KAYSVILLE—Outdoor cats go by many names. Whether it’s stray, feral, street cats or community cats, some people consider them a nuisance and others treat them like a member of the family. Either way, Animal Care of Davis County has a program that traps the cats, neuters and vaccinates them then returns the cats to their original home. Called TNR, (trap, neuter, return) it is meant to keep these cats healthy while controlling the pet population.

“After we trap them we transport them to a veterinarian,” said Community Cat Officer Leyba. “We trap for the whole county anywhere there is a large colony of cats. We trap, vaccinate, fix and return them back to reduce the amount of kittens being born because it is spiraling out of control.”

Leyba said she first looks at previous kitten hotspots where they’ve found cats in the past. “We focus on those areas.”

Animal Control traps the cats but if a resident wants to do that themselves, they offer trap loans, she said. “Those are free. You can have an officer pick it up or you can bring it to us.”

The traps are humane, said Leyba. “They have a door in the back so you can slide it open to transfer the cat to a kennel. There’s a trigger plate on the front door. You put food behind it and the cat steps on the trigger plate and the door shuts. I would recommend lining it with puppy pads or newspaper.”

There are several surgery spots available, she said. “We go all over but not all veterinarians want to do it because feral cats are harder to treat because they don’t like to be touched. We also use vouchers from Best Friends.”

Vet’s schedules vary too so spay and neuter appointments can be backed up, Leyba said. “Best Friends has a list of vets you can take community cats to if you want to do it yourself.”

People bring in kittens because they’re concerned about them but they don’t bring in mom and dad, Leyba said. “If you see kittens, call us. We need mom and we’ll keep an eye on them. We recommend not moving them until they’re walking around a little and get mom and dad so we can control the population and so they don’t run off.”

Leyba said she stays pretty busy trapping and helping people trap and telling them what to do if they have cats in the area. “It depends on the weather. Last year we saw a significant amount trapped.”

In addition to the neuter and vaccination, community cats have their ears clipped to show that they’ve already been trapped. “It’s the left ear that is barely tipped,” said Leyba. “They can't even feel it because they’re under anesthesia.” 

Animal Control has a barn cat program too, she said. “If a cat can’t go back to the same situation or is not adoptable we have barn homes that have a mouse problem. People can hire them as working cats. It gives them a place that is better than where they came from. If they’re used to being outside the idea is they’ll hunt mice for you. It gives another outlet than being at the shelter.”

For more information on the community cat program visit daviscountyutah.gov/animalcare or bestfriends.org.