There have been TNR successes; I know well of TNR’s limitations. Trotting out the failures is instructive, but not license to abandon a tactic.

Suggesting that there are sanctuary resources for tens of millions of cats, or that they can all be turned into pets is not realistic.

This is a blog; there is a great deal I did not cover, and cannot in this forum. I present two hours of this material to vet students at Penn Vet, and could probably carry on for longer than that. I post Linda’s comment because you–the reader–should learn as much as you can.

I rest my case with the following quote:

“Official organizations that oppose cat-neutering programs often do not have a viable, economically self-sustaining program proposal as an alternative.”

James A. Tantillo, Killing Birds and Killing Cats: An Overview of Philosophical Issues Involving Feral Cats and Wildlife.” Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine

I must disagree regarding the term ‘community cats’. Organizations including Alley Cat Allies and Best Friends use this term and frankly, this seems to be a deliberate attempt to influence people to believe that cats are a natural part of the landscape when they are not. They have been around humans, as noted by TNR advocates, for thousands of years, but never as much as the past few decades.

The 2009 U.S. State of the Birds report, which compiled 40 years worth of research and data, shows the precipitous decline of birds. There are many causes of this, including non-native invasive species. During that same period, the number of cats exploded to over 90 million pet cats, many of which are permitted to roam outdoors for at least part of the day and an estimated 60 to 100 million homeless or feral cats. Pet, skittish, semi-feral, or feral – they are all the same species of domestic cat.

http://www.stateofthebirds.org/2009/

In your research I imagine you have come across the fact that there is no scientific support indicating that TNR results in a statistically significant decline of the feral cat population. Decreases in particular colonies do not indicate whether or not there has been a reduction or an increase in a given area (i.e. municipality, county or state). Due to the food source and the fact that not every cat may be trapped managed colonies could very well be creating more outdoor cats as areas become saturated with managed colonies. Well-known is the fact that dumping does take place at some colonies as people become aware of the site and opt for someone to ‘take care of’ his/her no longer wanted pet. Colony caregivers may not ‘dump’ cats, but also well-known is the fact that when a problem arises at a colony site, caregivers often relocate cats to another existing colony, thereby adding to the density of the second colony.

Ocean Reef Club is featured in the video below. Apparently, success means different things to different people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fvN7FNUPas

There is no scientific indication that colony management inhibits diseases, however we do know from observations and the paper below that increases in mesopredators can be devastating to native wildlife.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v400/n6744/abs/400563a0.html

I noticed you did not mention socialization and adoption of feral cats or sanctuary placements or fencing in/enclosing colonies. While you may feel that these are not viable options, they are still options that result in true compromises for cats and native wildlife – both are protected and thus these options are worth mentioning. There are individuals and organizations that put forth such efforts. One organization was recently featured in a NJ newspaper.

http://onemoresmith.org/about

While you may find the third link you posted unhelpful, the American Bird Conservancy has recently updated a page on their website which includes recently published research, a letter from USFWS, and below is also an article that may be of interest.

http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/cats/tnr.html

http://www.audubonmagazine.org/incite/incite0909.html

As for that comment in the third link, both advocates of TNR and those against TNR understand that the root cause of this problem is irresponsible pet ownership. Unfortunately, by condoning outdoor lives and deaths for cats we not only send the wrong message about responsible pet ownership, but also undermine our efforts to convince people to be responsible for their pets. In my opinion, TNR is both counterproductive and counter intuitive to that end.

Respectfully yours,
Linda Cherkassky
NJ State Apprentice Wildlife Rehabilitator

What on earth did that “tumor” turn out to be? I hope you update as time permits.