Now What?

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩1️⃣: 

𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐬/𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬/ 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:

✔️are the cats friendly or feral (unsocialized/not domesticated)?

✔️how many are there? how many kittens, how many adults.

✔️Have any of them been fixed? 

✔️who is feeding them?

✔️what time, where, and how often are they feeding them?

 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 2️⃣:

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚-

Observe the cats' routine-- where they eat, sleep, and how they move through the space. This ensures no cats or kittens are accidentally left behind, especially during trapping or rescue efforts. *Check for ear tips which indicate a feral cat has been fixed*

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 3️⃣:

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞

➡️If the cats are 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 or are 𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟔 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬, you can take to Washoe County Regional Animal Services. 

➡️If they are kittens 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 than six weeks, you can take them next door to the Nevada Humane Society. 

➡️FERAL CATS

 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 cats over the age of 4 months old, they need to be trapped, Neutered, and Returned (TNR'ed) to the location where they were found by using a TNR clinic.

‼️𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐒!!!! ‼️

(Unless they are sick or injured, bringing feral cats there take up valuable kennel space and can result in euthanasia if they are deemed unadoptable)

(if you have a sick or injured feral Cat, you can also bring it to any TNR clinic (Nevada Humane Society for Options veterinary care) on the designated TNR Day, even if it has already been fixed, and they will provide appropriate care for it)

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 4️⃣

Schedule TNR Appointments

Contact a TNR clinic (Options Veterinary Care or the Nevada Humane Society) to make appointments for TNR and borrow or buy some traps. 

𝐓𝐍𝐑 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲. 

Please refer to our page about more in-depth and step by step information about TNR: 

 How To Get Started with TNR 

Why This Matters

In Washoe County, stray cats brought to Washoe County Regional Animal Services (WCRAS) are held for 5 days before becoming eligible for transfer by the Nevada Humane Society or other rescue partners, such as us.

However, Feral Cats--who are not socialized and not considered adoptable-- are rarely pulled by rescues.

As a result, feral cats often remain in the shelter for weeks or even longer, confined in a kennel, surrounded by unfamiliar sounds, smells, and people.

For a feral cat that has never lived indoors, or been handled by humans, this is an incredibly traumatic and stressful experience that can be easily bypassed by TNR.

 In addition, filling valuable shelter space with feral cats contributes to increased euthanasia rates and puts adoptable animals at risk, as it limits the capacity to house adoptable cats and kittens. 

This is why TNR--not shelter surrender-- is the only responsible, humane, effective solution for managing feral cats in our community. 

✅TNR keeps cats in the environment they know

✅Stops the cycle of reproduction

✅Frees up shelter resources for animals who truly need a safe space

Let's work together to keep our shelters safe, our resources available, and our feral cat populations managed humanely.