Feral Cat Program

TSNIP’s Trap-Neuter-Return committee has been developing a system to spay and neuter community cats with support from the City of Tuscaloosa, the City of Northport, and Tuscaloosa County.

To date, TSNIP has supported over 175 colonies in the Tuscaloosa, Northport, and Tuscaloosa County areas with over 1,200 cats total. Our first colony was established at the Battle-Friedman House in downtown Tuscaloosa. 

Why Trap-Neuter-Return? 
Removing and euthanizing cats is expensive and doesn't solve the problem long-term. New cats will move into areas providing access to food and water sources and they quickly expand their populations. Fortunately, cats are territorial. Spaying and neutering cats and returning them to their colony reduces the cat population over time. The "fixed" cats use the resources and maintain their territory, thereby keeping new cats out. Instead of removing cats from the same location several times a year, the cats are fixed once and can keep that neighborhood stable for years. This method is known as TNR, or Trap-Neuter-Return.  

What is a feral cat?

Feral cats are defined as “an unsocialized outdoor cat who has either never had any physical contact with humans or human interaction has diminished over time and she/he is no longer accustomed to it.” Feral cats are scared, run away, will not make eye contact and are rarely seen unless eating or caught off guard (alleycat.org).

Socialized Cats

Spaying or neutering a feral cat dramatically changes their behavior and improves their overall health and life expectancy.

Spayed or Neutered Feral Cats

Average lifespan is 8-10 years

Rarely Spray Urine

Odor reduced by 50%

Quiet

Usually healthy

Population stable, then decrease

Unaltered Feral Cats

Average lifespan is 2-3 years

Spray urine to mark territory

Strong urine odor

Howl at night-fighting/breeding

High rate of disease

Population increases