Under Ohio law, there is no one
agency responsible for handling free-roaming cats. As a result,
cats are often left to roam the streets unsterilized.
These cats can become a nuisance -
yowling, fighting, spraying, and continuously breeding. Some
of theses cats are owned and some are not. But when they
breed, they make more unwanted cats.
The cat problem is threefold:
• owned cats are allowed to roam outside and mate;
• domesticated cats have been abandoned and are homeless and reproduce;
• feral cats (wild cats with little or no human contact) live together in colonies and breed. These cats are not adoptable and generally shy away from humans.
These outside cats lead
to complaint calls to police, city officials, and non-profit
animal welfare groups. More often than not, the non-profit
shelters are full, which means there is nowhere to turn for
a humane solution that doesn’t end the cats’ lives. This
leads to more frustrations and complaint calls.
How
can you help?
Keep your cats indoors and get them fixed!
It is a myth that cats need to go outdoors. There are
fun things you can do to keep your cat completely happy
indoors!
Don’t
just dump your cat outside somewhere if you can’t keep him
anymore. Call the local shelters for help. They may
be full when you call but keep trying. They do have
space open up when they do adoptions. For a listing of shelter
numbers, visit our Resources page.
If
the shelters are full, try to place the cat yourself.
Here are some tips  on how to find homes for homeless animals
from Best Friends Animal Society.
Help get free-roaming cats around
your neighborhood fixed. They may not be your cats,
but if no one takes responsibility and gets them fixed, they
will continue to breed and produce more cats. Get them spayed or neutered before it becomes a major problem. Ask your neighbors to each pitch in a few dollars to help cover the cost or plan a fundraiser like a garage sale or a bake sale.
It will be a benefit to the entire neighborhood. Humane Ohio will spay/neuter free-roaming cats for $25. (If you live in the 43605 or 43609 zip codes, Humane Ohio will spay/neuter free-roaming cats for FREE while our grant money lasts.)
View our 43609 Diaries - stories and photos of cats that we've fixed, vaccinated, and, in some cases, helped find homes for.
Talk
to your neighbors to let them know that you're going to
begin trapping your neighborhood cats for sterilization.
You will trap the cats, get them fixed, and then return
them to the neighborhood where they live, but now they will
not be breeding.
Talk
to neighbors who are feeding free-roaming cats about getting them spayed/neutered. They are probably feeding the cats
because they have big hearts and don’t want to see the cats
suffer. Talk to them about how getting the cats spayed/neutered will mean fewer cats and less suffering.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is an effective and humane way to reduce the number of free-roaming cats in communities. Trap-Neuter-Return is where the cats are trapped, spayed/neutered, and returned to their habitat to live out their lives with a caretaker who provides food, water and shelter, and who monitors the colonies for any newcomers who are then spayed/neutered.
Cats are territorial animals and form strong bonds with the location they inhabit so they will be returned to where they were found after they recover from their spay/neuter surgery. Relocating free-roaming cats - and convincing them to stay in their new territory - is a difficult, time-consuming, and challenging undertaking. Trapping and killing does not solve the problem because new cats will move in and take over the food source.
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How can you get free-roaming cats fixed?
Click here for information on spay/neuter programs for free-roaming cats.
Caring for free-roaming in their outdoor habitat
The key things you'll need to provide for your free-roaming cat colony are simple: food, fresh water, and a clean, sturdy shelter. An excellent tip sheet on long-term care is available from Alley Cat Allies.
Shelters should be lined with clean straw for insulation and to keep the inside dry. (Towels or rags become wet, musty, or frozen in no time.) On extremely cold nights in winter, you can provide a microwavable warming disk that keeps warm for up to 12 hours. Just wrap it in a small towel and push it under the straw. These disks are available online at the Drs. Foster and Smith Web site or by calling 1-800-381-7179 (24 hours a day, seven days a week).
View Alley Cat Allies information on building an inexpensive free-roaming cat shelter. Or view Spay and Stay's instructions on making a free-roaming cat shelter using a Rubbermaid container.
Make Your Barn a Home for a Feral Cat
Cats are territorial creatures, so when they're taken someplace new, they need time to adjust. Upon arrival at the barn, feral cats must be confined in large dog crates or pre-installed large cages for two to three weeks. Visit Alley Cat Allies for feral cat shelter options. Confinement allows the cats to adjust to the environment in safety and to accept it as their new home. If set free upon arrival, all cats will attempt to return to their former home and will likely become lost.
If you have a barn and are willing to accept feral cats who are spayed/neutered and vaccinated, please email clinic@humaneohio.org.
Click here for our fact sheets including
• Free-Roaming (Friendly & Feral) Cats
• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)
• Helping Neighbors and Free-Roaming Cats Co-Exist
• Safe Relocation of Feral Cats
• Tips for Deterring Cats from Yards and Gardens.
If members of your neighborhood cannot agree on how to humanely handle the neighborhood cat problem, contact us immediately for help.
Do not make your yard attractive to free-roaming cats if you don’t want them there. Make sure to
secure your garbage so animals can’t get inside and tear
it apart.
Clean up materials around
your house that may provide shelter for free-roaming cats
and wildlife. Old tires, boxes, car parts, sheds, all are
very inviting for free-roaming cats looking for shelter.
If you feed free-roaming cats, don’t leave the food out all the time, especially overnight! This attracts all sorts of other wildlife. Start putting the food out at set times in the morning or evening and only leave it out for an hour. The cats will get used to the feeding schedule.
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