Community Cat Programs

What is a community cat?

Community cats are free roaming cats with no identifiable signs of ownership. The outside community is their home. She or he may have been born outside or become lost from their previous home. Their behavior may be anything from feral to semi-feral to friendly and they may even trust their caretaker a bit. What all these cats have in common is they are free-roaming and are un-owned in the traditional sense of pet ownership. However, they often have caretakers who love and care for them and may consider the cats theirs. They may even have several people feeding them in the neighborhood. Quite often they have not been spayed or neutered so continue to reproduce. This is where the High Plateau Humane Society steps in with two Community Cat Programs to help curb overpopulation by humanely trapping them and getting them spayed or neutered, vaccinated, any minor injury or illness treated and ear tipped (the universal sign of an altered feral cat.)

Please Note: If a kitty appears to be friendly, we make every attempt to find their owner (microchips are key!) If their owner can’t be found, we try to adopt them into a loving home.

FERAL CAT SPAY AND NEUTER VOUCHERS:

You may purchase a Feral Cat Voucher, borrow a humane trap to catch the cat and take him to the Modoc Veterinary Center yourself. Just $50 covers the spay or neuter procedure, a rabies and FVRCP vaccine, a shot for pain, and treatment for minor problems, such as abscesses or ear mites. It also covers complicated spays or neuters. So, even if the cat is in heat, pregnant or cryptorchid (where the testies are not in their normal position) the voucher covers it.

This is often a good option if you have only a few cats. It is also a good way to get started with fixing your cats since there is often a waiting list for the Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) Program. (Read more about the TNR Program further down on this page.)

This voucher program is available to everyone, regardless of income. Some discounted or free vouchers may even be available for severely low income persons when our funding allows.

To use this program, the cat must be healthy, at least 3 pounds in weight, and delivered to the Modoc Veterinary Center in a Have-A-Heart style humane feral cat trap. It is important to immediately and completely cover the trap with a towel or sheet after you catch the cat. This will calm the cat and be less stressful for them (and you.) The cat will have its ear tipped (the universal sign of a spayed or neutered community cat) while under anesthesia during this procedure. The ear tip prevents someone from trying to catch the cat again for sterilization, and is a mandatory condition of the program.

Cats are unable to regulate their body temperature after surgery. For this reason, when the cat is picked up after surgery it is important they be kept in a warm, quiet space for 24 hours during recovery. Please visit the TRAPPING TIPS  tab on this website for more information about how to successfully trap and care for a community cat in your care.

Please note this program is NOT for pet cats.

HAVE-A-HEART HUMANE TRAP LENDING PROGRAM:

We have humane live cat traps available for you to borrow. Stop by the Second Chance Thrift Store at 114 East First Street in Alturas to sign up for one. Store hours are Wednesday to Friday10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Our traps are not to be used to catch cats for euthanasia unless the cat is very sick or severely hurt. They are only to be used to catch, alter, vaccinate and then return the cats to the same location where they were originally trapped so they can continue to thrive and live out their life. It is important to understand that the location where they were picked up is their familiar home. Releasing them in another location without proper preparation or resources is equivalent to you being dropped off in New York City without knowing anyone and no money!

LOW COST EUTHANASIA:

Some community cats in the area are sick and you might occasionally find a severely injured one as well. We can help you help that cat through our low cost euthanasia certificate. This certificate is available to everyone, regardless of income, when it is used to put down a community cat that is suffering. It costs about half the normal cost of euthanasia. Please note, the Modoc Veterinary Center will NOT honor this voucher for healthy community cats.

BARN CAT PROGRAM:

Want to add a community cat or two to your property to do some mousing? Email modocspayandneuter@gmail.com with your name, address, phone number and the number of cats you want to have and we will do our best to help.

TRAP/NEUTER/RETURN (TNR) PROGRAM:

A targeted TNR program which includes vaccination against rabies and FVRCP reduces an existing colony population over time. It reduces the spread of disease and mitigates many common complaints associated with un-altered cats, such as spraying, yowling, fighting and of course, kittens being born.

The first goal of a targeted TNR program focuses on fixing ALL the cats in a colony. A female cat can become pregnant as early as five months and can have up to three litters a year. Its easy to see how a partially fixed colony can repopulate again in a short time.

But, don’t blame the problem entirely on the girls! Unaltered male cats roam as they are attracted to unfixed females in the surrounding area. They can impregnate many females, so in effect they may be causing an even larger number of unwanted kittens to be born.

The second goal of a targeted TNR program is to concentrate trapping in an entire neighborhood of colonies. By trapping adjacent colonies, cats roam less from colony to colony. This is when we see significantly fewer unwanted kittens being born and consequently fewer sick kittens being brought to the HPHS shelter. It is when we reach this point that we are truly getting a grip on the situation and making a difference in the lives of kittens, cats and the hard working volunteers at HPHS who work tirelessly to help cats and kittens.

The third goal of the TNR program is to return any lost cats home again. We scan for a microchip and if the owner is registered, we contact them. Any cat wearing a collar and/or an ID tag is not taken to the veterinarian to be fixed. Any potentially adoptable cat and young kittens are transferred to the HPHS Pet Cat Program to be cared for and adopted into loving homes.

Do you want to help solve the community cat overpopulation problem?

If these targeted goals are not met, we may be helping individual cats, but we are not being as efficient and effective with volunteer’s time and effort and the money used for these programs. We feel a tremendous responsibility to make the best use of our resources, since people who donate or trust us with grant funds expect their money be used in the most productive way possible.

The only way we can be successful at bringing the community cat population to a manageable level is to have help from folks in the community. Folks like you!

Here are a few ways you can help:

(See the list of resources at the bottom of the page for more information on any of these topics.)

  • If you are currently feeding and providing shelters for outside cats, take advantage of our programs to get the cats fixed. The sooner the better, before the colony grows. We want to support your compassion for these kitties. Community cat caretakers are encouraged to register online on our confidential database at www.catstats.org/modoc to create an account.

  • Are you interested in becoming a TNR trapper? You must be at least 16 years old to participate. Online or in person training is available. It is a fun and satisfying activity knowing you are helping these wonderful kitties.

  • Can you build winter shelters or feeding stations for the cats? These can be anything from quite simple to more elaborate.

  • Can you donate or do a fundraiser to support the TNR Program? Common fundraisers could be holding a yard sale, a car wash, or raise money on a Facebook birthday fundraiser, to name just a few.

  • Would you like to foster kittens who are found during TNR trappings? You must be at least 16 years old to participate. We rescue kittens who need minor medical attention or are at an age to be socialized. Please note that healthy kittens who are in a safe location and being cared for by their mama will be monitored and not scooped up for fostering until they are weaned or close to weaning age.

  • Be a community cat advocate! Spread the word and educate people about these effective programs available to help community cats. See the list of resources below for more ideas and information.

    R E S O U R C E S:

    For Everyone Interested in Community Cats:

    Neighborhood Cats Guide to all things TNR

    For Caretakers:

    Modoc County Cat Stats – Caretakers can enter their colony information here.

    Caretaker Tips and Tricks Podcast

    For Trappers:

    Trapper Tips and Tricks Podcast

    For Foster Families:

    The Kitten Lady's Kitten Care Webinar Series

  • National Kitten Coalition eLearning Center

  • Video - Did you find kittens outside?

  • For Handy People:

    Neighborhood Cats Winter Shelter Ideas

    Ten Small Pet Houses from Five Sheets of Plywood – PDF file

    For Kids:

    Community Cat Activity Books - FREE downloads!