Trap
The act of setting a humane trap to capture a community cat. By trapping a community cat, the trapper can transport them to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated or receive other veterinary care.
Creating a Safe, Healthy Space for Community Cats
Community Cats
What are community cats?
Community Cats
Community cats are free-roaming cats who live and thrive in their outdoor home, often with the support of a colony caretaker.
Community cats are not like pet cats. They are born outdoors, and they live and can thrive outdoors. They do not have the same level of socialization and domestication as house cats, and they are sometimes not friendly towards people. They live in their outdoor homes with their feline families, also called colonies, instead of being someone’s owned pet. Discovering an adult, outdoor cat who prefers not to be handled by humans is a sign of a resilient community cat. These cats, with their survival skills, can thrive outdoors, adapting to their environment and living independently.
What is TNR?
Trap-Neuter-Return
TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is a method of spay/neuter for outdoor, free-roaming cats.
Community cats rapidly reproduce, causing overpopulation, animal suffering, and high kitten mortality. Participating in TNR is the only proven way to humanely decrease the population of free-roaming community cats.
TNVR
While most of us say “TNR,” the more accurate term is TNVR. The “V” stands for vaccinate. At the York County SPCA, we advocate for TNVR and practice it by vaccinating every cat who comes through our doors against rabies when they are spayed or neutered.
The York County SPCA is home to one of the most productive high-quality, low-cost spay/neuter clinics in the country, offering TNR services for our community.
Neuter
Having the community cat spayed/neutered so they are no longer able to reproduce. We offer low-cost spay/neuter services through our Spay/Neuter Clinic's TNR Program.
Vaccinate
Having the community cat vaccinated against rabies to help keep them and their communities safer. Vaccination is performed during a spay/neuter appointment at our Spay/Neuter Clinic.
Return
The act of releasing the community cat back to its original outdoor home.
Don't Kit-Nap Kittens
Steps to Take if You Find A Kitten
Finding stray kittens can be just as stressful as it is exciting. You might think, “How old are they? Is the mom around? Should I try to feed them?” These are probably only a fraction of the questions running through your mind.
Let Mom and Kittens Thrive Outside
Like any infant, the goal is to keep kittens with their mother whenever possible. Nobody, including humans, knows how to care for kittens better than their mom. She can keep them safe and provide essential nutrients that kitten formula will never replace.
Observe the Kittens
If you find kittens outdoors who appear content (quiet, round belly), please observe them for 10 to 12 hours. If the kittens are exposed or in a dangerous location, move them to a safe hiding spot nearby. Their mother will likely return in that timeframe to care for them. If you can confirm there is no mother around, then based on the kittens’ age, it could be time to step in and help.
Contact the York County SPCA
If you find kittens outside who appear sickly and/or you have not seen their mother in 10 to 12 hours, please call us at 717-764-6109 ext. 101. Our team will advise you on the next best steps for your situation. Orphaned kittens will need a foster home and a caregiver to care for them – hopefully, that is you!
Become a Kitten Foster
Foster volunteers are critical in helping to care for young kittens. They are the backbone of our feline foster program.
Kittens younger than eight weeks old must be placed in foster care immediately after entering our care. They are immunocompromised and vulnerable to catching viruses and other diseases in the shelter environment. Without a developed immune system, kittens do not have the power to fight off illnesses. They also require hourly care and monitoring, which our staff and on-site volunteers do not have the capacity to provide. When you decide to become a foster, you become a life-saving hero for animals.
All necessary supplies are provided to fosters, including medical care.
Have A Question?
Common Questions About Community Cats
Should community cats be outdoors?
You may think, “Why can’t the cats be adopted and socialized?” When a kitten is born outside, if they are not surrounded by and socialized with humans during the first eight weeks of life, the kitten will most likely become a feral adult cat afraid of human contact. These cats are not suitable house pets.
Humans can feed them by setting up a feeding station, providing an outdoor shelter or trying to intervene if they become ill or injured. We recommend all these actions. We do not recommend bringing a community cat inside your home if they are happy and thriving outdoors. Attempting to force community cats to become domesticated house pets does not typically work, and it poses the risk of injury to both the cat and the human.
What is best for community cats?
A much more effective and humane way to handle the community cat population is through a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program. TNR involves trapping the cats in a humane trap, bringing them to our low-cost spay/neuter clinic to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated, and then releasing them to their outdoor home, the area where they were trapped. This approach helps stop rapid population growth, reduces nuisance behaviors associated with cats (spraying, yowling, territorial fighting), and makes them safer for the community because they are vaccinated against rabies.
Why can’t the cats just be relocated?
If you are dealing with nuisance behaviors from community cats, you may be thinking, “Why can’t the cats just be relocated?” When cats are taken away from their outdoor home without removing the source of food and shelter, the result is what’s known as “the vacuum effect.” With that home now vacant, the space is free for another colony of cats to move in since the environment has proven to have adequate living conditions. The new colony that will move in could be unaltered, larger, and present more issues than you previously managed. More information on the vacuum effect can be found on the Alley Cat Allies website.
Are there humane deterrents to keep cats away?
A TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program is a much more effective and humane way to handle the community cat population. Having the cats altered eliminates many nuisance behaviors associated with community cats, including population growth. Then, humane deterrents can be set up in your yard to discourage community cats from spending time there, giving the colony the chance to relocate on its own.
Examples of Humane Deterrents:
- Install motion-activated sprinklers.
- Place chop sticks or plastic forks in your garden if cats are digging or lying there.
- Neutralize urine smells with enzyme-based cleaners such as Nature’s Miracle or OdoBan.
- Place rubber spikes along the top of your fence to discourage cats from jumping over.
- Use smells that repel cats: citrus, garlic, citronella, and eucalyptus.
More information on humane deterrents can be found on the Alley Cat Allies website.
Will the York County SPCA take community cats into the shelter?
In most situations, the York County SPCA will not accept healthy, free-roaming cats into the shelter. Due to behavioral issues, free-roaming community cats will almost never be candidates for adoption, which leaves those cats with an almost guaranteed outcome of euthanasia. Additionally, surrendering free-roaming cats does not reduce York County’s free-roaming cat population in the long term.
The best way to have the most impact on the free-roaming community cat population is to sterilize as many cats as possible through a spay/neuter program, like the one at the YCSPCA. Before bringing an animal to the shelter, please review our Shelter Admissions Policy to learn more about when and how we can accept animals into our care.
Cat Colony Aid
The cat colony aid program aims to help individuals care for community cats by relieving some of the financial burden involved in colony management.
Cat colony aid is stocked by donated bags of previously opened cat food and coupons for cat food. Since this program runs on a first-come, first-served basis, individuals may receive cat food, coupons, or both to be picked up at the York County SPCA.
Learn More About Community Cats
Additional Resources
Community cats can thrive in their outdoor homes with the support of their human neighbors. Learn more about the best ways to support free-roaming cats in your area.
Community Cat Overview
Trap-Neuter-Return
Finding Moms & Kittens
Nuisance Behaviors & Humane Deterrents
Spay It Forward
You can help improve the quality of life of animals throughout our community.
Donations to the Spay It Forward fund offset the costs of surgeries and allow us to offer drastically reduced fees for feral cats and York County pit bulls. These services are a vital part of reducing pet overpopulation and managing community cats.