TNR Handbook - Neighborhood Cats

The Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook
on verbal instructions. Something you say could easily be forgotten or misunderstood.
Type up your own simple intake form if necessary, stating your name, the cat’s
description, the date and your instructions, and hand it to the veterinary staff when you
bring in the cat. That way there’s no confusion about what you want done.
Traps and covers
Feral cats should always be brought to the veterinarian in traps. It’s safe and easy to
sedate a cat using a needle through the bars of a trap. In contrast, it’s difficult and
dangerous if the cat is in a carrier or similar container. Likewise, the traps should always
be covered with a sheet to keep the cat calm.
Educating the veterinary staff
Working with feral cats is still a relatively new area for many veterinarians and
clinics. As a result, you may know more than they do about safe handling of ferals. If
your veterinarian tells you it’s fine to bring a feral in a carrier and has never heard of a
trap divider, then educate him. Explain why it’s safer for him and his staff to have the cat
brought in a trap and buy him a pair of trap dividers, demonstrating their use. If they
have never performed an eartip, show them a photo of an eartipped cat and get them
literature on how to perform the procedure (see the Resources page on the Alley Cat
Allies website: www.alleycat.org). Find out if they intend to place the cat in a normal
cage before or after surgery and explain why it’s safer to keep them in the trap and avoid
risky transfers.
It bears repeating that you should show an eartip to an inexperienced veterinarian
even if they tell you they know what it is. Your idea of an eartip may not be theirs –
without guidance, they may do an “ear notch” by taking out a V-shaped piece of the ear
on the side, which from a distance outdoors is indistinguishable from a fight wound. Or
they may take off too much or too little of the tip of the ear. Don’t take chances when a
simple photograph or drawing will prevent a mishap.
• Types of veterinary treatment
While protocols will vary from clinic to clinic, the standard treatment for a feral cat
should include at a minimum (1) spay/neuter, (2) eartip and (3) rabies vaccination.
Medications for fleas and ear mites are considered optional by most clinics, but are part
of the standard protocol in others. If flea and ear mite medications are not part of the
standard package, then consider requesting them at least in cases of severe infestation.
Testing for feline leukemia (FeLV) or feline AIDS (FIV) is not standard practice and
should not be part of a feral cat protocol for the reasons discussed later in this chapter
under “FIV/FeLV testing.” Testing should be performed only when a cat is observably
symptomatic and ill and the results will assist the veterinarian in diagnosis and treatment.
Likewise, other vaccinations besides rabies are not recommended. When other
vaccines are given to ferals, what is usually administered is known as the “3-in-1” shot.
The shot includes three different vaccines – panleukopenia (feline distemper), calici virus
and rhinotracheitis. It’s a hardship on the cat’s immune system to process these vaccines
at a time when the cat is under great stress from being in captivity, weakened by
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