It’s Kitten Season

Every spring and summer during kitten season, well-meaning cat lovers bring in kittens they stumble across in their community. This not only causes overcrowding for shelters but creates a vacuum effect that results in new cat colonies in the area. Instead of “rescuing” these furry friends, citizens are encouraged to participate in the Wilco Regional Animal Shelter’s Trap/Neuter/Return program, which is designed to lower the number of community cats while allowing them to continue living in their natural environments. “Much like returning a lost pet to its family, returning cats to their home environments is what is best for them too; if they are healthy, that is where cats are most comfortable and happy,” Shelter Community Programs Coordinator April Peiffer says. “Through the TNR program, we are working collectively to reduce the number of cats living on their own and reproducing. Left to their own devices, a single unspayed female cat can give birth to 20,000 kittens in just five years’ time.”

Reducing the community cat population by simply removing them is ineffective because it leaves the resources of that area open for the next group of cats to occupy, April says. "The Trap/Neuter/Return program gives people the opportunity to contribute to lowering the number of cats living on their own in our communities by trapping them and bringing them to us. We neuter the cats, then the person helping returns the cats to the location they were trapped, essentially returning them to their home environment.”

During last year’s kitten season— April to August—about 13 percent of the cats and kittens who entered the shelter from the county were found in and around Liberty Hill. “If more residents utilized our Trap/Neuter/Return program, we could stabilize the community cat population in that area, leading to a decrease in the number of litters in that area,” April says.

Get Involved

Free-roaming community cats that make their homes in Liberty Hill, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Hutto, and the unincorporated areas of Williamson County can be brought to the shelter for free spay/

by Charlotte Kovalchuk

neuter through the shelter’s TNR program. Residents may make an appointment, bring the cat to the shelter to be spayed/neutered, and pick the cat back up to return the animal to the place it was originally found. While under sedation, the cat’s ear is tipped slightly so others in the community can easily see they have been neutered. “All of this helps to control the cat population and lower shelter intake and euthanasia rates,” April says.

Scan the code or email wcras@wilco. org to learn more about the TNR program.

What should I do if I find a kitten?

People who find kittens are encouraged to look at the situation before bringing them to the shelter. For the most part, kittens are being cared for by their mothers, even if she isn’t close by when the kittens are found. Momma cats are typically either out looking for food or may be hiding from the people in her space. “Kittens are best cared for by their mothers, and we encourage people to evaluate their needs before bringing them to us,” April says. Are the kittens healthy and not in any immediate danger? If so, and if they are still nursing, they should be left alone. If the kittens are unhealthy, in immediate danger, or have been weaned from their mother, they should be brought to the shelter so staff can get them vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed or neutered, then adopted out to loving families.

by Emily Tilly