Feral Cats, Birds, and TNS

Attempts to control the numbers of feral cats commonly include eradication or trap, neuter, release. What about trap, neuter, secure?

I recently had an email from a reader wondering why the debates over what to do about feral cats talk about eradication versus trap, neuter, release (TNR) but never seem to include discussion of trap, neuter, secure, or TNS, programs. In TNS, feral cats are caught, neutered, given necessary veterinary care, and then placed in a compound from which they cannot escape. The idea intrigued me and I had to admit I wasn’t familiar with any TNS programs.

Trap neuter secure seems like a good compromise between those who argue that feral cats have a right to live, and those that have zero tolerance for feral cats because of they kill many birds and other animals. But is anyone doing it? If you Google “trap, neuter, secure feral cats,” you get about 44,000 hits, all apparently about trap, neuter release programs. There isn’t any information there about TNS.

I can imagine that arguments against TNS would include that it is prohibitively expensive and that it doesn’t prevent the “bath tub effect.” (Proponents of TNR argue that when all the feral cats are removed from an area, it quickly becomes recolonized by cats from outside the area and the population soon rises to its former level—like flooding an empty bathtub that is surrounded by rising water.) Trap, neuter, secure would require long term commitment from community volunteers and ongoing funding.

Does anyone know of a TNS program for feral cats? Please start a discussion and tell us about it.