Spay Neuter Network (SNN) is pleased to have received a grant from national animal welfare organization PetSmart Charities for its innovative Dallas Community Cat Return-to-Field Program which helps the City of Dallas humanely manage the area’s community cats and decrease its euthanasia rate.
In partnership with Dallas Animal Services (DAS), free-roaming, unowned cats that are brought to the shelter by citizens or Animal Control Officers are transferred to SNN’s Southern Dallas Clinic where they are vaccinated, sterilized, and painlessly ear-tipped for easy identification in the field. The following day, after they have recovered from surgery, they are released back where they were found to live out their natural lives without reproducing or spreading disease.
“These cats are unadoptable, so they are at serious risk if they enter the shelter,” said Jacob Carty, SNN spokesperson. “Rather than putting these cats at risk of euthanasia and crowding the shelter, this program utilizes a proven solution, called trap/neuter/return or TNR, to save the cats’ lives.”
By releasing the cats back into their original neighborhoods, TNR prevents what is known as the “vacuum effect” – because cats are territorial animals, when a cat is removed several more cats will move in to compete for its territory resulting in an increase in unaltered cats in the area. By altering and vaccinating the original cat, TNR helps to prevent the vacuum effect, cat overpopulation, and the spread of disease. Additionally, once cats have been altered, they stop nuisance behaviors such as marking, yowling, and fighting for territory.
“Thanks to this grant, we will perform 800 spay/neuter surgeries on community cats over the next year. We would like to thank PetSmart Charities for their support in making this project a great success.”
In order to be eligible for this program, cats must be unowned outdoor cats within the City of Dallas. For information on having your owned cat or non-Dallas community cat affordably altered and vaccinated, please click here
About Spay Neuter Network
Spay Neuter Network is a volunteer 501(c) 3 nonprofit corporation eliminating pet overpopulation through subsidized spay/neuter services, while empowering communities to care responsibly for dogs and cats.
Spay Neuter Network operates two stationary spay neuter clinics, a surgery transport service for those with limited transportation and a Mobile Animal Spay/Neuter Hospital (MASH) in the Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex, providing affordable pet vaccinations, sterilizations and pet care resources to more than 20 communities.
Spay Neuter Network performs more than 30,000 surgeries and services an additional 25,000 pets through its educational outreach programs each year at little or no cost to pet owners in North Texas. To learn more about Spay Neuter Network or make a tax-deductible donation contact us at 972-472-3500 or www.spayneuternet.org.