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Washington Humane Society Launches New Program to Help Solve Feral Cat
Overpopulation
CATNiPP Program Will Significantly Expand Spay/Neuter Efforts for
Outdoor Cats in the District
Washington, DC– The cat is out of the bag: For National Feral Cat
Week, the Washington Humane Society (WHS) announced that it is launching
an aggressive new program to help tackle the District's feral cat
overpopulation problem and improve the lives of the thousands of feral
cats in the city. Through CATNiPP, the Cat Neighborhood Partnership
Program, WHS will significantly expand its efforts to trap feral cats
around the city, spay or neuter them to prevent unwanted breeding, and
return the healthy and safely tagged cats back to their outdoor homes.
"The launch of our new CATNiPP program represents a major milestone for
our Good Home Guarantee to find a loving home for every healthy and
temperamentally sound animal who enters our shelters within the next
five years," said WHS Executive Director Howard Nelson "We are
very excited and certain this innovative program will improve the lives
of cats in DC by targeting neighborhoods most in need and by working
hand-in-hand with the members of the community."
In addition to reducing feral cat overpopulation, CATNiPP addresses the
challenges faced by property owner's surrounding the presence of
stray and feral cats; all while treating the cats in a humane and
ethical manner.
Through CATNiPP, WHS employs a management method called
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR works because it addresses the root of
the problem – the breeding. In TNR the cats are humanely trapped,
taken to a hospital where they are neutered, vaccinated and generally
examined. The cats are also "eartipped." This is a simple
procedure where a portion of their ear is cut to signal that they have
been sterilized and vaccinated by a veterinarian. After treatment the
cats are then returned to their outdoor home to live out their days in a
managed colony. They no longer reproduce and the certain types of
behaviors that are sometimes a nuisance, like fighting, spraying and
yowling are dramatically reduced.
Since the drastic pet overpopulation problem is the root cause of most
animal abandonment, neglect and suffering, WHS makes every effort to
ensure that as many dogs and cats are spayed and neutered as possible.
WHS offers the only low-cost spay/neuter clinic in the District of
Columbia—serving animals that are adopted, returned to owners and
those belonging to members of the community. Stray and feral cats are
often the product of human owned cats that are either abandoned or
allowed to roam free. Those that are not neutered produce litters of
untamable kittens. Unless the breeding cycle is addressed, it will
continue unchecked with an exponential increase in the numbers of
outdoor cats throughout the District's neighborhoods.
For more information on CATNiPP, please call the media contact above or
Bridget Speiser at 202-723-5730 (x 234)
For more information about National Feral Cat Day and Trap-Neuter-Return
(TNR) programs around the country, contact Alley Cat Allies, the
national nonprofit clearinghouse for information on feral and stray
cats, at 240-482-1980 or online at www.alleycat.org
<http://www.alleycat.org>
Please visit our web site for information on WHS and the programs
offered: www.washhumane.org <http://www.washhumane.org>
The Washington Humane Society is the oldest animal protection agency in
Washington, D.C. Since 1870, WHS open door policy has served homeless,
lost, and abused animals in the District of Columbia; providing
protection from cruelty, shelter from the elements, and a second chance
at a loving home. No call for help goes unanswered, and no animal is
ever turned away.
Washington Humane Society Launches New Program to Help Solve Feral Cat
Overpopulation
CATNiPP Program Will Significantly Expand Spay/Neuter Efforts for
Outdoor Cats in the District
Washington, DC– The cat is out of the bag: For National Feral Cat
Week, the Washington Humane Society (WHS) announced that it is launching
an aggressive new program to help tackle the District's feral cat
overpopulation problem and improve the lives of the thousands of feral
cats in the city. Through CATNiPP, the Cat Neighborhood Partnership
Program, WHS will significantly expand its efforts to trap feral cats
around the city, spay or neuter them to prevent unwanted breeding, and
return the healthy and safely tagged cats back to their outdoor homes.
"The launch of our new CATNiPP program represents a major milestone for
our Good Home Guarantee to find a loving home for every healthy and
temperamentally sound animal who enters our shelters within the next
five years," said WHS Executive Director Howard Nelson "We are
very excited and certain this innovative program will improve the lives
of cats in DC by targeting neighborhoods most in need and by working
hand-in-hand with the members of the community."
In addition to reducing feral cat overpopulation, CATNiPP addresses the
challenges faced by property owner's surrounding the presence of
stray and feral cats; all while treating the cats in a humane and
ethical manner.
Through CATNiPP, WHS employs a management method called
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). TNR works because it addresses the root of
the problem – the breeding. In TNR the cats are humanely trapped,
taken to a hospital where they are neutered, vaccinated and generally
examined. The cats are also "eartipped." This is a simple
procedure where a portion of their ear is cut to signal that they have
been sterilized and vaccinated by a veterinarian. After treatment the
cats are then returned to their outdoor home to live out their days in a
managed colony. They no longer reproduce and the certain types of
behaviors that are sometimes a nuisance, like fighting, spraying and
yowling are dramatically reduced.
Since the drastic pet overpopulation problem is the root cause of most
animal abandonment, neglect and suffering, WHS makes every effort to
ensure that as many dogs and cats are spayed and neutered as possible.
WHS offers the only low-cost spay/neuter clinic in the District of
Columbia—serving animals that are adopted, returned to owners and
those belonging to members of the community. Stray and feral cats are
often the product of human owned cats that are either abandoned or
allowed to roam free. Those that are not neutered produce litters of
untamable kittens. Unless the breeding cycle is addressed, it will
continue unchecked with an exponential increase in the numbers of
outdoor cats throughout the District's neighborhoods.
For more information on CATNiPP, please call the media contact above or
Bridget Speiser at 202-723-5730 (x 234)
For more information about National Feral Cat Day and Trap-Neuter-Return
(TNR) programs around the country, contact Alley Cat Allies, the
national nonprofit clearinghouse for information on feral and stray
cats, at 240-482-1980 or online at www.alleycat.org
<http://www.alleycat.org>
Please visit our web site for information on WHS and the programs
offered: www.washhumane.org <http://www.washhumane.org>
The Washington Humane Society is the oldest animal protection agency in
Washington, D.C. Since 1870, WHS open door policy has served homeless,
lost, and abused animals in the District of Columbia; providing
protection from cruelty, shelter from the elements, and a second chance
at a loving home. No call for help goes unanswered, and no animal is
ever turned away.
