“State of the Mewnion”: A Survey of 567 Feral Cat Care OrganizationsSabrina Aeluro1, Jennifer M. Buchanan2, Danielle J. Bays3, John D. Boone4, Peter Rabinowitz5

1Department of Biology, University of Washington; 2DVM; 3Community Cats Program Manager, the Humane Society of the United States; 4Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs; 5Director, University of Washington Center for One Health Research

IntroductionAlthoughmanybestpracticesguidelinesforferalandcommunitycatcarehavebeenpublishedbyorganizationssuchasAlleyCatAllies,theAmericanSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals(ASPCA),theAssociationforShelterVeterinarians,theAmericanAssociationofFelinePractitioners,BestFriendsAnimalSociety,NeighborhoodCats,andothers,littleisknownabouthowgroups"inthetrenches"actuallyoperate.Oursurveysoughttofillsomeofthatgapviaanonlinesurvey.

Wedevelopedourquestionnairebasedoneachauthor'sinterestsandexpertise.Advertisedas"TheStateoftheMewnion,"oursurveytopicsincludedissuesaboutorganizationdemographics,administrationandpolicy,environmentalandpublichealth,caretakingandtrapping,adoptionsoffriendlykittensandcats,medicalpoliciesandprocedures,datacollectionandprogramefficacymetrics,researchinterestandparticipation,andconflictwithbird/wildlifeadvocatesandanimalcontrolagencies.

Methods

"Forkittenspay/neuter,whattypeoflowerlimitdoyouusetodetermineifkittenscanhavesurgery?"51.8%usejustaweight,3.5%usejustanage,and38.2%useboth.(N=454.)"Ifyouuseonlyaminimumweight,whatisthatweight?"61.9%havea2.0poundlimit,15.2%havea3.0poundlimit."Ifyouuseonlyaminimumage,whatisthatage?"41.2%waituntil8weeks,18.8%waituntil12weeks,13.8%waituntil16weeks.

Ouronlinesurveywasopenfortwomonths,fromJanuary19toMarch19,2018.Wecastaninclusivenet,askingforparticipationfromorganizationsofallsizesthatwereinvolvedinanyaspectofferal/communitycatcareandadvocacy.WelimitedthescopeofoursurveytoorganizationsbasedintheUnitedStates.Duetothevarietyofquestionsthatappliedtomanytypesoforganizations,allquestionsafterthedemographicssectionwereoptional.

WeadvertisedthesurveytoorganizationsbypostinginFacebookGroupsdedicatedtoferal/communitycats,catrescue,ortrap-neuter-return(TNR),invitingparticipationfromfeline,sheltermedicine,andferalcatstudentclubsatveterinaryschools,emailingorganizationslistedonPetfinder'srescuedatabaseandtheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates'(HSUS)databaseofcommunitycatorganizations,contactinggroupsfoundbysearchingGooglefortermssuchas"feralcats,"straycats,"and"TNR,"anddrawinguponourpersonalcontactlists.Webelievethatwemadeacontactattempttoseveralthousandorganizations.Whileweattemptedtoremoveduplicateemailaddressesandavoidreachingouttoanygroupmultipletimes,itisunknownhowmanyofourcontactattemptscouldhavebeenduplicatesormadetoanorganizationwhichhasceasedtooperate.Forthosereasons,wecannotcalculatearesponserate.WeusedRforstatisticalanalysis.

References & Best Practices Guides*AlleyCatAllies.(2017).VeterinaryResourceCenter.RetrievedJanuary1,2018,fromhttps://www.alleycat.org/resources/veterinary-resource-center/*AlleyCatAllies,AmericanSocietyforthePreventionofCrueltytoAnimals(ASPCA),&Mayor’sAllianceforNYC’sAnimals.(2016).GuidetoTrap-Neuter-Return(TNR)andColonyCare.*AmericanAssociationofFelinePractitioners.(2017).AmericanAssociationofFelinePractitionersPracticeGuidelines.RetrievedJanuary1,2017,fromhttps://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines*AssociationofShelterVeterinarians’VeterinaryTaskForcetoAdvanceSpay-Neuter,Griffin,B.,Bushby,P.A.,White,S.C.,Rigdon-Brestle,Y.K.,Appel,L.D.,…Tyson,K.(2016).The*AssociationofShelterVeterinarians’2016VeterinaryMedicalCareGuidelinesforSpay-NeuterPrograms.JournaloftheAmericanVeterinaryMedicalAssociation,249(2),165–188.http://doi.org/10.2460/javma.249.2.165*BestFriendsAnimalSociety.(2017).CommunityCatProgramsHandbook.RetrievedJanuary1,2018,fromhttps://bestfriends.org/resources/community-cat-programs-handbook-stray-and-feral-cats-resource*Brown,C.R.(n.d.).SpecialConsiderationsforCommunityCatsatSpay/NeuterClinics.*InternationalCompanionAnimalManagementCoalition.(2011).HumaneCatPopulationManagementGuidance.*Kortis,B.(2014).CommunityTNR:TacticsandTools.Phoenix,Arizona:PetSmartCharities.*RCoreTeam.(2017).R:ALanguageandEnvironmentforStatisticalComputing.Vienna,Austria:RFoundationforStatisticalComputing.Retrievedfromhttps://cran.r-project.org*Sparkes,A.H.,Bessant,C.,Cope,K.,Ellis,S.L.H.,Finka,L.,Halls,V.,…Yeates,J.(2013).ISFMGuidelinesonPopulationManagementandWelfareofUnownedDomesticCats(Feliscatus).JournalofFelineMedicineandSurgery,15(9),811–817.http://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X13500431

Discussion

Results

Thispostersharesjustsomeoftheinformationwegathered.Wewillbesubmittinganarticlewiththefullresultsandanalysistoanopenaccessacademicjournalsotheinformationisavailabletoeveryone.Thearticlewillalsobepostedontheleadauthor'swebsiteataeluro.com/mewnion

Oursurveyincluded567organizationsfromalmosteverystate(seeFig.1).Tothebestofourknowledge,thisisthelargestandmostcomprehensivestudyconductedaboutferal/communitycatcareandadvocacyorganizations.Thefollowingresultsareaselectionofquestionsandanswers.

"Doesyourorganizationcurrentlyhaveatleastonedeclaredgoalthatincludesbothameasurablevalueandatimeframe?Suchas,'reducetheoutdoorcatpopulationofourtown25%by2025'or'provide1000freespay/neutersurgerieseveryyear.'"67.9%answered"no,"32.1%answered"yes."(N=563.)

"Areyouseeinghealthissuesinferal/communitycatsthataresuspectedasbeingcausedbyexposurestotoxinsorenvironmentalcontaminants?"59.0%answered"no,"27.2%answered"unknown,"13.8%answered"yes."(N=544.)

"Ifyoudoadoptionsofsocializedferal/communitycatsorkittensborntoferal/communitycats,doesyourgroup'sadoptioninformationhaveapositiononwhethertheyshouldbekeptasindoor-onlyanimals?"52.7%requirethatadopteesbekeptindoors,28.5%recommendkeepingadopteesindoors,9.8%havenopositiononthisissue,7.7%selected"other,"1.2%recommendthatadopteeslivebothindoors/outdoors.(N=491.)

"Ifyourorganizationhasastandardrequiredfeeorsuggesteddonationtopayforveterinaryservicesforferal/communitycats,whatisthatamountinUSdollars?"Themeanspaycostwas$44.58,meanneutercostwas$37.72.

Figure1:AmapoftheUnitedStatescoloredbywhichstateshadthegreatestnumberofrespondents.

Figure2A:"Whatistheapproximatenumberofferal/communitycatsthatyouserveperyear?";B:"Whatisthenumberofpaidemployeesinyourgroup?";C:"Whatisthenumberofactivevolunteersinyourgroup?"

Figure3A:"IsTNRexplicitlyallowedorendorsedbylocallawsandanimalcontrolordinanceswhereyouoperate?";B:"Whatclinicalservicesdoyouprovidetoferal/communitycats?FIVTesting.";C:"Ifyouuseeartipping/notchingofferal/communitycats,onwhichsidedoesitoccur?"

Figure4:"Howwouldthecurrentrelationshipbetweenferal/communitycatadvocatesandanimalcontrolauthoritiesinyourareabestbedescribed?"

Figure5:"Howwouldthecurrentrelationshipbetween'feral/communitycatpeople'and'wildlife/birdpeople'inyourareabestbedescribed?"

"What,ifany,publishedguidelinesdoyouuseinshapingyourownTNRandmedicalpractices?" ThemostpopularanswerswereAlleyCatAllies/ASPCA/Mayor'sAllianceforNYC'sAnimalsGuidetoTrap-Neuter-ReturnandColonyCare,BestFriendsCommunityCatProgramsHandbook,NeighborhoodCatsTNRHandbook,AlleyCatAlliesVeterinaryResourceCenter,andtheAssociationofShelterVeterinariansGuidelinesforSpay-NeuterPrograms. (N=567.)

"Whatmethodsdoyoucurrentlyusetodeterminewhetheryourprogramiseffectiveatsavingthelivesofcatsand/orreducingoutdoorcatpopulations?" 51.0%selectedtheoption"Feedbackfromtrappers/colonycaretakersbasedontheirjudgementofcatnumbers"orlistedasimilaranecdotalmethodinatextbox. Indirectmethodswerealsocommon:31.2%tracksheltercatintake,27.3%trackshelterkittenintake,22.2%tracksheltereuthanasianumbers,12.7%tracknuisancecallsaboutcats,and15.9%notedanotherindirectmethodinatextbox. Only0.18%(1group)reportedusingananalyticalmethod:conductingregular,deliberatetransectsurveys.