To mark National Feral Cat Day on Saturday, several local groups are teaming up to educate people about the "trap, neuter, return" method of dealing with feral cat colonies.
Local nonprofit Scratch, along with The Cat Clinic and the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, will present a workshop Saturday at The Cat Clinic. There will be a video and a handout and several experts on feral cat control will speak, Scratch founder Becky Endsley said.
IF YOU GO* What: Trap, Neuter, Return workshop for feral cats* When: 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday* Where: The Cat Clinic, 310 Cherokee Blvd., North Chattanooga* Cost: Free; the workshop is strictly informational and attendees should not bring any feral cats.* Information: 752-0737Source: Scratch Inc.
Feral cat colonies, some as large as 75 cats, are growing in Chattanooga and surrounding areas, Endsley said.
"It's not a huge problem, but it's big enough that we can't let it get out of hand," said Tami Freedman, who works for Scratch.
According to the Humane Society of the United States website, uncontrolled feral cat populations bring noise, fighting, disease and danger to neighborhoods. The main means of control - euthanasia - boosts animal control costs.
Freeman said the current practice in Chattanooga is to save kittens up to 3 months old for adoption and to euthanize adult feral cats, which typically cannot be domesticated.
Trapping, neutering and vaccinating the cats limits the spread of disease and prevents them from reproducing, so the colony will die out in three to five years, expert said.
Workshop participants will be taught how to bait traps with food and instructed about getting feral cats vaccinated and neutered. Endsley describes the trap, neuter, return method as "the most humane way to treat a cat colony."
McKamey will offer a special rate for the rabies vaccination, deworming and spaying or neutering stray cats.
Amy Osborne, who coordinates the trap, neuter, return program for McKamey, said the special includes free neutering, rabies vaccination and deworming for male cats. Two female cats can be spayed, dewormed and receive a rabies vaccination for $25.
She said a private grant and donations provided the funding for the program, which began Aug. 1 and has provided care for more than 600 cats so far. The special runs through the end of October, she said.