FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is "TNR"? And why do you do it?
TNR stands for Trap, Neuter (or spay), Return. A feral or unowned cat is trapped, taken to the vet for spay/neuter surgery, and returned after surgery to the location where it was trapped.
We only trap on private property with permission from, and often help from, the property owners.
There are millions of feral cats in this country. The SPCA estimates that in urban and suburban areas, there is one feral cat for every six people - meaning that in Chico, assuming 100,000 residents, there are over 16,000 feral cats!
TNR is becoming a nationally recognized method of reducing feral cat populations. More information can be found in this article from Alley Cat Allies, or this article from the Best Friends Network.
The trap/kill method of trying to control the feral cat population doesn't work. If it did, there would be no more feral cats in this country, because this was the accepted method for decades. Millions of feral cats are still killed every year, for no reason other than the fact that they are feral. TNR is a humane, effective, and cost efficient method of controlling and reducing the overpopulation of unowned and feral cats.
Unfortunately we have no means of rehoming or relocating feral cats.
TNR stands for Trap, Neuter (or spay), Return. A feral or unowned cat is trapped, taken to the vet for spay/neuter surgery, and returned after surgery to the location where it was trapped.
We only trap on private property with permission from, and often help from, the property owners.
There are millions of feral cats in this country. The SPCA estimates that in urban and suburban areas, there is one feral cat for every six people - meaning that in Chico, assuming 100,000 residents, there are over 16,000 feral cats!
TNR is becoming a nationally recognized method of reducing feral cat populations. More information can be found in this article from Alley Cat Allies, or this article from the Best Friends Network.
The trap/kill method of trying to control the feral cat population doesn't work. If it did, there would be no more feral cats in this country, because this was the accepted method for decades. Millions of feral cats are still killed every year, for no reason other than the fact that they are feral. TNR is a humane, effective, and cost efficient method of controlling and reducing the overpopulation of unowned and feral cats.
Unfortunately we have no means of rehoming or relocating feral cats.
Where do you get your funding?
The majority of our funding comes from PawPrints Thrift Boutique, our beloved thrift store located in Chico, California. Pawprints is run entirely by volunteers, and 100% of the store profits go towards paying for spay and neuter surgeries for animals in our community. This includes a program for pet dogs and cats, and significant funding for Neighborhood Cat Advocates. We could NOT do this without this amazing commitment from Pawprints and their caring volunteers!
However, we also depend on your donations to keep us going. We don't get any governmental funding - no federal, state, county, or city money comes our way. No tax dollars go to support our organization. Financial donations of any size are always welcome and very needed - as you can imagine, our vet bills are HUGE!
Donate online to NCA at https://www.ncachico.org/donate.html.
The majority of our funding comes from PawPrints Thrift Boutique, our beloved thrift store located in Chico, California. Pawprints is run entirely by volunteers, and 100% of the store profits go towards paying for spay and neuter surgeries for animals in our community. This includes a program for pet dogs and cats, and significant funding for Neighborhood Cat Advocates. We could NOT do this without this amazing commitment from Pawprints and their caring volunteers!
However, we also depend on your donations to keep us going. We don't get any governmental funding - no federal, state, county, or city money comes our way. No tax dollars go to support our organization. Financial donations of any size are always welcome and very needed - as you can imagine, our vet bills are HUGE!
Donate online to NCA at https://www.ncachico.org/donate.html.
Do you have a veterinarian who volunteers for you?
Simply put, no. With the addition of our spay & neuter clinic, our Veterinarians, RVT's, and Vet Assistants are all paid for their hard work. We have volunteers who help keep the Clinic running smoothly, though.
Simply put, no. With the addition of our spay & neuter clinic, our Veterinarians, RVT's, and Vet Assistants are all paid for their hard work. We have volunteers who help keep the Clinic running smoothly, though.
If I donate money to you, where does it go?
We love this question, because the answer is easy - 100% of your financial donations go towards our monstrous veterinary costs. Our 60+ traps are already purchased. None of our volunteers are paid or reimbursed for the many miles they drive. When you donate money to NCA, we use it to help pay for more spays and neuters. Because of this, all of your donations stay local!
We love this question, because the answer is easy - 100% of your financial donations go towards our monstrous veterinary costs. Our 60+ traps are already purchased. None of our volunteers are paid or reimbursed for the many miles they drive. When you donate money to NCA, we use it to help pay for more spays and neuters. Because of this, all of your donations stay local!
If you're trying to help feral cats, you must hate birds!
Well, this isn't a question so much as a statement that we hear on a regular basis - and want to debunk!
Our goal is to reduce and maybe one day end the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats in Butte County. A reduction in cat population will save birds' lives.
The cats are already there. We NEVER bring cats into a location - we TNR the ones that are already there!
Trapping and killing feral cats doesn't work. If it did, there would be no more feral cats - this is the method that had been tried for decades...yet, there are still millions of feral cats nationwide. And if you love cats, trapping and killing is inhumane and unacceptable. Feral cats are feral and unowned through no fault of their own.
Reducing and possibly ending the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats is good for everyone - humans, cats, and birds. We don't hate birds. We want to help them by reducing the cat population in a HUMANE way.
For more information, check out this article from Alley Cat Allies.
Well, this isn't a question so much as a statement that we hear on a regular basis - and want to debunk!
Our goal is to reduce and maybe one day end the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats in Butte County. A reduction in cat population will save birds' lives.
The cats are already there. We NEVER bring cats into a location - we TNR the ones that are already there!
Trapping and killing feral cats doesn't work. If it did, there would be no more feral cats - this is the method that had been tried for decades...yet, there are still millions of feral cats nationwide. And if you love cats, trapping and killing is inhumane and unacceptable. Feral cats are feral and unowned through no fault of their own.
Reducing and possibly ending the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats is good for everyone - humans, cats, and birds. We don't hate birds. We want to help them by reducing the cat population in a HUMANE way.
For more information, check out this article from Alley Cat Allies.
I can't keep my cat anymore! Why won't you help me?
We have one mission - to reduce and hopefully one day end the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats in our community through TNR. This means we do not rehome cats, do adoptions, run a shelter, or anything associated with finding homes for cats, no matter how cute or adoptable they may be! This is difficult for some people to hear, but if we have any hope of accomplishing this goal, we have to stick to our mission.
There are many organizations in our community that DO rehome friendly, socialized cats, and they are much better and more efficient at it than we could be! In Chico, check out Butte Humane Society or the Chico Cat Coalition. Because of the severe overpopulation of cats and the large number of people wanting to rehome their owned cats, these shelters are often full - please support them in any way that you can! We all need to work together to help cats, and we love what both of these organizations do.
As as much as we would love to be able to rehome or adopt out feral cats, we don’t have the means to do so. NCA doesn’t have a physical location, so we have no way to house cats...and sadly, there is very little in the way of new homes for feral cats. In order to be the most effective and use our limited volunteer resources as efficiently as possible, we have to stick to our mission of trap/neuter/return.
We have one mission - to reduce and hopefully one day end the overpopulation of feral and unowned cats in our community through TNR. This means we do not rehome cats, do adoptions, run a shelter, or anything associated with finding homes for cats, no matter how cute or adoptable they may be! This is difficult for some people to hear, but if we have any hope of accomplishing this goal, we have to stick to our mission.
There are many organizations in our community that DO rehome friendly, socialized cats, and they are much better and more efficient at it than we could be! In Chico, check out Butte Humane Society or the Chico Cat Coalition. Because of the severe overpopulation of cats and the large number of people wanting to rehome their owned cats, these shelters are often full - please support them in any way that you can! We all need to work together to help cats, and we love what both of these organizations do.
As as much as we would love to be able to rehome or adopt out feral cats, we don’t have the means to do so. NCA doesn’t have a physical location, so we have no way to house cats...and sadly, there is very little in the way of new homes for feral cats. In order to be the most effective and use our limited volunteer resources as efficiently as possible, we have to stick to our mission of trap/neuter/return.
There is an injured feral cat in my neighborhood! Can you help?
We have a limited budget and enormous vet bills, and a large vet bill for an injured or sick feral cat could wipe out our TNR budget for the month. We also are mindful of doing everything we can to help an injured or sick cat. When we encounter a cat in need of vet care, we have a few options:
Bottom line - each case is different. We always hope for these happy endings when we bring in a sick or injured cat. However, we don't have large financial resources to pay for medical treatment beyond spay/neuter surgery.
We have a limited budget and enormous vet bills, and a large vet bill for an injured or sick feral cat could wipe out our TNR budget for the month. We also are mindful of doing everything we can to help an injured or sick cat. When we encounter a cat in need of vet care, we have a few options:
- In the event of something minor like an abscess or wound, sometimes the vet can clean and medicate the wound while the cat is under anesthetic for the spay/neuter surgery.
- If the issue is more serious (for example, requiring surgery or ongoing medication or indoor care), we will contact the finder to see if they are willing to help.
- If the cat's wound or illness is serious, life-threatening, and the cat is suffering, the vet may recommend euthanization.
- A feral kitten with two large wounds on her thigh, possibly from a dog bite, was brought to the vet for spay surgery. The vet cleaned the wounds and prescribed a series of antibiotic pills. The family who called us about the kitten agreed to pay for the pills AND to house and medicate her! Happy ending - the family was able to socialize the kitten and she ended up becoming a loved family pet.
- A cat with a severe limp was examined prior to neuter surgery; his limp was found to be caused by a congenital issues, and no treatment was necessary.
- Another cat with a severe limp was found to have suffered trauma in the past (possibly hit by a car), but the break had healed. The finder reported that the cat seemed to be getting around the neighborhood fine, and no treatment was necessary.
- A cat with a terrible case of ear mites had scratched his ears raw. While under anesthetic, he was treated for the ear mites and the wounds on his ears were cleaned and treated with antibiotic cream.
Bottom line - each case is different. We always hope for these happy endings when we bring in a sick or injured cat. However, we don't have large financial resources to pay for medical treatment beyond spay/neuter surgery.
Are you trapping in Bidwell Park?
As of the time of this writing, we have permission to trap in very specific parts of the park on a case by case basis. Please reach out to us if you'd like more information.
As of the time of this writing, we have permission to trap in very specific parts of the park on a case by case basis. Please reach out to us if you'd like more information.