Info on Spay/Neuter and TNR (TRAP–NEUTER-RETURN)
Why spay and neuter? Do it for the health of your cat or dog. Do it to control overpopulation.
Spay/Neuter For Health Reasons:
Spayed cats are less likely to develop breast cancer and will not be at risk for ovarian or uterine cancer, while neutered males will not get testicular cancer. By neutering male cats, you also reduce the risk of injury and infection, since intact males have a natural instinct to fight with other cats. Spaying also means female cats do not go into heat. That means they attract fewer tom cats to the area, reducing fighting.
The average life span of a feral cat outdoors is approximately 18 months.
If cats are sterilized and live in a colony that has a caretaker, they may live more than 10 years.
**The information above is from the ASPCA website… read more FAQ’s here: https://www.aspca.org/adoption/feral-cats-faq.aspx#strayferal
Neutered male dogs live 18% longer than un-neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs live 23% longer than unspayed female dogs, according to the report.
**From this article: https://gawker.com/pet-lovers-move-to-montana-or-colorado-avoid-mississi-494830021
Spay/ Neuter For Population Control:
Take a look at the pyramid charts below!
An unaltered cat and their offspring can produce over 400,000 cats in 7 years.
Here’s how:
Beginning as early as five months of age, each cat and kitten can go into heat every 14-21 days. Once pregnant, the gestation period is 56-65 days. They can have 2 – 4 litters per year. You can see that the numbers of potential kittens born grows exponentially.
What is TNR?
Trap-Neuter-Return, commonly referred to as “TNR,” is the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling feral cat population growth. Using this technique, all the feral cats in a colony are trapped, neutered and then returned to their territory where caretakers provide them with regular food and shelter. Young kittens who can still be socialized, as well as friendly adults, are placed in foster care and eventually adopted out to good homes.
The above information is from this page: https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/getting-started/what-is-tnr
PLEASE CONSIDER TAKING THE TNR WORKSHOP OFFERED BY NEIGHBORHOOD CATS!
It’s just one 3.5 hour class. The classes are offered in every borough. You will learn how to care for the feral and stray cats in your community and make use of the many resources now available to assist you. All workshop attendees will become TNR certified and NYC residents will gain access to low cost spay/neuter (currently $5 per cat at the ASPCA’s clinic), free traps and equipment, and expert guidance and assistance.
Here is a link to their page that lists upcoming TNR workshops in NYC:
Below is a list of organizations (in no particular order) that specialize in spay/neuter and TNR:
Neighborhood Cats
Here is a link to their page explaining TNR:
https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/getting-started/what-is-tnr
Please explore the entire neighborhood cats website… as they have information on virtually every aspect of TNR. https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/.
All About Spay Neuter, Inc
Here is a page at their website explaining TNR:
http://allaboutspayneuter.com/TNRfacts.html
Take a look at this page for great information on shelters for outdoor cats:
http://allaboutspayneuter.com/shelters.html
NYC Feral Cat Initiative
Alley Cat Allies
