What Is a “Community Cat”?
A community cat is a feral or stray cat living in neighborhoods or industrial areas outside.
Feral cats are the offspring of stray or abandoned pets that are not spayed or neutered. Female cats can become pregnant at five months of age and can give birth several times each year. Without early human contact, their kittens become feral and begin the cycle of breeding again.
Feral cats are not socialized to humans and will often avoid all contact. They do not want to be pets or brought inside.
Stray cats were once pets and have either run away or been abandoned. Just like feral cats, if left unaltered, they will contribute to thousands of unwanted kittens being born in our communities.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, tens of millions of un-owned cats live outdoors, and most rely on humans for food and shelter. These cats can be truly un-socialized ferals or friendly strays that have been lost or abandoned.
What Does the Feral Cat Coalition Do?
The Feral Cat Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the overpopulation of feral and abandoned cats through free, humane Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). We believe it is our responsibility, as a community, to care for cats that have been forced, through human abandonment or failure to spay and neuter, to live outdoors.
When appropriate, we lend humane traps, with instructions, for the purpose of trapping, neutering, and returning feral cats to their outdoor homes, where they are monitored by caretakers.
Since 1992, we have spayed and neutered more than 50,000 community cats. Licensed veterinarians perform spay/neuter surgeries at our facility in San Diego, and at various locations throughout San Diego County.
Tax-deductible donations are welcome and needed, and go directly to providing free spay/neuter services to community cats in need.
What Is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?
TNR is the only proven and humane method of managing community cat colonies and is endorsed by leading animal welfare organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Community cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped (the universal symbol of a sterilized feral cat), and returned to their outdoor homes, where they are monitored by caretakers.
Research has shown that, when correctly implemented, TNR stabilizes and reduces feral cat populations, eliminates undesirable behaviors associated with mating, and is more effective and cost-efficient than lethal control.
How Can You Be Part of the Solution?
Trap-Neuter-Return. Call our message center at (855) FCC-CATS, make a reservation, and bring community cats to our spay/neuter clinics. Humane traps, with instructions, are available for loan.
Volunteer. Give your time, and ask your personal veterinarian to do the same. Complete our volunteer questionnaire to get started.
Donate. Make a tax-deductible contribution via PayPal, or send a check to 9528 Miramar Road, PMB 160, San Diego, CA 92126. (Tax ID: 33-0590141)
Spay and neuter your pets. Cats can begin reproducing as early as five months of age, so they should be sterilized by that age, or younger. Cats can give birth several times a year, and each litter adds to the millions of cats across the country competing for homes. Close to two million cats are euthanized each year in shelters and animal control facilities nationwide.
In addition to population control, sterilization can also eliminate unpleasant behaviors of intact cats, such as fighting and spraying.
For low-cost spay/neuter for pets in San Diego County, contact:
- SNAP’s Neuter Scooter – (866) SPAY-BUS – for owned pets
- Animal Welfare Foundation – (619) 702-4400 – for owned pets
- Pet Assistance (in San Diego’s North County) – (855) 738-7349 – for owned pets
You can make a difference. Together, we can save lives. Get involved today!
