What Can We Do?
I will be the first to admit that the overpopulation crisis is daunting. There is thought to be between one million and three million free-roaming, unowned community cats in Los Angeles. Suspended services of veterinary clinics in 2020 undid a great deal of the work that had been advanced since the inception of TNR in the ‘90s. In speaking with pioneers of the movement, individuals who started community animal clinics and were early trappers, they expressed sadness at the ever-increasing numbers of outdoor populations, and the difficulties faced in accessing spay/neuter appointments for these community cats.
To those of us that dedicate our time, lives, and careers to this movement, the challenges present themselves at inopportune times. Just when we are ready to celebrate a fully TNR’d colony, a new face pops up. The inquiries seeking help for other colonies, for found kittens, for guidance on the overpopulation crisis are endless. To be frank, they are also overwhelming at times. Our group responds to each request, but we not only want to respond - we want to help. Funding and available resources limit and sometimes dash our goals of an emphatic “YES, we will help” in response to every single request.
What does a “YES, we will help” look like? It doesn’t always mean that we will remove cats from a location; in fact, this will rarely be the case. The Community Cat Pyramid notes that relocation and sanctuaries are solutions to free-roaming cats only on a very select basis. Most often, TNR is the best, and most humane response: spay/neuter/vaccinate unowned, free-roaming cats and return them to their original outdoor home to be cared for by an existing caretaker.
We are fortunate to now be in a position to help. With more available fosters, we can responsibly accept new intakes. Responsible care is our top priority. We may feel compelled to agree to every intake request, but please know that it weighs heavily on our group when we cannot. As our network of fosters and our team grows, we may have greater capacity to help. We are simply not yet on the level to accept every request, but we hope to be in the near future.
Sometimes help appears in different forms. Often times we’ve had community members reach out for us to rescue free-roaming cats in a neighborhood, only to begin the dialogue with the neighbors about TNR. Residents become empowered to participate in TNR and, with guidance from our group, are able to successfully get their own community cats spayed/neutered and returned to their outdoor home. Our group is dedicated to empowering community members to get involved, to be the change for community cats, and to become part of our rescue network.
