Feral Cat Resource
Protectors of Animals has a small but mighty team of trappers who hit the streets to help with TNR. Please keep in mind that we are all volunteers and will respond to your request as soon as possible. Thank you for caring for our community cats!
Towns/Cities we service:
- West Hartford
- East Hartford
- Hartford
- Glastonbury
- Manchester
- Wethersfield
- South Windsor
- Vernon
Is your neighborhood cat friendly?
If the cat you are caring for is friendly, please contact our POA intake team at catintake@poainc.org The intake team can evaluate whether the cat has the potential to be adopted.
Friendly neighborhood cats need you! Would you be willing to foster a friendly neighborhood cat or kitten until they are ready for adoption? POA will cover the expenses associated with veterinary care and will handle the adoption process. The cats just need a friendly and safe home to live in until they can find their forever home.
Trap/Neuter Release (TNR) Process
- We have a limited number of spay/neuter appointments each week so it may take some time to schedule your neighborhood cats. Also, it may take multiple weeks to complete the task depending on many factors including the number of cats and weather.
- Please remember that all cats are returned to the same location where they are trapped. This is their home and they know where to find the resources they need to survive.
- Can you help with trapping, transportation or care after their procedure? If so, it’s important to make note of how you can help on our form. We appreciate any help you can provide.
- There is no cost for TNR but we appreciate any donation you can make. Donations can be made directly to POA - DONATE HERE
- After we receive your online form, we will contact you for more information or to confirm that we have reviewed your request. Please respond to our contact even if you no longer need our assistance. It helps us to manage our workload and to prioritize the cats that need our assistance.
- To request assistance, please complete our online form. It’s important to provide as much information as possible about the situation in which the cats are living.
How you can help the TNR team
- We need foster families! This is a very rewarding way of helping and it doesn’t require a lot of time or money. We will provide training and supplies.
- We need donations.
- Monetary donations are always welcome. A feral cat spay/neuter costs a minimum of $85. There are additional expenses if the cat needs additional treatment. You can donate online at here.
- We need supplies to trap and care for the neighborhood cats. Some of the items we need include:
- Puppy pads
- Sardines or Tuna in water - no flavoring
- Sheets - these are used to cover the traps to keep the cats calm.
- Food - canned cat food
- Ways to donate
- Drop donations off at the POA Cat Shelter - 144 Main Street, Unit O, East Hartford, CT 06118
- Amazon Wish List - Please select "Protectors of Animals' Gift Registry Address" for shipping
How you can help Neighborhood Cats
If you have neighborhood cats visiting your yard, would you consider helping them out a bit?
- Are they eartipped? If not, please complete our request form so we can get the cat spayed/neutered.
- Put out some food and water in the morning and evenings. This can include dry, wet or a mixture. Leave it out for a set period of time. Do not leave food out constantly as it will attract other animals.
- Provide a simple shelter to protect them from the rain, snow or cold. There are some great ideas for shelters on the NeighborhoodCats website
Why are TNR cats Eartipped?
An ear tip is when the top of a cat’s left ear is removed or “tipped” while the cat is under sedation during spay or neuter. People sometimes don’t understand why a cat in a rescue would be tipped. Others are occasionally angry and argue that the cat has been “mutilated”. We understand the outrage, but we still support the tip.
You see, when a community cat is trapped outside and brought in for TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return), they don’t always know- and can’t always tell- if a cat is feral or a friendly stray dumped outside. If the cat seems feral, their ear is tipped. That way anyone who sees the cat when it is returned outside will know that it has been spay/neutered.
That tip immediately indicates to a trapper that there is no need to trap the cat again. The tip shows that the cat is not making babies over and over, most of whom will not survive. The tip shows that the cat will likely have a better and healthier life and will definitely not be adding to feral cat overpopulation. The ear tip is sometimes referred to as a “hall pass” for community cats.
So how does an ear tipped cat end up in a rescue? Well, sometimes after the surgery the cat will calm down and can be identified as a friendly cat who was abandoned outside and was just very upset by the trap. The trappers or caretakers may then reach out to a local rescue, like Protectors of Animals, to see if we can help. Other times, maybe months or even years later, someone will earn that cat’s trust, take them in, and teach them all about beds and laps and kindness. If the cat eventually becomes adoptable that person may reach out to a group like Protectors of Animals for help.
Once in the shelter, the ear tip is a sign that the cat was once outside- cold, hungry, struggling, but is now safe, warm, fed, loved. The tip shows that the cat had a rough past but is not defined by the past; that it is capable of trust and love. If you are looking to adopt, don’t walk past an ear tipped cat. Sometimes being abandoned outside means that they are the cats who most want to go home. We wish that no friendly cat was ever ear tipped. We also wish there were fewer community cats and that friendly cats were never abandoned outside. Maybe someday. But until then, we understand the need for cats to be ear tipped. And we know that the ear tip is a symbol of the people who cared about that cat and tried to help.