly 12 weeks), but that’s only IF anyone has bandwidth (consider if you have room in your own house to foster them, a bathroom is perfect, if there are young kittens that you’re hoping will be rescued).
— Are any cats currently pregnant? (Crisis, spay needed ASAP.)
— What’s the location roughly? (CRUCIAL! Because not everyone lives near your spot, but some will.)
— What‘s the scene? (Your yard? A business that needs to be visited after hours? Or what?)
— Who is feeding and when, if known? (Cats need to be hungry to go in traps, so it’s easier if feeding can be controlled … skip a meal, then try to trap)
— How much of the work are you personally able to do? All? Some? None? (If None, consider offering gas money or something IF and only if you are able to.)
🌻🌻 If you’re new to TNR, you don’t know what that work consists of, understandably, so here are the COMPONENTS (note that the more YOU can do, the more likely it is that the cats will get help FAST!!)
— GETTING APPTS. Find out what area clinics l have cost free appts for ferals in traps (ear tip plus rabies vax) or at least low cost.
— GETTING TRAPS. If you’re doing the trapping yourself and can get your own traps, the clinics usually have traps you can borrow for a deposit. TNR / rescue people also have traps, and may be willing to loan them out and show you how to set them, if they are not able to come and do the trapping for you. Also, FYI, the cheapest humane traps are $35 at Southern States.
— SETTING & MONITORING TRAPS. Someone has to be there with them, whether it’s you or the person who helps you. If cats are hungry and/or used to eating at set times and are therefore waiting right there, this is sometimes a sp*edy process. But it can be lengthy. Usually it’s best to start 2 days before the appointments (not the day before).
— KEEPING CATS SAFE IN TRAPS the night before and then the night after the appointment. Do you have a plan for this? A covered porch, a garage, a basement or bathroom (everyone has a bathroom…), or even a spare room on top of a p*e pad? Under a tarp under the eaves next to your house? The trap must be under a towel to keep them calm, placed on top of p*e pad, dishes of food and water slid in carefully. If it’s very hot or cold out, indoors is a must especially since they can’t regulate their body temp after anaesthesia.
— TRANSPORTING the cats to and/or from the appt, releasing cats the day after the appt. Note: the clinics all have very specific dropoff and pickup times. If you can’t take them to/from appt or tend in traps the night before appt & night after, are you able to take them to/from someone else’s house for them to do that?
🌻🌻🌻 PS Kindly understand that *almost* everyone who does TNR or rescue is a volunteer, just doing this stuff on their own time without any compensation. If you’re asking for help, rest assured there are already 20 people ahead of you — likely meaning dozens of cats in need — who have asked for help. Not to mention all the cats that any TNR or rescue person is already aware of, for whom no human has even sought help. So if they can’t do what you’re asking, it’s not that they don’t want to help you, or at least help the cats. They do want to help. Giving them full information and listening to what they have to say will get you where you need to go. Thank you for caring about the cats!!
Source: Feral Cat Life
