Guidelines and recommendations for record keeping and data use for feline trap-neuter-return programs

Abstract

Feral and free roaming domestic cat (Felis catus) populations are a growing concern for animal welfare, wildlife mortality, and human and domestic animal health. This means that the issue is also a growing topic for discussion for animal welfare proponents as well as wildlife and environmental scientists and managers, as it should be. Trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs are increasingly being used and pushed as an effective way to limit and even reduce population growth of feral cat colonies. However, there is criticism from much of the scientific community on whether this method is actually effective in controlling or reducing feral cat populations, as well as the effect they have on wildlife. A program called Operation Catnip Stillwater is a TNR program that has been ongoing since 2012 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This program holds seven clinics a year to sterilize and vaccinate feral cats caught in traps by volunteers. The main objective of my project was to examine the effects of the TNR (trap-neuter-release) program, Operation Catnip, on the feral cat population in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Specifically, I wanted to know whether there has been a noticeable decline or growth of cat colonies, using intake data from several source. Unfortunately, the data I available to me was inconsistent and limited. Therefore, I could not complete my original objective. Instead, I realized the need for a standardized set of data recommendations for TNR operations and those organizations that work closely with them. I formed a list of record-keeping recommendations and why I chose them.