Home > Out of the Cage! > October 2004 > NYC Feral Cat Council: Taming the Problem of Feral Cats in NYC

NYC Feral Cat Council

Taming the Problem of Feral Cats in NYC

by Bryan Kortis, Executive Director, Neighborhood Cats

The number of feral and stray cats living on the streets of NYC is difficult to estimate. But most in the know agree that there are at least tens of thousands of them — and quite possibly hundreds of thousands — roaming the neighborhoods in all five boroughs. Ferals are cats that have reverted to a wild state, while strays are recently abandoned domestics. Most cats living outdoors in NYC are ferals.

The problems associated with this homeless and mostly unneutered feline population are numerous. Quality of life issues for residents become constant and intense: noise from fighting and mating cats; odors from cats marking their territory; and the sight of sick, dying cats and kittens.

Then there is the dilemma for Animal Care & Control (AC&C) of how to respond to the estimated 3,000 feral and stray cat complaints called in by the public each month, and how to handle the flood into city shelters of street kittens that take up limited space and push up euthanasia rates. For the rescue organizations, there are the unending calls to come and save this cat or that litter, or handle a bad situation. For the cats themselves, there are the dangers of living outdoors, the uncertainty of being able to remain in their territory long-term, and the struggles to find food and raise their young.

In the past, efforts to address the problems have included sporadic attempts either to trap and rescue some of the cats and find homes for them (which is difficult because ferals are wild and usually unadoptable) or trap and euthanize them. Neither method worked to reduce the street cat population because the cats reproduce too quickly and there are just too many of them.

One approach, however, offers the promise of a permanent solution. Trap-Neuter-Return, or TNR, involves trapping the cats in a colony and having them neutered, ear-tipped for identification, and vaccinated for rabies. They are then returned to their outdoor home under the watchful eye of a caretaker who provides food and shelter. TNR puts an end to the reproduction of more kittens, dramatically reduces nuisance behavior like noise and odor, maintains the cats' natural rodent control, and establishes a monitoring system to keep the situation stabilized. In communities where TNR is widely practiced, the feral cat population gradually declines over time.

Presently, TNR is the only known method that shows promise in solving the problems associated with ferals and reducing their numbers. Because it is the one approach known to be effective as well as humane, it is the Mayor's Alliance's preferred policy for handling feral cat colonies. To further the practice of TNR, the Alliance has formed the NYC Feral Cat Council (NYCFCC), a coalition of local organizations committed to TNR.

Since TNR was introduced to NYC five years ago by Neighborhood Cats, a robust system has developed among Council members to assist caretakers, including free spay/neutering by the ASPCA and Humane Society of New York, trap banks that provide traps on loan, workshops, local TNR groups, phone and e-mail advice, and more.

Bryan Kortis is co-founder and Executive Director of Neighborhood Cats. A graduate of Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, he has experience as both an attorney and a filmmaker. He began working with ferals when he saw firsthand that the situation for street cats in New York City was dire and a new approach like TNR was needed.

Click here to learn more about the NYC Feral Cat Council (NYCFCC), a coalition of Alliance Participating Organizations dedicated to providing responsible care for NYC's feral cats.