TNR Services in San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, and Milpitas.
Humane choice to trapping cats * Alternative to euthanasia * Reducing the birth rate
More cats are intentionally killed in the United States than die from any other documented cause. Who is responsible? The vast majority of these killings are perpetrated not by cruel individuals, but by, and with the authority of, an antiquated animal control system. These killings are performed by government employees and contractors, and spill over to private shelter employees.
Feral cats are not socialized to humans. They are not candidates for adoption into homes. To put them into an animal control system where the only positive outcome is adoption is to hand these animals a death sentence. We recognize that the historic animal control system is the problem, not the solution.
Fortunately, a viable, nonlethal alternative has already been identified and is being implemented in communities across the world. Trap Neuter Return (TNR), the only humane, effective method to reduce their population.
TNR services can be provided at a fee or you can learn to do it yourself.
The trapper will assess the site, set the traps, monitor the traps, take the cat to be spayed or neuter, provide the after care, then return the cat to the site.
Fees
$100 first visit to the site. A one time fee to assess the situation and a two hour/one visit minimum of trapping.
$90 per trapped and altered cat.Covers the trapping service, spay or neuter of the cat, regardless if the female is in heat or pregnant, after care and a dose of advantage for fleas.
Deposit:
A $280 deposit is required before services begin. This includes the assessment fee of $100, and 2 cats trapped and altered at $90 each. If no cats are trapped (which is rare) the $90 per cat will be refunded. The $100 assessment fee will not be refunded.
From there on services will be paid at $180 for two cats in advance.
Additional Fees (optional) must be paid at time of service
$20 per cat for a microchip
$15 for FVRCP vaccination (this may be included in the $90)
$15for rabies (this may be included in the $90)
$40 for FIV/Felv testing. It is important to test at least one in the colony, but all cats do not need to be tested.
$80 to rescue a small friendly adoptable kitten 3 months and under. Must not be feral. Feral kittens can be TNR at the cat rate or removed at the cat rate. Removing a feral kitten is more difficult than removing a feral cat.
$500 to remove the a cat permanently. This service is offered depending on availability. Since these cats will not be euthanized unless they are very sick and suffering we must find a new place for the cat to live. If the cat is feral (wild) it is even more difficult. We will have to hold and care for the cat until a relocation spot is available, such as a ranch, or if the cat is adoptable, then a foster home. Cats will not be dumped to other colonies or taken to a shelter. It may take as long as 6 months or more to find a relocation spot or a home for some cats.
Medical conditions If a cat has an obvious medical problem and you would like it attended to that can be added to the $90 trap/alter cat rate. You must sign for medical services. If the cat is obviously seriously suffering (this will be at our judgement)the cat can be trapped, removed, and euthanized for $300.
Thank you for your interest and making the humane choice in animal control.
Contact 408-997-9332 for an appt.
All trappers are highly skilled and experienced.
If you cannot afford to hire a trapper we would be happy to educate you on trapping. Please read trapping instructions And suggest where to take cats for low cost spay and neuters.
More on TNR
Trap/neuter/return, commonly referred to as "TNR," is the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling feral cat population growth. Using this technique, all the feral cats in a colony are trapped, neutered and then returned to their territory where caretakers provide them with regular food and shelter.
Young kittens who can still be socialized, as well as friendly adults, are placed in foster care and eventually adopted out to good homes.
TNR has many advantages. It immediately stabilizes the size of the colony by eliminating new litters.
Another significant advantage to TNR is that, when practiced on a large scale, it lessens the number of kittens and cats flowing into local shelters.
This results in lower euthanasia rates and the increased adoption of cats already in the shelters. For example, in San Francisco, after TNR had been widely implemented for six years, euthanasia rates for all cats, feral and domestic, declined by 71 percent. San Diego, after several years of TNR, also experienced substantially lower euthanasia rates.
TNR is not just the best alternative to controlling feral cat populations - it is the only one that works. Doing nothing has resulted in the current crisis where, in New York City alone, feral cats number at least in the tens, and possibly the hundreds, of thousands. Trying to "rescue" the cats and find them all homes is utopian and unattainable given their numbers and the futility of trying to socialize most of them. Trap and kill, the traditional technique exercised by animal control, is simply ineffective.
If all the cats are not caught, then the ones left behind over breed until the former population level is reached. Even if all the cats are removed, new unneutered cats tend to move in to take advantage of whatever food source there was, and the cycle starts again. This explains why more and more animal control agencies are willing to try TNR.
Finally, TNR is an idea whose time has come. It recognizes there is a new balance in our urban and rural landscape, one that includes feral cats. It seeks to manage this new population with enlightened techniques that allow the cats to live out their lives and fulfill their natures, while minimizing any possible negative impact. TNR is a movement that will continue to grow as more and more caring people see its potential and, in time, it will become the predominant method of feral cat population control.
Humanity For Cats, 408-997-9332, PO Box 175, New Almaden, Ca 95042
