Why does R in TNR=abandonment - Page 2

Sounds like the law needs to change , maybe contacting a person in the VA gov to see if you could get a bill sponsored , would be a way to take action.

Part of the problem is that some "agencies" don't really care about the situation until one of their own complains. Then it is hell for everybody who is involved with caring for ferals. If I had not said anything to my management about the spaying and neutering, those cats would not be "mine" because they knew darn well I was feeding them and had been for years. But because I was honest and told them that they didn't have to worry about my colony breeding, Bang!!! I am the troublemaker and problem. "Well, if you hadn't fed the cats......."
My Animal Control person that I spoke to was so grateful that the cats had been spayed. She knew they would not have to come out to my place because of breeding, problems, etc. I have spoken to all my neighbors, even the one I don't like, and told them if the cats cause them a problem, or poop in their yards, let me know and I will clean it up. No one in two and half years has taken me up on it. These people don't mind the cats. It's management that gets their shorts in a knot and then all hell breaks loose.

I wish you all could see my babies. The spaying and neutering has worked wonders. They have calmed down quite a bit, they are quiet, they don't bother anyone. I am working on getting Princess to trust me and I will eventually get her into my house. I know it. She is so sweet.

If I have taken on the responsibility of animals I do not "own", have spayed and neutered them, feed and water them WITHOUT asking for anyone else to share expenses, why can't people just leave us alone?

Definitions of each would be a first step. Addressing each issue and the components that make up the different categories would be a subject for some debate. Getting cat advocates, animal control, general citizens and humane groups together to talk is sometimes difficult. Unfortunately, states differ and so do their animal codes. Some solutions are not possible in some states at all without MAJOR revisions to the state enabling legislation. I wish there was an ideal model to work from but as of now, there isn't one that works the same in all jurisdictions.

Check out the California penal codes attached to the newest thread. They actually address the feral cat situation.

The laws differ from town/county to town/county, but maybe the following could help somebody. Over a decade ago I found myself feeding a colony of ferals that had previously been cared for by a company that went bankrupt and closed. We lived in close proximity, and couldn't let the cats starve. I was advised by our vet that feeding the cats and getting them medical attention would automatically make me their "owner", and legally liable for them. An acquaintance long active in animal rescue advised me to do the following:
1) become a full-fledged, dues-paying member of a state-recognized rescue organization.
2) save all receipts for cat food and vet bills.
3) submit the receipts to the rescue organization, and have them officially confirm my monetary/in kind donations.
4) list those donations on my income tax statement, and attach the confirmation.
The tax office usually only allows/allowed me to deduct the membership dues (I suspect that it depends on the person dealing with the statement), but: as a member of the rescue organization, I personally was/am not liable for any damage caused by the cats, i.e., any lawsuits pressed by irate neighbors had/have to be addressed to the rescue organization, and not me personally, and were/are covered by the organization's liability insurance. Cats that had actually been moved into our home were excepted. The situtation with the ferals has been resolved, but we're currently dealing with a "runaway" (a cat whose family moved two years ago, but who keeps turning up here). She's a dead ringer for Jamie, except for the fact that he has green eyes, and she has amber ones. Every time she shows up here, the neighbors catch her and deliver her to our door.

Hi,

That's a pretty sound plan. I would advise that people always ASK about the cat related policies and protections afforded volunteers, before signing on with any organization. I've heard of people finding out (too late) that the group they supported for many years, was not willing to take up the cats' cause after all, or that it turned out the group really didn't understand what TNR is.

In some areas, nowadays, you could reasonably expect more from a rescue organization than just to condone your work -- there should be an effort to actually improve the lives of you and the cats; there could even be some analysis of the effects of you and other volunteers doing similar work. With TNR becoming better-known, I would like to see some of the older rescue organizations "getting it" more than they have so far. That will take people like you working on them a little bit every month! :-)

I like very much the point that the cats become, essentially, the wards of the organization, rather than you the individual. In my personal opinion this is a big deal -- it's what helps a caretaker to remain a caretaker, and to distinguish between cats owned purposely by the caretaker (as pets) and those cared for out of a sense of civic responsibility and compassion (colony cats). For this to work, though, there has to be a very clear bond of trust and commitment between the caretakers and the organization.