1) What is a feral cat?
2) How many feral cats are there in Alachua County, FL?
3) How does Operation Catnip address the problem of overpopulation?
4) Don’t feral cats harm wildlife?
5) What does Operation Catnip do?
6) What if caregivers are unable to bring their cats to the monthly clinics?
7) How does Operation Catnip fund its free clinic?
8) How many cats have “graduated” from Operation Catnip?
9) Are there any other programs to help feral cats?
10) What spay/neuter programs are available for pets in Alachua County, FL?
11) How can you help?
1) What is a feral cat?
A feral cat is one born and raised in the wild. Because these cats never learned to trust people, most do not make good pets. Neither house pets nor wildlife, feral cats form colonies at sites of food and shelter. Often times, a cat lover (caregiver) tries to reduce their suffering by providing food. These unaltered cats compound the existing overpopulation problem.
2)How many feral cats are there in Alachua County, FL?
A recent study estimated that there are approximately 36,000 feral and stray cats in Alachua
County that were being fed by 12% of households. No one knows how many other homeless cats are not being fed. At the same time, there are an estimated 45,000 household pet cats in the county. This suggests that at least 44% of cats in Alachua County are homeless. The study also found that 90% of pet cats were spayed or neutered, as opposed to only 11% of the feral and stray cats. Taken together, these findings suggest that homeless cats are the most significant source of cat overpopulation. The result is that more than 4,000 cats each year end up at the Animal Services shelter. The continued imbalance between the number of cats and the number of homes leads to the euthanasia of 69% of all cats that enter the shelter, giving Alachua County one of the highest euthanasia rates in the nation (26 per 1000 residents).
*Levy JK, Woods JE, Turick SL, Etheridge DL. Number of unowned free-roaming cats in a college community in the southern United States and characteristics of community residents who feed them. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2003; 223:202-205.
3) How does Operation Catnip address the problem of overpopulation?
Because feral cats are wild and unadoptable, they are usually ignored by pet rescue groups or
euthanized at animal control facilities. Even friendly strays are often euthanized because the
number of homeless cats far exceeds the number of available homes. Over the past few years,
though, an alternative approach to the control of feral cats called trap-neuter-return (TNR) has proven both effective and humane. In these TNR programs, large numbers of cats are caught, sterilized and returned to their colonies. Through this method, the number of cats living in the wild is reduced without taking their lives.
4) Don’t feral cats harm wildlife?
Operation Catnip respects the lives of all animals, both feral cats and native wildlife. Feral cats, like any pets that spend time outside, can negatively impact the environment and public health. The extent of this impact is often debated and varies from colony to colony. For these reasons, and to protect the welfare of the cats themselves, OC believes society must stop ignoring this large population of cats and actively work to humanely reduce their numbers. We believe that TNR is not only the most effective way to do this, but it also respects the bond that caregivers share with the cats.
5) What does Operation Catnip do?
Operation Catnip is a free spay/neuter program for feral and stray cats in Alachua County, FL.
Each month volunteer veterinarians and 70-100 other volunteers participate in a large-scale clinic. Humane traps are loaned to caregivers who catch and transport the cats to the clinic. The cats arrive at the clinic in the morning. In just a few hours 200-300 cats can be sterilized. In addition, all of the cats receive vaccinations to prevent rabies, distemper, and upper respiratory illnesses and treatment for parasites. The cats also have the tip of their left ear trimmed to help identify cats that have been through the program. Reservations for the clinic are required and can be made by contacting OC.
6) What if caregivers are unable to bring their cats to the monthly clinics?
Elderly caregivers and those with disabilities can contact OC for assistance in trapping and
transporting their colonies to a clinic. Also, through a program dubbed OC Outreach, caregivers can bring stray and feral cats to local veterinary clinics to be sterilized, vaccinated, and eartipped. Caregivers pay $25 at the time of this veterinary visit, and the clinic bills Operation Catnip for the balance. To participate in this program, caregivers make appointments directly with the participating veterinary clinics. The clinics provide the humane traps in which the cats are trapped and transported.
7) How does Operation Catnip fund its free clinic?
Operation Catnip does not receive any funding from the University of Florida or any local, county, or state agency. It costs about $30 for each cat treated by OC. This cost is very low because all of the veterinarians and other volunteers donate their time. Caregivers donate about a quarter of the funds needed to buy supplies each month. Operation Catnip must raise the rest through fundraisers and grants. All donations are tax-deductible.
8) How many cats have “graduated” from Operation Catnip?
In May 2010, Operation Catnip sterilized its 30,000th cat. We hope that the number of cats per year continues to rise.
9) Are there any other programs to help feral cats?
The Alachua County chapter of Operation Catnip is one of three such programs. The pre-cursor to the first OC chapter was established in November, 1994 at the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University. Another chapter has since formed in Richmond, VA. For information on starting a TNR program in your community, OC offers this manual with detailed clinic instructions as well as a sample budget and resource list. For more information, visit our website at www.operationcatnip.org. For more information on feral cats, visit Alley Cat Allies, a national feral cat advocacy program maintaining an extensive database of feral cat programs at www.alleycat.org. Neighborhood Cats offers a detailed cat trapping guide. The largest TNR program in the country, AZ Cats (now Altered Tails) sterilized more than 8,000 cats in 2006.
10) What spay/neuter programs are available for pets in Alachua County, FL?
No More Homeless Pets (NMHP) is a private non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization. Its mission is to end the euthanasia of companion animals and feral cats through education, sterilization and community involvement. No More Homeless Pets' Operation PetSnip, is a high quality, high volume, low-cost spay/neuter clinic available to anyone in Florida. The cost is $40 to spay or neuter a cat and $60 to sterilize a dog regardless of weight, gender in heat or pregnant. There is no income or residential qualitification. Call 352-376-6647 for an appointment. Visit www.nmhp.net.
For information on all free and low-cost spay/neuter voucher programs in Alachua County, call the Alachua County Humane Society 352-373-5855. Visit www.alachuahumane.org.
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How can you help?
The most important thing anyone can do is spay or neuter pets. Even one litter adds to the over-population problem.
People can also volunteer time. Volunteers are always needed at the monthly clinics.
Assignments are available for every skill level. OC also needs to reach out to more segments of the community so that more people can help more cats.
To help keep our clinics running, you can also make a monetary donation or donate needed supplies.