How safe is trap-neuter-return for feral cats?

[the catsage]

And trap-spay-return I guess for females? There are so many ferals around my house and no organization neutering/spaying them. Lets say I volunteer to trap them, take them to the vet, pay to spay or neuter them and then bring them back and release them back to the streets. Is this ok for the cats? Will the lack of those hormones make them more vulnerable to dogs and other cats who have not been neutered or spayed? Should I consider doing this with some feral cats or is it better not to mess with them? 

 

[Norachan]

Hi @The Catsage

I think it will make their lives a lot easier. For one thing they won't be driven by the urge to mate, so they won't be roaming further and further from their home territory looking for a partner. This means they'll be less likely to get hit by cars or hurt by other animals, as well as less likely to get involved in fights with other feral cats.

Their chance of picking up an infectious disease will be much less. A lot of cat diseases are passed on through injuries, such as those tom cats inflict on each other, or through close contact with infected cats.

They'll still have the same instincts to defend themselves from dogs and other cats and will protect their "home" territory, but they won't go looking for fights the way that intact cats do. (Intact females can be just as feisty as intact males.)

Also, as they won't have kittens to feed or mates to look for or other tom cats to chase away from "their" females they'll have a lot more time to devote to feeding themselves.

If you are willing to do this look around in your neighborhood for a vet or clinic that will treat feral cats. Many of them treat ferals at a much lower price than they treat pet cats. They will also blood test and vaccinate them, which leads to a much healthier colony.

 

[kittymomma1122]

I personally had mine spayed and eartipped. Spaying and neutering is great. It will keep the population down. They tend not to fight with other cats which will keep them healthier. They can spread FIV and get abscesses/injured fighting. Mine are not defenseless after being spayed. I would love if mine could be socialized and brought indoors for the best life,but sometimes that is not possible. Although a feral colony is a lot of work and worry the reward of caring for them far exceeds the time and money I spend on them.

 

[molly92]

(On a pedantic note, I think the term neuter technically can be used to refer to fixing both males and females, and spay means just females, although it's not normally used like that. So TNR covers it all.)

TNR programs have had great success. My county once got a grant for it and we TNR'd so many cats that the local rescue had to take in kittens from other cities because we didn't have enough kittens! It was wonderful.

And fixed cats have lots of advantages that keep them safer, as mentioned above. They're still prone to many diseases and predators, but they almost never spread FIV, for example, because the kinds of wounds that are required to transmit the disease only come the intense territorial fights that neutered cats don't have, or for females, being bitten hard during mating. Neutered cats do not have the urge to be so violent.

This is a great website for learning tips on how to conduct TNR: http://www.alleycat.org/Trap-Neuter-Return

 

[StefanZ]

 
And trap-spay-return I guess for females? There are so many ferals around my house and no organization neutering/spaying them. Lets say I volunteer to trap them, take them to the vet, pay to spay or neuter them and then bring them back and release them back to the streets. Is this ok for the cats? Will the lack of those hormones make them more vulnerable to dogs and other cats who have not been neutered or spayed? Should I consider doing this with some feral cats or is it better not to mess with them? 

This is actually a good question.  A memory arises.   When I began to be interested in homeless and ferales, I managed to lend a british scientific book on the area. The corporation of Waltham sponsored.  It was early 60:es, the TNR wasnt very wellknown as yet.  The author discussed the TNR, and supported  spaying of females. But was not sure if it was good for toms.  By similiar questions you do have.  They need their sharpness, their being competitive to other toms and enemies...  So he was very unsure on TnR for toms. But I got my hands on the follow up of this book, written two years later, again by Waltham and the same author.  NOW he got knowledge of how it works out in practice.  It was excellent!  True, They couldnt compete against the toms. It was often an advantage, but sometimes a disadvantage, true.  BUT the great bonus, now as neuters, they were admitted and welcomed into the colonies of females. (yes that was his wording).   And thus, in total, they did much better now as neuters than as fertile toms... So now did the TNR had his wholehearted approval and blessing...