Community Cats
- Community cats are free-roaming cats with no identifiable owner. They are typically not adoptable.
- Community cats have a home: they live outdoors, thriving in every landscape, from the inner city to rural farmland.
- An estimated 80,000 free-roaming felines live in our region and have to fend for themselves.
- Unaltered community cats reproduce at an alarming rate, driving up overpopulation and shelter intakes.
- Community cats entering shelters drain already limited resources and take up space.
- Targeted trapping, spay/neuter, and release (“TNR”) of free-roaming cats is the only effective humane method to address these concerns.
- Humane Fort Wayne’s Community Cat Program aims to improve the lives of community cats in our region by reducing shelter death; improving health; and reducing overpopulation. We do this by offering low-cost spay/neuter of community cats to the public, engaging in targeted TNR projects throughout our community, and providing education and outreach to our community to increase awareness of community cats, how best to care for them, and the services that are available to help them.
Community Cat Contact
Email: [email protected] Phone: 260 744-0454 x208
Community Cat Walk-in Schedule
We accept community cat walk-ins Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday only, at our clinic at 1333 Maycrest Drive. The $45 Community Cat Package includes spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccine, microchip, pain medication, and mandatory ear tip.
- Drop off at 8:00 a.m.
- Pick up same day at 3:45 p.m.
- Each client may bring up to two (2) cats
- Each cat must be in its own humane live trap or approved cat carrier with a door that closes.
- No food past midnight the night before (keep indoors the night before if possible)
- Holidays and inclement weather may affect our schedule–check back here or call (260) 420-7729 for updates.
- This package is intended for free-roaming, unowned cats only. To spay/neuter a pet cat, please schedule an appointment.
What is an Ear-Tip?
Ear-tipping is a nationally recognized way to identify sterilized and vaccinated cats. It is difficult to get close to some community cats; so the identification must be visible from a distance. Immediate visual identification is necessary to prevent an unnecessary second trapping and surgery. This is done while the cat is under anesthesia. Ear-tipping removes the top 1/3 of the left ear.
The Vacuum Effect
Catching and killing feral cats is the traditional approach for feral cats. Catch and kill attempts may temporarily reduce the number of feral cats in a given area, but two things happen: intact survivors continue to breed, and other cats move in to the now-available territory. This is a phenomenon known as the vacuum effect, and it is documented worldwide.
With TNR, there are no more kittens; the population stabilizes. And the returned neutered cats’ lives are improved. Behaviors and stresses associated with pregnancy and mating, such as yowling or fighting, stop.
