Friend or Foe: The Epic Battle Over Community Cats by Jack Cole
- Morgan Cole
- Nov 19, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: May 5, 2024
TNR is one of the community cat world's most debated and controversial topics. The following essay explores the various arguments involved with this popular practice:
“Get off my lawn,” my neighbor Ms. Truesdale shrieked, and I smiled, thinking she was joking. She wasn’t. She was actually screeching at a gray and black tabby cat who had run up her pathway and meowed at her. The cat scurried away. Then she turned to me. “Don’t feed it! Let it find its own food. These wild animals are ruining the neighborhood and killing all the wildlife,” she yelled. In a politically charged world in which neighbors and even families spar over the Middle East, the environment, abortion, and the sanctity of our election process, no issue brings more polarization than community cats. For the uninitiated, community cats are cats that do not belong to a person and instead live in a community. They can be abandoned cats, shy cats, feral cats or friendly cats. Whether you love them or hate them, they are everywhere if you look hard enough: in neighborhoods, alleyways, and luxury resorts. These cats are at issue in every corner of the country. How to handle this situation is the source of many heated discussions, threats, and fights. In my extremely biased view, it will become evidently clear from this discussion that people should provide care and respect for our community cats because presently there is no other practical solution, the consequences of eradication are drastic, and the benefits of outdoor cats far exceed the disadvantages.
First, less is more! Despite Ms. Truesdale’s protests, if people don’t intervene by trying to control the cat population, the number of outdoor cats could explode even further. It is estimated that 30 to 80 million cats are currently roaming the United States. Cats can begin to reproduce as early as four months of age, and a single pair of cats and their offspring can produce a shocking 420,000 cats in just 7 years. Humans wanting to help this long-standing issue have been practicing Trap-Neuter-Return (“TNR”) around the nation. Under this method of population control, cats are humanely trapped, neutered and vaccinated, then returned to their home area to live out their lives. Typically, the cats are then fed by volunteers in order to prevent both starvation and predation of other species. Like most things related to community cats, whether or not TNR programs are effective is a point of great debate. Many studies point to the success of long-term TNR strategies, one even citing a decrease of 99.4% community cats over a 16-year time period in a particular region. Others vehemently disagree. For example, advocates from the American Bird Conservancy argue that TNR is ineffective in reducing outdoor cat populationsbecause people cannot neuter enough of the cats to make a significant difference. Clearly, specific circumstances ultimately determine the efficacy of TNR in a particular situation. Despite the existing ambiguity in TNR findings, offering a more impactful remedy remains elusive. That is to say, even if hypothetically valid, the problem with the anti-TNR stance is that it offers no other immediate way of addressing the situation other than to ignore the problem. Given that tens of millions of homeless cats presently exist in our country, proposed long-term solutions like targeted adoption, community education initiatives, and responsible pet ownership, simply will not solve the current problem. As a result, the most humane and effective position for the moment is TNR.
Second, would you prefer a cat or a mouse? That is the question! When addressing issues concerning the environment, it is important to consider the consequences of our decisions. For instance, what would happen if Ms. Truesdale got her way, and the outdoor cats disappeared? The answer may skitter right across her feet. Beyond being a nuisance to some and terrifying to others, mice and rats have proven dangerous to people for thousands of years. This is because of the potentially fatal diseases they can transmit, including Hantavirus, Lujo Hemorrhagic Fever, and Monkeypox. Cats are a natural antidote to the rodent issue. In the U.S., cats kill 20.7 billion mice and other small mammals a year, consequently reducing the mouse population annually. Although rats may provide a bigger challenge for cats to hunt due to their size, the felines still manage to provide protection against rat infestations. When cats are present, there is materiallyless rat activity. Conversely, without cats around rats appear near humans significantly more.There is even evidence that the very smell of cat reduces rat reproduction. As a result, if no outdoor cats existed, rats and mice may fill the void once occupied by our outdoor cats. Armed with this information, some cities have found great success in utilizing cats in their fight against rodents. In Chicago, a fleet of feral cats has been formed to combat a pervasive rat problem. In this program, former shelter cats have been placed in small groups in commercial and residential areas to patrol for rats. Since their placement, businesses and residents have cared for these previously unadoptable felines, and the area has seen great success in rat reduction with their cat army. Chicago is not an anomaly. Anecdotal evidence from around the country suggests that in many situations, cat-based rat reduction has worked well to alleviate rat infestations. In additionto the possibility of more mice and rats in our communities, those opposed to outdoor cats would need to consider that rats also prey on indigenous wildlife and compete for their natural resources. The solution of eradicating cats may create even more complex problems.
Third, just as people are helping cats, the cats are helping people. It is critical not to forget the human element of the community cat debate. While volunteers are helping the homeless cats of the world when they neuter, vaccinate, and feed them, the cats are giving back to the people aiding them as well. Study after study demonstrates the benefits that companion animals can have on our lives, including findings of significantly lower levels of psychological disturbances in cat owners (perhaps refuting the stereotype of the crazy cat lady!). People with pets have also been found to have healthier heart rates and blood pressure. The same benefits can extend to those feeding cats outside the home. For the elderly, animals can be a lifeline, immunizing them against feelings of loneliness and purposelessness. Feeding outdoor cats can help give isolated people, especially the elderly, stronger meaning to their lives. The significance of improving the quality of life of otherwise emotionally distressed and lonely members of our communities cannot be overlooked.
After all this back and forth, we need to ask ourselves – can’t we all just get along? Cat advocates. Bird lovers. Cranky neighbors. Despite all the arguing, there are still things upon which we can all agree. First, to the great disdain of both cat lovers and cat haters, there will always be homeless and unwanted cats. Nobody wants starving cats roaming around. Nevertheless, the problem exists. Even if we all wanted to do so, it would be impossible to eliminate all the outdoor cats in the country, and the fact is most people don’t want that as a solution. When surveyed, a disproportionate number of Americans (81%) felt that allowing a homeless cat to live out its life outside was preferable to catching and killing them. Second, nobody wants cats to harm indigenous wildlife like birds and reptiles. It is a fact that some outdoor cats will kill prey. The good news is that studies have found that when TNR cats are fed and neutered, their hunting instincts decline. In addition, the older the TNR cats get (when they are fed and therefore generally healthier), the less likely they are to hunt. In a battle that is not likely to resolve, looking at the facts will hopefully aid in a mutual understanding between those that love and those that despise the cats.
Finally, we need to do the right thing! Ethically speaking, taking care of homeless animals is the correct course of action. People created the problem of homeless cats. Even feral cats are a product of irresponsible humans. Many owners allow their cats to roam, and if not neutered, these cats will reproduce. Others abandon their cats or the cats of deceased loved ones onto the streets. As with many environmental issues that grip our nation, we have a moral imperative to clean up the mess that others have created. Even if it isn’t a perfect solution and even if Ms. Truesdale detests it, we need to help community cats because they depend on us to survive and maintain a reasonable quality of life. I’ll bake Ms. Truesdale some cat shaped cookies. Maybe she’ll warm up to the idea.
Footnotes
All names have been changed to protect the grumpy.
total-of-420000-kittens/
populations-check-180970428/
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problem/OMMSA442KJGK3JK2HJNOAPOKHQ/
times%20leading%20to%20extinction.
83501/pet_paper.pdf
Karyen Chu and Wendy M. Anderson, “U.S. Public Opinion on Humane Treatment of Stray Cats,” Law &
Policy Brief (Bethesda, MD: Alley Cat Allies, September 2007).
Ibid.
