This week I did some recon for an upcoming mass trapping by driving through the mobile home park in which the cats live.
This mobile home park has been an ongoing challenge for trappers in the area for reasons ranging from difficulty locating the cats, to difficulty identifying the feeders, to people actively sabotaging the trapping by placing food next to the trap as soon as the trapper walks away to check another trap, to people just not keeping in touch or taking action when litter after litter of kittens are born. We've never been able to achieve a high enough sterilization percentage to maintain population control or see population decline.
The people who have worked in that area in the past have been out there, working one on one with people, building relationships... really doing the work to make things happen... but this area is still a problem.
As with everything, there is both positive and negative. The positive is that in this community, most of the people WANT the cats to stay. They embrace the cats role as natural rodent control and they enjoy the cats company. The people who take care of the cats are very attached to them, have names for them, know when to expect them, and feed them on a regular schedule.
After visiting the mobile home park the other day, I think I have a better understanding of the situation and the problems surrounding this project. The people here are living with a level of poverty that many of us have never experienced, and yet, they still do their best to take care of hundreds of free-roaming cats. Some in the community have mental health issues, some have literacy challenges, but overall it seems that the biggest obstacle to TNVR in this particular area is the insular nature of this kind of community. If they can't do it for themselves, it doesn't get done. Rather than let someone in, it just doesn't get done.
When I left, I pulled over to enter my next destination in my GPS and I couldn't help feeling a little privileged sitting in my nice Jeep with my nice sunglasses and nice smartphone. I also felt a little overwhelmed by how much work I know this project is going to be. Not just now, but consistently and ongoing.
My most basic plan for almost any situation is R.I.T.M. (I'm still hoping to find an acronym that will make a cute cat or TNVR related word, but this will do for now.) Research, Inform, Trap, Monitor.
Research:
I've started my Research with my recon trip and I'll continue it during my Inform phase.
Inform:
I'll be walking door to door during outreach. Since I already know there are some literacy issues in the community, although I will have my pretty pamphlets on hand, I'm thinking my bag may be mostly filled with dog treats & catnip toys for personal pets. I'm also planning to bring my little rolling crate with these cute polka dot cardboard ice cream cups, potting soil and cat grass seeds, so when I start a great conversation with someone we can start a cat grass plant together. I thought it could be a cute photo op too... write the date with a sharpie marker on the container & take a selfie together & when I come back we can take a photo of how it's grown. I noticed there is a LOT of gardening going on around these trailers, so it may be a good way to start conversations & do something cute for the cats. I need to try to get people to understand that our insistence on spay/neuter is not just us trying to insert ourselves in their business, it's to make the cats lives better.
Trap:
Sometime next month there will be a mass trapping event. Since we already know that even with the cooperation of some residents, others will still try to sabotage us, I plan to have enough volunteers with me to have the traps monitored at all times.
Monitor:
I plan to "incentivize" a couple of our problem residents who tend to "like" kittens and not take action when needed. I might do this by giving them some kind of "title" like "'Area Captain" and setting up frequent "Status Meetings" that will keep me in the area, keep me in contact with people, but also let them feel like they are an important part of the process rather than someone who is being "monitored" or "checked up on."
So there you have it.
Poverty doesn't just complicate the lives of the people we interact with. And it doesn't just effect their personal pets. It effects the free-roaming cat population as well, which circles back around and effects trappers, rescuers, shelters, Animal Control agencies, and ultimately the community as a whole.
TNVR works. We know that. But it's TARGETED TNVR, with as close to 100% sterilization in a given area as possible that reduces shelter intake & euthanasia rates. Without a comprehensive strategy that includes laying the groundwork & building the relationships needed to break into these isolated communities AND a consistent and ongoing monitoring plan that maintains relationships and continues to trap as needed to retain control of the population, we can end up being no more effective than the old days of random trapping here and there.
Clearly, it is the LARGE organizations that need to take the lead with regards to Community Cat Programs. Individual trappers, rescue groups, HVSN clinics, and smaller organizations simply cannot be expected to have the resources to keep on top of it all. Community Cat Programs that can organize and coordinate resources throughout a large geographic area, collect data, connect people, and monitor the "big picture" are essential for finding and targeting areas that are being missed with current methods.
I believe that large-scale Community Cat Programs are the wave of the future and the weapon that will turn the tide of this war.
Great blog!! You really touched on some serious issues and problems getting TNVR done the right way to make it successful.
ReplyDeleteThank you TLC!
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