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CatNiPP: Nipping feral cat populations in the bud
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Photo by: Editor B (Flickr)
Feral cats: Some people want to feed and care for them; others just want them out of the neighborhood. Disagreement remains over how best to handle the many thousands of feral cats in the DC region, but since 2006 the Washington Humane Society has endorsed a trap-neuter-return (TNR) strategy in which feral cats are humanely trapped and brought to a clinic to be spayed or neutered before being returned to their home area. This WHS effort is called the Cat Neighborhood Partnership Program, or CatNiPP.
CatNiPP seeks to stabilize cat colonies’ populations by eliminating breeding, says Bridget Speiser, the program’s director. CatNiPP also communicates with individual neighborhoods to provide better support to communities, and promotes the spaying and neutering of pet cats to help with population control.
The program runs largely on volunteer power. Volunteers trap the targeted cats, transport them to the clinic, and prep them for surgery. Surgeries are performed by volunteer veterinarians. The cats also get rabies and FVRCP vaccinations, a flea treatment, and are “ear tipped,” or have the tip of the left ear removed to mark them as feral cats that are being cared for. The volunteers then monitor the cats’ recovery before returning the animals to their colony area.
Much of this work takes place in monthly clinics, usually held the second Sunday of each month. Space in these clinics is limited, and reservations are required. Weekday appointments are also available Monday through Thursday. Again, space is limited and reservations are required. The clinic services are free for District cats that are living in outdoor colonies. For those coming from outside the District, the fee is $45 per cat. The clinic does not provide veterinary care to cats that are not being spayed or neutered.
Upcoming Sunday clinics will be held on August 30, September 13, and October 11. To learn more about CatNiPP, or to request a reservation, community members are asked to contact Bridget Speiser at bspeiser@washhumane.org.
For more info: CatNiPP
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