A personal story illustrating the success of TNR

Before I moved to Monroe, I lived in a condominium. About 10 years ago we started to get stray cats from other condos and apartments — some were abandoned when people moved.

A neighbor and I fed them. We had a local rescue group spay the females (about half a dozen) and return them. The group placed one animal, and my neighbor took two, now the loves of her life.

One breeding female remained uncatchable — she gave birth to several litters until she died of a tumor. Her babies were apparently not healthy, as few survived.

The big problem was males from elsewhere impregnating the local females. But thanks to our small Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, the numbers remain constant, with a few additional cats wandering in — most not welcomed by the nucleus group.

If cats are not fed, they will go to the nearest area where they can find food; if unneutered, they will breed, but they won’t conveniently go away. TNR does work

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Marion Bochner

Monroe