This site is closed to new comments and posts.

Notice: This site uses cookies to function.
If you are not comfortable with cookies then please don't browse this website.

Anyone doing TNR/caring for neighborhood cats? — Brooklynian

Anyone doing TNR/caring for neighborhood cats?

oscarin0
oscarin0
edited November -1 in Prospect Heights

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone near me (Park Pl. between Underhill and Washington) is doing Trap/Neuter/Return or just generally caring for stray cats in the vicinity. There are a few cats I have been seeing around a lot for quite a while, and I would love to work with someone to try to get them spayed/neutered (one looks quite pregnant right now), but I don't think I have the skills or the access to do it on my own.

Is anyone on the block or nearby involved with strays?

Thanks!

Comments

  • alana
    alana

    I am not in that area but if you get involved with Neighborhood Cats you can find out who is.

    They have regular trainings and workshops to learn about TNR and will give you access to trap drop banks and their listerve if you take their TNR course, which is often offered for free.

    http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/

  • oscarin0
    oscarin0

    Ah yes - I have taken the TNR class.

    I'm particularly interested in finding people nearby because I assume someone is feeding these cats, and it't not me. That would make it much harder (or impossible) to ever trap them.

    Thanks, though. I would highly recommend Neighborhood Cats to anyone else who is interested.

  • che
    che

    Please don't feed the outdoor cats. Please, if you trap and neuter them, do not release them. You are killing birds, and it is cruel. Please consider not doing it.

  • MOD
    MOD

    WTH?? Please DO feed the outdoor cats, as a benefit they keep the population of vermin down. As a society they are our responsibility, TNR ferals, feed them, and try to find homes for the abandoned cats. NOT doing so would be cruel.

  • god
    god

    Killing birds? Rats with wings more like it.

  • bkchickie
    bkchickie

    Mamacita said:

    WTH?? Please DO feed the outdoor cats, as a benefit they keep the population of vermin down. As a society they are our responsibility, TNR ferals, feed them, and try to find homes for the abandoned cats. NOT doing so would be cruel.

    I respectfully disagree. If we feed the cats, they're not going to eat the mice and rats. Additionally, there was a woman feeding feral cats at our building, and the food had the added "benefit" of attracting other animals and many flies.

  • tsarina
    tsarina

    I feed my feral colony and they present me with rats as presents. Dont make cats eat rat and mice, especially if it they have poisons in them. Alas, for the vegetarians there is the reality of life in the food chain. cats eat birds, hawks eat other birds, other animals kill and eat other animals. No amount of vegetarian theory is going to change that.

    BTW, pregnant cat is caught and getting her abortion tomorrow.

  • oscarin0
    oscarin0

    Thanks again, Tsarina, for your help!!

  • ingenuity-jen
    ingenuity-jen

    I'm not sure if the concerns are vegetarian-- they could be concerns about the birds themselves.

    I'm a cat fan and a bird fan (animals in general are great), and I see both sides of the issue. I'm not worried about feral/street cats going after pigeons, but they are a threat to our song birds. Slate had a strongly worded article a little while ago about it: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/01/new_zealand_eliminate_cats_they_kill_endangered_bird_species_and_shouldn.html

    This is where TNR might help both species. I don't know if there's an easy answer, other than hoping to get as many cats off the street and neutering the ones already in our care.

  • leozoeypiper
    leozoeypiper

    So we have CHE suggesting to trap, neuter and euthanize so that the feral cats don't kill the birds. Hmmm, this doesn't make sense. If you trap, neuter, return and feed the feral cats then they more than likely won't go after the birds and there are no song birds on Park Place that I have ever seen. Song birds are what people are worried about the feral cats killing. I doubt that anyone is worried about the feral cats killing a pigeon or two. And feeding the feral cats will also keep them out of the garbage. Granted, someone should not leave a mess of food to attract flies and so forth. That is not the right way to do it. But they still kill rats and mice even if they are being fed. And seriously, it's not like they are getting two heaping portions of food twice a day like a lazy house cat. They get food here and there and expend at least twice as much energy as a house cat since they typically are not lounging around all day.

  • stacey
    stacey

    While I love birds and cats too (except that one bird that has learned how to sound like a car alarm outside my bedroom window at 5:00 a.m. every weekend)

    Just to give some of you a little understanding - I have a group of ferals that were relocated to my back yard 6 years ago. Before the cats there was lots of construction going on on all 3 sides of my home. I noticed that there were rats in my yard. After the cats came I no longer see any rats or any indication of them, I have never had any rodent (mice or rat) in my home nor have I seen any dead birds in my yard. Matter of fact I get quite a few birds that sit in the tree in my yard. I see my ferals go after bugs more than the birds.

  • che
    che

    A few points:

    1. There are a lot of songbirds by Park Place. I've recorded 59 species on my block on Park Place.

    2. Outdoor cats are a huge cause of bird mortality, including of legally-protected neotropical migrants: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v4/n1/full/ncomms2380.html This article is from before that analysis: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/science/21birds.html

    3. The problem is not just outdoor cats on our block, but more generally. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Plum Beach, and other places in Brooklyn used by migrating birds as vital stop-overs, have large populations of feral cats. I have personally observed cats there, and in Prospect Park, killing migrant songbirds.

    4. Come on, I didn't say anything about "euthanizing" anything, and I'm not a vegetarian, and obviously I don't think hawks should be. Rather: if you introduce a skilled predator into an environment, you're killing birds, just as introducing snake-head fish into the pond in Central Park (as someone has apparently done) kills fish. When you release cats for "TNR," you're killing birds. And that's the case even if you're trapping cats that are outdoors. If someone collects land-mines from a road, and then puts them back where they were, and people die, they've caused those deaths.

    Please consider not doing it.

  • tsarina
    tsarina

    If the cats are not friendly, there is little chance of adopting them. So the option is to euthanize or re-release them in their original environment. It has been decided that killing them is not so kind. So re-releasing them is best.

    Bear in mind that these cats will not be breeding and creating more cats, and as long as someone is feeding neutered cats perhaps they will not depend exclusively on prey.

    We will never have a perfect world, but people who do TNR are trying to help animals by reducing the population of feral cats instead of letting them increase and suffer from starvation, disease and predators. Its not the cats that are the problem, it is the people who dump their animals, or dont try to manage colonies before they get too big.

    Thank you Che for sharing your informative articles. We all have to have our causes and its good to hear from everyone.

  • taruca
    taruca

    Adding to what tsarina said:

    It's not the cats that are the problem, it is the people who dump their animals, or don't try to manage colonies before they get too big.

    It's also people who are the greater contributors to (song or other) bird mortality, e.g. with skyscrapers, planes, land takeover... If protecting birds (animals) is a concern, shouldn't the focus be elsewhere and not on feral cat colonies?

  • leozoeypiper
    leozoeypiper

    CHE, then what would you suggest doing with the cats once they are trapped and neutered? Relocated to another area to prey upon their songbirds instead of ours??

  • roux42
    roux42

    If anyone is looking for some who does TNR, I have a name, but she charges. I raised money in my building to the TNR the cats in out back courtyard. She was able to trap the adults and a litter of kittens. We adopted one of the kittens! Since the cats have been living in the back (I think they live under a brownstone) I no longer see mice or rats in the courtyard or in the laundry room.

  • alphabk
    alphabk

    Just found this thread and am looking for help with TNR on Dean Street! Yesterday we found a mama cat and 4-5 kittens in the backyard, and the kittens are probably still young enough to be socialized (they're still nursing). In a few more weeks, it might be too late, so time is short and would prefer to work with someone who already has certification and/or experience. Thanks for any suggestions!

  • MOD
    MOD

    Can any TNR folks also drop me a message? I may need some TNR advice as well -but it is not urgent! contact AlphaBK ^^ first, many thanks! :cat:

  • oscarin0
    oscarin0

    Hey all, this is not strictly a Prospect Heights thing (or even a PH thing at all) but I thought some people might be interested in becoming TNR certified. Neighborhood Cats will be holding a training at the Kings Highway Library on August 11. I'm attaching the flyer. You have to register in advance, but the workshop is free and completing it gives you access to a lot of great resources. Registration here: http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/EVENTS_NYC_WORKSHOPS

    (I don't know how to post images here, but this is the flyer: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102470514250-661/NC_Kings_Hwy_Workshop_08.11.13-tabs.pdf)

Sign In or Register to comment.

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In

Categories