CRAWFORD COUNTY, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—A new program aimed at managing the stray cat population has been introduced in Crawford County. The program, known as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), is being coordinated by Darla Lewis, who identified the need for such a program through her own experiences with trapping strays in her neighborhood.
While about 80% of owned cats are spayed or neutered, less than 3% of community cats are. This leads to them breeding and having kittens outdoors. Female cats can become pregnant as early as 4 months old, meaning even kittens can start having kittens of their own.
TNR is a humane and effective approach to managing outdoor cat populations. Through TNR, entire colonies of community cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, eartipped, and then returned to their outdoor homes. The term ‘return’ is crucial as the cats are returned to the exact area where they’ve been living. This is their home, and where they belong. An eartip is the universal symbol of a cat who has been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
TNR also improves the lives of individual cats. Spaying and neutering eliminates the behaviors and stresses of pregnancy and mating. Cats can have multiple pregnancies per year, starting as early as 4 months of age. TNR also stops the cycle of reproduction, meaning that shelters will no longer be overwhelmed every kitten season, the spring and summer months when the most litters of kittens are born.
The program needs the community’s assistance. If you have a stray cat problem in your neighborhood or know of a neighborhood that has a stray cat problem, please email DARLEWTNR@YAHOO.COM. Include the town you live in, the area in which you live (street name, etc.), and the approximate number of strays in that area.