This week is all about trap/neuter/return (TNR), probably my favourite part of rescue work. This involves me going out to where there are wild (feral) cats living, whether at a house, workplace, housing estate, etc. I trap them using automatic traps (the cat is not hurt in any way), bring them to a vet where they are spayed/neutered, wormed, deflead and ear tipped (tip of the left ear removed). Ear tipping is important as it identifies a cat as already spayed/neutered from a distance, which is handy when dealing with wild cats. A few years ago I arrived at a house with about 17 cats to TNR to discover 10 were eartipped! Turns out I had been to the house next door the previous year.
There were 6 cats at the house I called to today and I trapped 4. I've left 2 traps at the house and showed the lady how to set them up for the morning so hopefully the remaining 2 cats will be caught tomorrow. The cats are in good shape by the looks of them. It's an elderly lady and she's completely in favour of spaying and neutering which not all of her generation are, so that's great. Her son is grumbling about the cost but wise woman that she is, she says 6 cats is enough and she doesn't want any more this spring. I totally agree!
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