Indianapolis sets national precedent

The City of Indianapolis is setting a national precedent for humanely and effectively dealing with the city’s cat overpopulation crisis through a non-lethal process called TNR (trap-neuter-return). The City-County Council voted to pass the ordinance at their Oct. 10 meeting establishing TNR to care, protect and break the breeding cycle of unowned cats in Indianapolis. The vote passed 26-1.

IndyFeral volunteers administer a shot to a feral feline through their TNR program.

Feral cats are defined as cats that are wild, abandoned, free-roaming, stray or homeless. There are estimated to be 174,000 such cats within the city limits.
This ordinance makes it legal for the city’s designated agency, IndyFeral, to trap feral cats, sterilize them and return them to their managed TNR colony where a caretaker provides care, food and shelter. IndyFeral charges colony caregivers $20 per cat for this service, compared to approximately $120 per cat to trap and kill as was implemented by Indianapolis Animal Care and Control (IACC).

Ferals, being unsocialized, don’t belong in shelters; that space is better suited for adoptable animals. Jeff Bennett, assistant administrator with the Community Economic Development, Department of Metropolitan Development, and former IACC administrator, addressed this point at the Sept. 28 Public Safety Committee meeting, presenting his testimony in favor of the TNR ordinance. A “Do Pass” recommendation was passed unanimously.

Councilors Mary Moriarity Adams (17th District — D) and Scott Keller (16th District — R) sponsored the ordinance. Councilor for the 3rd District, Jim Bradford (R), whose district contains more feral colonies than any other, additionally endorsed the move.

“TNR through IndyFeral is a good program because it works to humanely and effectively reduce the feral cat population. It doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything. Considering cutbacks in public services, IndyFeral has worked out a great program that doesn’t cost the city money,” Bradford said.

Dr. Marcie Short DVM, an IndyFeral volunteer vet who practices at Allisonville Animal Hospital, said of her support of the TNR ordinance, “From a vet viewpoint, I feel that other things that have been done, like trap and kill, trap and find homes, or trying to collect these ferals, hasn’t been successful. We continue to have a huge feral cat population.

“With TNR we see improvement in the quality of life for the animals. Since I started volunteering [three years ago] the colonies of cats we have seen are consistently healthier with fewer upper respiratory problems for instance and better quality of life.”

Before this ordinance, the act of feeding feral cats was a finable infraction; however, feeding these cats is a proven way to start managing them.
“Now people … can take care of them legally with this ordinance in place and don’t have to stay under the radar. They are both going to be there … the cats and people feeding them. That’s going to happen whether the ordinance is in place or not.”

She added that people who care for feral colonies enjoy it and feel like they are helping their communities. By spaying and neutering through TNR, nuisance behaviors like spraying, howling and other symptomatic mating behaviors cease.

“One of the things I worry about among my fellow professionals is the concern that we’re taking money, clients and patients away from private clinics, but these are animals that aren’t ever going to get to a clinic. These are not paying patients that are going to decrease client numbers anywhere. I believe, as … vets our purpose is not to just take care of animals that have owners, but to take care of the animals that don’t have anyone. We should be taking the lead to find ways to ensure these homeless animals are treated humanely.”

To learn more about TNR and to read the new ordinance, visit www.indyferal.org. Call 317-596-2300 to schedule your feral colony for TNR.