Following a smooth trap, neuter and return pilot project in the Frogtown area of Saint Paul in 2007, Animal Ark, Saint Paul Animal Control, and some of the other Homes For All Pets partners will be launching Wildcat Wednesdays on Wednesday, April 16, city-wide.
As part of a plan to humanely reduce the numbers of feral cats breeding in the Twin Cities Metro area, Wildcat Wednesdays provides free spay and neuter services for feral felines. However, before surgery can take place, residents wanting to take advantage of the program must obtain traps and detailed trapping instructions from Saint Paul Animal Control.
Cats that are trapped are not only surgically sterilized to prevent them from breeding, they are also vaccinated for rabies and marked, so they can be easily identified as a sterilized feral feline. Following a short recovery period, the cats are released back where they were trapped, and the residents who have trapped them agree to continue feeding and monitoring the cats.
A growing feral cat problem has been caused by people who let their cats outside. These felines reproduce and untamed, unsocialized offspring become feral, and can establish large, self-sustaining populations of domestic cats gone wild.
Lethal approaches to try to manage feral cats are not only inhumane, they are also unsuccessful, due to the high reproduction capacity of felines, which can produce 3 - 4 litters of kittens per year. The kittens themselves are able to begin breeding at just six months of age. Therefore, if even a couple of cats remain, the population can explode very quickly.
Changing the population dynamic by sterilizing large numbers of cats, TNR programs can reduce, and, over the long-run, eliminate feral cat colonies in a very humane way.
Surgeries are performed in Animal Ark's mobile surgical hospital called the Neuter Commuter.
Animal Ark is the largest no kill animal welfare organization in Minnesota and provides most of the funding for this program. Other Homes For All Pets partners provide additional funding and some additional funding as well as logistical support.
The program is funded primarily through private donations. The cost of spaying and neutering one feral cat is about $35, however, the services are all free to Saint Paul Residents.
For more information, visit
http://www.animalarkshelter.org