Feral Domestic Cats Management In The Urban Environment

In the 10 years from 1991-2000, nearly 8,000 feral cats were neutered and reintroduced to their original colonies in Rome. The spay/neuter campaigns brought about a general decrease in cats, but the percentage of cat immigration (due to abandonment and spontaneous arrival) is around 21%. This suggests that spay/neuter efforts without complementary education to prevent abandonment may be a waste of money, time, and energy.

“Trap-neuter-release” (TNR) programs have been carried out for more than 10 years. In this paper we present data on registered colonies and censused cats in Rome from 1991 to 2000; the results of the neutering campaign from 1991 to 2000; and a survey, on 103 cat colonies, on the effects of demographic control of urban feral-cat colonies in the city of Rome, carried out by the local Veterinary Public Services (VPS) in collaboration with the associations of cat care-takers.

In 10 years almost 8000 were neutered and reintroduced in their original colony. The spay/neuter campaigns brought about a general decrease in cat number but the percentage of cat immigration (due to abandonment and spontaneous arrival) is around 21%. This suggests that all these efforts without an effective education of people to control the reproduction of house cats (as a prevention for abandonment) are a waste of money, time and energy.

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