Analysis of Feral Cats Population in the United States

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There are an estimated 60-100 million feral cats in the United States (Coleman et al. 1997, Jessup 2004). Feral cats continue to be a growing concern due to homeowners being concerned for their welfare since they live outdoors. Concerns also include their own animals since these cats have the ability to pass the diseases or even fight these homeowners’ pets. (Crooks and Soule 1999, Pimental et al. 2000, Lepczyk et al. 2003, Jessup 2004, Kays and DeWan 2004).

Ornithologists and wildlife biologists are concerned with feral cat populations due to their diet consisting of native birds and small mammals. native birds and small mammals upon which they prey (Crooks and Soule 1999, Pimental et al. 2000, Lepczyk et al. 2003, Jessup 2004, Kays and DeWan 2004). Free-roaming cats not only pose a threat to prey species but can do considerable damage to the health of ecosystems. Feral cats can outcompete native predators such as foxes ultimately changing community composition (Crooks and Soule 1999, Hawkins et al. 1999, Kays and DeWan 2004).

Feral cats were managed through the use of trapping and euthanizing (Short et al., 2002; Hess et al., 2009). This caught the attention of people living near the cats. opposing fertility control as management for feral cats. Ethical concerns expressed by individuals included concern over killing animals to satisfy human interests and the protection of the individual animals (Lauber et al. 2007). Therefore, there needed to be a different method of reducing the population because trapping and euthanizing could be potentially dangerous and emotionally upsetting. Another issue with feral cat removal is immigration. When a feral cat colony is removed, a nearby colony will move in because of the newly available resources (Lohr et al., 2013).

Where there is a desire to reduce the negative impacts of feral cats, wildlife biologists, and associated stakeholders need information on the most effective and socially acceptable means of reducing these cat populations. (Loyd and Miller, 2010). Therefore, many jurisdictions in the United States adopted the procedure where feral cats are trapped and sterilized and then returned to the environment to be fed and cared for by volunteers, also referred to as Trap-Neuter-Release(TNR) to reduce feral feline populations (Longcore et al., 2009). Feral cats are felines that have returned to their wild state to survive (Case et al., 2006).

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether TNR programs have a significant impact on decreasing community cat populations. The studies determine this by looking at how many felines are admitted to shelters and euthanatized before and after the program is implemented.

Discussion

A study done by Edinboro et al. (2016) looked at the effects of a shelter-neuter-release (SNR) program on feline admissions at a large municipal animal shelter in Northern California. Shelter-neuter-release means cats are taken from the area, sterilized, and released, similar to trap-neuter-release. The difference is the cats are held at the shelter for vaccines or medical treatment. This sentence seems to just hang out there

Over the 8-year study, shelter intakes were recorded before and after the initiation of the SNR program. The program officially began on March 8, 2010, and included 117,383 cats overall. The cats that were a part of the study included both sexes, included various ages ranging from kittens to adults, and included domestic short-hair, medium-hair, and long-hair breeds.

During the experiment, cats found in the area were taken to the shelter, sterilized, and released if they had no medical issues. To determine the outcome of the program they looked at the number of feline admissions and euthanizations at their shelter before and after the initiation of the SNR program.

Before the SNR program began it was reported that 7,474 of 50,991 (14.7%) cats were received as dead and 43,517 (85.3%) cats were admitted alive. The data reported after the program year of 2010 was that 5,301 of 39,681 (13.4%) cats were received as dead and 34,380 (86.6%) were admitted alive. The number of live admissions decreased significantly (P = 0.009). The proportion of dead cats decreased signiﬁcantly (P < 0.001) after the SNR program was initiated.

Live admissions showed a significant difference overall from 2006 to 2012(P = 0.009)
Dead admissions showed a significant difference overall from 2006 to 2012(P < 0.001)

Adapted from Edinboro et al. (2016)

The proportion of euthanized cats decreased from nearly 70% in 2006 to less than 30% in 2012 (Figure 2). Before the SNR period, 69% of all stray cats were euthanized, and after the SNR program was implemented, 35.8% were euthanized.

No significance reported

Adapted from Edinboro et al. (2016)

The SNR program appeared to have contributed to a significant decrease in feline admissions. Initiation of the SNR program was associated with a decreased number of cats admitted to the shelter and a lower proportion of cats euthanized. Fewer cats being admitted to the shelter means fewer cats are euthanized due to shelters having more access to resources. These findings are very important for determining the benefit of similar programs.

Research conducted by Levya et al. (2014) assessed the effect of TNR concentrated in a Florida community where there are reported high amounts of cat impoundments. During the 2-year study period, trends in shelter cat intake and euthanasia from the target area were compared to the rest of the county after the TNR program was implemented.

The target area that was selected was considered an urban area where shelter cat intake was higher than in other areas of the country. A total of 2,366 cats were captured to be a part of the TNR program. The cats chosen to take part were all unowned, free-roaming, community cats in the county, regardless of whether they were feral or socialized to people. All cats that were captured and considered healthy and of age underwent sterilization surgery. After the animal was sterilized it had the left tip of its ear removed for visual identification. Once the animal recovered from the anesthesia, they were taken back to the location in which they were originally found.

To determine the effect of the TNR program on the feral feline population, cat shelter intakes before and after the initiation of the program was recorded. Also, the number of felines euthanized at the shelter before and after the start of the program. The number of euthanizations, sterilizations performed, and feline shelter intakes in the target area was compared to the non-target surrounding area.

Overall results displayed that an increase in sterilization was accompanied by a decrease in shelter cat intake and euthanasia. Cat TNR surgeries in the target area increased signiﬁcantly during the 2 study years (P

*Signiﬁcantly different than mean ±2 standard deviations of 3 pre-treatment years.

Adapted from Levya et al. (2014).

*Signiﬁcantly different than mean ±2 standard deviations of 3 pre-treatment years.

Adapted from Levya et al. (2014).

During the study, a survey was taken within the community and many residents stated that they enjoyed taking care of the community cats, but felt overwhelmed with kittens, frustrated by noisy cat breeding behavior, or were concerned about aggression towards their own cats. These problems can be resolved with an increased prevalence of sterilization.

The overall outcome of this study showed that fewer cats were admitted to the shelter after the TNR program began. The effect of high-impact TNR and the adoption rate of about 60 cats/ 1,000 residents annually resulted in a reduction of shelter cat impoundment of 66% over the 2-year period. This compares to a long-standing low-impact countywide per capita TNR rate of approximately 8 cats/1000 residents annually.

A study was conducted by Spehar and Wolf (2018) at a municipal animal shelter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A targeted TNR program was added to a pre-existing community TNR effort. The goal of the study was to examine the effect of the TNR program on feline shelter intake and euthanasia.

Any healthy, free-roaming felines entering the shelter were taken to a spay-neuter clinic to undergo sterilization surgery. A total of 8,851 cats were sterilized as part of the TNR program. All cats entering the shelter and considered healthy were chosen to be a part of the program.

The TNR program targeted areas of the city that were deemed sources of high feline intake. Any healthy free-roaming cat that entered the shelter was transferred to two full-time employees who were hired to operate the program. The employees arranged for the cats to be sterilized at a high-volume, high-quality spay-neuter clinic. After the surgery, cats were ear-tipped for visual identification. If after the surgery, the animal was considered healthy it was returned to where it was captured. To determine the effects of the study, the number of sterilization surgeries, live feline shelter intakes, and euthanizations were recorded and analyzed before and after the initiation of the program.

The results of this study showed that the number of sterilization procedures performed fluctuated over the three years of the experiment. The first year consisted of 3,723 surgeries, the second year had 3,981, and the last year 3,334 surgeries were performed. This finding goes against any preconceived notions that initiating a targeted TNR program should cause a steady increase in sterilization surgeries. This study does confirm the results of the other two studies because it also shows a decrease in feline shelter intake and euthanasia. At the end of the three-year study period, when compared to the baseline of the 12-month period before the start of the program, feline euthanasia at this shelter declined by 84.1%, from 3,023 to 480 total cats. Total shelter cat intake decreased by 37.6%, from 9,776 to 6,102 cats.

No significance reported

Adapted from Spehar and Wolf (2018)

Overall conclusions of the study indicate that total shelter cat intake and the number of kittens born decreased after the targeted TNR program was implemented. The study took into consideration that the decreased amount of calls to the city about dead cats most likely indicates a reduction in the total population of free-roaming cats presents in the Albuquerque community. To confirm this hypothesis more research needs to be done that focuses on the number of free-roaming cats living within the city.

Conclusion

All three studies need to conduct more research on how many feral cat populations are still in the areas after the TNR programs are initiated. All studies showed that the initiation of a TNR program lead to a decrease in feline euthanizations and shelter intakes. The last study showed a fluctuation in the number of sterilization surgeries, unlike the other studies which showed a steady increase after the initiation of TNR. Therefore, for this study, it is harder to determine a correlation between the TNR program and the decrease in euthanizations and shelter intakes.

The study conducted by Levya et al. (2014) had the strongest evidence of a correlation between the initiation of the TNR program and a decrease in euthanizations and shelter intakes because it compared the difference between the change in euthanizations and shelter intakes in an area that was targeted by TNR and an area that was not. This can help make a strong claim that TNR can cause these decreases in euthanizations and intakes.

The study conducted by Levya et al. (2014) included a survey that looked into how community members who cared for the feral cats felt about them. A majority of the residents concluded that they enjoyed caring for the cats. This debunks the misconception that community cats are a nuisance to community members.

All of the studies’ results showed that TNR reduces the number of cats entering shelters and the number of euthanizations performed. The studies performed by Edinboro et al. (2016) and Levya et al. (2014) showed a significant difference in both the number of cats entering shelters and euthanizations when compared to the beginning of the program. The study conducted by Spehar and Wolf (2018) fell short in their conclusion by not including any measurement for significance.

These studies need to conduct further research on the welfare states of the animals after they are returned to the wild to determine the benefits of TNR programs.

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Analysis of Feral Cats Population in the United States

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