Blootails TNR, rescues, and humane education
Cats in our yard, cats in the alley....
In August 2006 we purchased a home in Chicago, on the border of Pilsen/Little Village. Upon moving into our new home we noticed an abundance of stray/feral cats. These cats were hanging around the alleys, streets and our yard. We began to feed our new four-legged neighbors and wondered how else could we help them. We did some research, got lots of information from Alley Cat Allies and PAWS Chicago, then we started practicing TNR. TNR stands for TRAP, NEUTER, RETURN. We began by trapping the cats we had been feeding, took them to PAWS Chicago to have them spayed/neutered, and after a short recovery period we return them to the spot where we had trapped them. Soon, we had to move outside of our yard to catch other colonies of cats. We are committed to maintaining a reliable source of food for the cats, and currently have four "feed stations" in our neighborhood. You can take the steps we did and take care of the cats in your neighborhood. There are many many resources available to support your efforts in caring for the cats. Remember:
- TRAP: Humanely trap all the feral cats in a colony
- NEUTER: Take the cats in their traps to a vet to be spayed or neutered, eartipped, vaccinated, and treated as needed
- RETURN: Return the cats back to their established outdoor area. Provide food and water daily, make a simple shelter, and monitor their well-being.
TNR information for you - - - ->CLICK HERE
- Removing the cats is not effective and new cats will move in to take advantage of the available resources.
- TNR is the only effective and humane way to manage feral cat populations.
Helping Community Cats - a TNR workshop!
Yvette Pina & Anna Morrison-Ricordati conduct the Helping Community cats workshop for Alley Cat Allies at the
Anti-Cruelty Society - the 3rd Monday of every month, 6pm.
Facts about Ferals
A feral cat is one that has had little or no contact with humans and is wild. Feral cats are usually the offspring of un-neutered cats (usually abandoned by their owners), or they are adult cats that were abandoned so long ago that they have reverted to a wild state. Feral cats are often found in commercial and residential areas, subsisting on the scraps they find in dumpsters or on the ground.
Donations Accepted & Needed
(not tax deductible)
TNR in Chicago
Alley Cat Allies, Tree House Animal Foundation and Paws Chicago joined together to raise awareness of feral cats and teach the community about TNR.
Mid-July 2007 we were interviewed by Chicago Public Radio, listen to the interview here.
We were also interviewed by ABC 7 Chicago news at the end of November 2007, watch interview here.
