Resistance to TNR

The longer I'm involved with cat rescue, the more I observe about human psychology in relation to the animals, and I'm wondering if anyone else has run across people who understand the overpopulation problem, but keep letting cats have kittens.

I ask because a friend of mine just posted on social media looking for homes for kittens born in her yard to a stray mother. This has been going on regularly for several years, with one mother cat in particular. Every year, I offer to help her catch the mother. I've even offered to drive her to the spay clinic myself, but she never accepts the offer of help. This is someone who's a college-educated professional with a good job, and she certainly understands about overpopulation. She gets them into fostering, but I know that fosterers are perpetually overloaded.

And this is not the first time I've run across this. I totally get it about kittens being cute and lovable, but I'm also aware of how many end up getting euthanized every year. It also make it harder for people like me desperately trying to get adult cats adopted.

I think a lot of people are truly unaware of the cat problem.  They also are unaware how hard it is on a cat to have litter after litter.  All most people know is that kittens are cute so why stop letting cats have them.  If their yard is not populated with cats, then it's not a big deal to them.  I think since this person is a friend, I would print her out some literature on the overwhelming cat population and the importance of spay/neuter.  Just not from the over population aspect, but also from the the hardship to the cat having so many litters.  I would beg my friend to let me spay the cat.  Many people when I tell them the hardships of having a free roaming cat, are completely overwhelmed.  They have no idea how hard it is for the cat as well as the millions of unwanted cats in this world.  Take her to a shelter and let her see first hand the number of unwanted cats. 

Yet sometimes it is like talking to a brick wall.  People don't care.  I try to educate rather than lecture.  If they refuse my help then I must accept it and move along.  I know I can help some people, but not others.

I hope your friend will come around and allow you to help.  I do understand the frustration.

One point here, this collegue person is not any nonchalant I dont care.  Its quite the opposite!  She surely fancies herself as a kind, nice, caretaking, good person. After all, she does helps these kittens, and tries to find them homes and or fosters.   so, yes, she is better than average.

So she has the heart on the right place, its just her thinking is a couple steps to short.

One of them is, because she cant decide to let the cat be spayed, it means several fosterers gets extra much job.  Not because there is an emergency, but because she didnt do and neglected what she should and could. do..

Yes, if you work in rescue, sooner or later (usually sooner) you come across your exact situation.

We have someone right now that is using one of our traps to (hopefully) finally catch a stray after 5 yrs of her having kittens in their yard. (My understanding is the cat in question is shy, but not truly feral.)

It's frustrating, absolutely! My rescue is in the same position @David. We are currently full with the past few years "leftover" kittens that simply didn't find homes prior to 6 months. Once these guys reach 1 the rate at which they are adopted greatly diminishes...regardless of disposition.

I also agree with @ShadowsRescue that a lot of people simply don't know/understand.

There is one rescue in my area that will take kittens and do their best to place them. But, if they are not adopted out by within a certain time (usually 4 months) they are returned back to the original owner/finder. Not sure if this puts things into perspective for these people or not.

It's been my observation that some people view spaying/neutering cats as unnatural, a form of mutilation. I've seen this attitude especially among men with regard to male cats/dogs. They feel we are tampering with nature and should allow cats to do what cats naturally do. I've also seen some people's religious beliefs affect their views on spay/neuter. They don't believe a woman should use contraceptive or get an abortion, and this belief spills onto cats, as well--the view that God is the author of life and we have no right to interfere with life. Then there are people who don't mind feeding the cats and kittens, but don't want the stress of trapping and the financial obligation to pay vet bills. There may be more reasons out there why some people don't believe in TNR, but these are the ones I've come across.

Have you come out and just asked this neighbor why she is against TNR? Perhaps if you understand her viewpoint, you'd be able to respond in a way she can understand.  I understand your frustration with the situation. What would happen if you trapped and spayed the cat yourself? This woman may not have a legal claim to the cat if she's never taken it to a vet. Would that create a lot of conflict between you and her?   

I appreciate all the replies. Glad I'm not the only one who's seen this.

In this case, I'm not sure how much education would help. This woman did some shelter volunteering at one point, and she's well aware of my TNR program. The last two years, I've said to her, "Glad you got the kittens adopted. Now, can I help you get the mother cat spayed?" There was never any follow-through.

I talked to another friend today, and she said, "You know that people don't make decisions based on reason and facts, right? They make decisions based on their gut feelings."

I think there's just a disconnect here between knowing the best course of action and that feeling of "I love kittens!" I saw this before down in the country with a woman who said, "Oh, look at the little babies!" as she proudly showed me a litter of six kittens delivered by a cat she had promised to get spayed months before. Then, five minutes later, in a completely different tone of voice, she said, "We just can't have any more cats around here."

I also know about people who are uncomfortable about spaying/neutering pets. My father was like this. When I was a teenager, I had to earn money mowing lawns to pay to have our cat spayed because he wouldn't do it. I agree it's part of the mindset of people who are leery of "interfering with nature."

The other side is the psychological one. That is the most difficult for me. My colony of 40+ and 16 years of care has meant my having to overcome my psychological drawbacks to trapping. It is still difficult for me to do. 

My problem has always been that I love the cats so much I don't want to do "anything to hurt them or to make them feel I am doing anything to harm them". I started trapping with this problem and even with all of the trapping I have done and still do, I still have to step over that issue every single time I trap. It took me a long time just to figure out what the problem was, even with years and years of therapy. And the therapy only helped me define the problem, it didn't correct it. The correcting part only came with years of trapping, where I saw  the terrible consequences of not trapping, and worked through each psychological road block that came up.

You wouldn't believe what I go through in order to trap, as I always transfer them from the humane trap or drop trap into a double size cage so they each always have all the makings of a "king' or "queen" castle, to keep them from being too traumatized.. NUTS, I know, but it is how I have to work with myself in order to do what I have to do!

The cage set up is always in my house (it used to be in the garage, but I worried they would get to cold there!) The only thing the double cage for them doesn't have is a T.V set!  It also means transferring them two times, or sometimes three-if they are trapped in a drop trap. I have to get them into their "castle" and then have to get them out and back into the humane trap for the vet appointment. So it is a big job, and I don't have any help, I do it by myself. 

I will tell you though, I have only lost one in the transfer process and that was when I had help! We were transferring in my garage. When he got loose I slammed the garage door shut to keep him inside. He was a full grown Tom and spent almost a week in the garage with me trying to capture him.  It took almost a year before the smell in the garage left! That was the last and hopefully only mishap!

The SPCA vet used to tease me and ask that I not decorate the feral humane traps for the trip to be neutered. She explained she didn't mind newspaper or a nursing pad on the cage floor but that it made it difficult to work when there were toys and a living room rug in the cage!

I am telling you all  of this only because I wonder sometimes if that is what holds people like your friend back when they aren't even aware of it. As it turns out for me, all of the cats I have trapped have more than forgiven me within about three days. Some I have very special relationships with even though they are feral. It helps me to also remember that when I start trapping each year.

A part of me thinks it might be better if you just trap the cat without her knowing it. I have a friend who has done that a couple of times with cats without their owners ever even knowing about it. They don't even notice. Isn't that strange? But it works. You will have to judge your friendship with the woman, and whether it is worth it to lose the friendship in order to help the cat.

I am 72 years old now, so those things don't bother me anymore. i would do it if I were in your shoes. But, you do have to be careful. While most people won't sue over an issue like that because it would cost more money than most can afford, you can be charged with a crime if the police are called for abducting an animal. This did happen to another cat friend of mine. It wasn't about trapping but about possible misuse of an animal that prompted the taking of the cat.  So, be careful.

In the end, each of us does or doesn't do this work for personal reasons. And every reason is valid. It does help sometimes if we can understand the motivation for each person. 

I can't really get involved in trying to catch the cat myself. I know the woman through her husband who's in a business related to mine, and we send customers to each other.

Also, I won't go on someone else's property like that without permission.

The only possibility would be to recruit her husband. That might work.

Wow, I would try the husband! He may be praying for help.

He would also let you know if it is better to just let the subject drop.

Anyway, your position is a tough one. Hope an answer comes.

@David68.  I had this exact same problem.  A man who lived about five houses away had a cat who had at least three litters every summer.  The problem was, when his "Free Kittens" sign didn't work, he just let the kitttens go.  Mom bred again and the cycle continued.

The result was that the cats naturally looked for new territories and ended up on my property.  Five of my eight cats are his kittens.  I ended up finding homes for 54 more!  About five years ago, I met a neighbor through our local TNR group who had a colony of 40+ cats.  The cats all have the same round faces, so we're pretty sure they are his kittens, too.

In any case, we approached him several times but he thought it was cruel to fix his "baby."  Plus, he "loved" kittens and socialized them, so they were relatively unprepared to hunt on their own.  I can't tell you how many of them ended up dead on the busy street near our houses.

We were both very frustrated but there was nothing we could do.  Mom finally died and, surprisingly, he kept a boy from the last litter.  (I think his wife had something to say about that).  The other neighbor ended up trapping and neutering that cat without knowing he'd been "chosen," so at least he's taken care of.

I still see cats that I am sure are the result of his irresponsible behavior.  I trap them, fix them if needed, get them shots and any medical help they need and release them.  You can only do what you can do.