This document discusses the problems associated with feral cat populations and the practice of trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs. It argues that TNR does not effectively reduce cat populations and is inhumane, as it forces cats to live outdoors. Allowing cats to roam freely risks transmission of diseases to humans and wildlife, and outdoor cats kill billions of birds and small mammals annually. The document calls on governments to pass laws requiring cats be licensed, vaccinated, and kept indoors or supervised outdoors to promote responsible ownership and protect public health and the environment.

1. Feral Cats - A Problem That Cannot Be Ignored
Responsible Animal Care USA, LLC (RAC) is a humane education organization that promotes
responsible animal care and legal and environmental protections aimed at preventing the
suffering of all animals. RAC is committed to sharing factual, evidence-based information to
steer humane policy and attitudes at the local, state and federal level.
279 Troy Road  Suite#9  Box 115  Rensselaer, NY 12144  Tel:518.478.1505
Towns across New York State have the same problem. What to do with the increasing population
of too many stray, feral and free-roaming cats found nearly everywhere? Domestic cats are
beloved pet companions to millions of people, but the free-roaming cat population is a serious
problem impacting wildlife, the environment and human health in states across the country.
Unfortunately another problem affecting towns is the willingness to buy into the notion that the
unregulated practice of TNR (trap-neuter-release) for free-roaming, feral cats will address the
problem and reduce the cat population until it is eventually eliminated. The arguments for
implementing a TNR program are seriously flawed and the practice has never been shown to
effectively or permanently reduce populations of cats.[1]
The practice of TNR is to live trap cats, sterilize them, clip off the top of one ear for
identification, administer one rabies vaccination and then release them to where they were
captured or to some other location. If multiple cats are released to one location they are referred
to as a “colony” of cats and they may be fed daily at “feeding stations” and perhaps given some
sort of shelter by one or more persons in a neighborhood or countryside. (Fig.1) Sometimes they
are released to the wild where they have to fend for themselves and end up starving, being
preyed upon or succumb to the elements, illness or injury. Often they are returned to an area
where they are not welcomed and people may take matters into their own hands and remove the
cats themselves by cruel methods such as poisoning, shooting, drowning or trapping and
releasing them elsewhere.
The initial premise of TNR, started 30 years ago in this country, was to reduce outdoor cat
populations to zero. This is impossible as a 75% sterilization rate is required to reduce a
population and the rate of sterilization for feral cats is less than 2%.[2] Today the goal is simply
to “manage” populations while saving the lives of all free-roaming feral cats and prevent them
from entering shelters where they might be humanely euthanized.
While this may sound like a compassionate idea it is anything but. Forcing cats to live outdoors
is inhumane and contributes to a shortened and overall poor quality of life. (Fig.2) Domestic
cats, Felis catus, are the same species whether they are beloved indoor pets, strays or fearful or
aggressive feral cats. They differ only in their degree of socialization to humans. Domestic
animals are far enough removed from their wild ancestors that they have no productive role in
native ecosystems. When an introduced population of non-native animals has devastating effects
on an ecosystem, the animal is considered an invasive species. Unowned, free-roaming domestic
cats are invasive nearly everywhere on earth.

2. Studies estimate there are 60 million, unowned, free-roaming domestic cats in North America.[3]
Free-roaming cats are just that; they are permitted to roam free, unrestricted, into residential and
commercial areas, schools, recreational sites, protected natural areas, houses of worship, farms,
and other private and publicly owned lands. It is an infringement on the rights of property
owners to permit colonies of free-roaming cats that know no boundaries and have no legal owner
responsible for hazards they present to humans, pets, and property.
There are serious public health issues related to allowing cats to roam outdoors. Free-roaming
cats are associated with diseases and parasites such as ringworm, hookworm, fleas, ticks, mites,
herpes and calici viruses, feline distemper, feline leukemia, FIV, coccidiosis, cat-scratch disease
(bartenollosis), toxoplasmosis and rabies. Many of these are zoonotic. Native wildlife such as
raccoons, skunks and coyotes are attracted to cat feeding stations, increasing interactions and
promoting the transmission of disease, with special concern to rabies-vector species such as
raccoons and skunks. Cats are four times more likely to contract rabies than dogs and are the
number one domestic animal for which PEP (post-exposure-prophylaxis) rabies vaccinations are
administered due to cat bites and scratches.[4] New York state attributes more PEP
administration to cat exposures (32%) than any other species.[5] Cats are also hunters of bats that
are the primary reported wild animal carrier of rabies.[6] PEP vaccinations typically exceed
$3,000 per person per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[6] Rabies is always fatal if
not prevented in time.
Despite TNR cats receiving a one-time rabies vaccination at the time of sterilization, they rarely
receive the annual booster that is required for full immunity.[7] Monitoring and re-trapping cats is
time-consuming, costly and difficult to do.
Mice and rats are also attracted to cat food thus dispelling the myth that cats help to control pest
rodent populations. Cats are indiscriminate killers and will kill essential native rodents as well as
introduced species like house mice.[8]
Cats are the definitive host (sexually reproducing only in the intestines of a cat) for the
protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, which causes toxoplasmosis. A single cat can excrete millions of
egg-like oocysts in fecal matter that can infect any warm-blooded animal. Sources of infection
include inadvertently ingesting oocysts while gardening, playing in sandboxes, drinking
contaminated water, eating improperly washed vegetables, eating or handling undercooked meat,
inhaling desiccated oocysts, or via congenital transmission in pregnant women. Tissue cysts are
found in farm animals, white-tailed deer, birds, and even cause deaths of marine mammals.[9]
Regardless of the source of infection, all are dependent upon cats shedding oocysts that can
remain viable in soil and waterways for up to 18 months. (Fig.3)
More than 60 million people in the U.S. are thought to be infected with T. gondii cysts. Infection
in humans can result in miscarriages, blindness, memory loss, organ failure and epilepsy. There
is a growing body of evidence linking T. gondii with a variety of mental disorders including late-
life schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and increased risk taking.[10]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified toxoplasmosis as one of five neglected
parasitic diseases targeted for further studies.

3. It is estimated that outdoor cats kill 1.3 to 4.0 billion birds, 6.3 to 22.3 billion small mammals
and hundreds of millions of reptiles and insects annually in this country alone.[3]
The number of cat-killed birds amounts to more than all other hazards to birds combined. (Fig.4)
Most vulnerable are ground or low-nesting birds, nestlings and fledglings that are still growing
their feathers and honing their flying skills. Colorful collars and cat “bibs” are designed to
minimize the hunting of owned outdoor cats but they obviously cannot be placed on feral cats.
Even well-fed, outdoor cats will continue to hunt wildlife due to different neurological pathways
in the brain.[11]
Cat-caught animals that escape being killed will likely succumb to bacterial infection from cat
saliva if not promptly administered antibiotics by a wildlife rehabilitator.[12] The density of free-
roaming cats on the landscape can be many times the number of native predators, hence cats
affect not only native prey population but also reduce the prey availability for similar sized
native predators such as fox, coyote, hawks and owls.
The argument that removing cats from an area results in other cats moving in, known as the
“vacuum effect”, does not hold true. Animals are attracted to a food source, not to a vacuum.
Removing cats from an area whether for adoption or humane euthanasia while also removing the
food source will stop attracting unwanted animals. Results of a Florida study refuted claims that
neutered cats defend and keep new arrivals from entering a colony while well-fed colonies
encourage illegal abandonment of unwanted cats. [13]
Lastly, we are most concerned that TNR activities not only enable, but encourage lack of
responsibility. Whether stray, owned, or feral, all cats are companion animals and the
unregulated practice of TNR that releases cats outdoors violates NY Agriculture & Markets Law
§374(5). It encourages shelters that exist to provide humane care and housing of homeless, lost
and neglected animals to illegally release them into a free-roaming or barn cat program. Why
would towns want to encourage such irresponsible behavior? Who is responsible if these
animals injure or spread illness to a human or pet, or cause property damage to a residence or
business? Isn’t it the town’s responsibility to work for the health and wellbeing of the
community?
We implore government at the federal, state, and local levels to pursue legislative remedies
that promote responsible animal ownership, including laws that require cat owners to license,
spay or neuter, regularly vaccinate their feline companions and contain them on one’s own
property or supervise them when outdoors, like dogs. The National Association of State Public
Health Veterinarians recommends that identification of cats and dogs be required and advises
that “registration or licensure is an integral component of an effective rabies control program.”
Cat licensing would provide funds to care for felines. It isn’t fair that monies obtained from dog
license fees are used to subsidize spay/neuter programs for both dogs and cats. License/leash
laws for dogs were initially met with opposition, but we now universally agree they are a good
thing. The same will eventually be true with cats.
We can love and care for our companion felines while also valuing the intrinsic nature of our
wildlife, respecting our neighbors, the environment and protecting our health by acting

4. responsibly. We can make practical decisions based on sound data and research and not let
emotions overwhelm rational thought.
Samples of what a cat ordinance might include:
1) All cats must be kept within the boundaries of the owner’s property or on harness and leash or
under control of the owner if off the property.
2) Cats must stay indoors unless they are licensed, have identification, such as a tattoo,
microchip or collar and tag.
3) Cats lacking identification or seem like strays can be “apprehended” and kept for a required
number of days as indicated by the humane society or municipal facility.
4) Each cat will be sheltered, cared for and relinquished at a cost of $25 per day with designated
proof of ownership. If no owner comes forth, the cat may be put up for adoption or euthanized if
deemed necessary.
5) Violations of the ordinance will result in a fine up to $75 for a first offense, up to $150 for a
second offense and up to $250 for subsequent offenses.
Literature Cited
[1] Castillo D, Clarke A. Trap/Neuter/Release Methods Ineffective in Controlling Domestic Cat
“Colonies” on Public Lands. Natural Areas Journal 23(3): 247-253. (2003)
[2] Anderson M, et al. Use of matrix population models to estimate the efficacy of euthanasia
versus trap-neuter-return for management of free-roaming cats. J Amer Vet Med Assoc
225(12): 1871-1876. (2004)
[3] Loss SR, Will T, Marra PP. The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United
States. Nature Communications 4:1396 (2012)
[4] Roebling AD, et al. Rabies Prevention and Management of Cats in the Context of trap-
Neuter-Vaccinate-Release Programmes. Zoonoses and Public Health. 1-7 (2013)
[5] Eidson M, Bingman AK. Terrestrial rabies and human postexposure prophylaxis, New York,
USA. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 16: 527-529 (2010)
[6] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html
[7] National Assoc. of State Public Health Veterinarians Compendium of Animal Rabies
Prevention and Control, 2016. JAVMA 248(5): 505-517 (2016)
[8] Glass GE, et al. Trophic Garnishes:Cat-Rat Interactions in an Urban Environment. PLOS One
4(6). (2009) http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0005794
[9] Rogers Kim S. How the Tiniest of Parasites is Taking Down the Mightiest of Monk Seals.
Smithsonian Magazine (2018) https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-tiniest-
parasites-taking-down-mightiest-monk-seals-180969559/
[10] Sutterland AL, et al. Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, and addiction: systemic review and meta-analysis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.
132(3): 161-179. (2015)
[11] Ademec RE. The interaction of hunger and preying in the domestic cat (Felis catus): an
adaptive hierarchy. Behavioral Biology 18: 263-272 (1976)
[12] Mcruer DL, et al. Free-roaming cat interactions with wildlife admitted to a wildlife hospital.
Journal of Wildlife Mgmt; DOI:10.1002/jwmg.21181 (2016)
[13] Levy JK, et al. Evaluation of the effect of a long-term trap-neuter-return and adoption
program on a free-roaming cat population. JAVMA 222: 42-46 (2003)