C.A.T.S.S. is a non-profit, Trap-Neuter-Return organization located in Oberlin, Ohio. Our goal is to prevent births of stray cats and to improve the lives of those cats who have no home.
C.A.T.S.S. offers tame kittens and cats for adoption. $70.00 (seventy dollar) fee includes spay/neuter, vaccines and deworming. Contact us for more information.
C.A.T.S.S.'s primary purpose is to trap local feral (wild) cats, spay or neuter them, return them to their location and provide ongoing care. Training and assistance is available for individuals interested in participating in the national, grass roots movement of T.N.R. C.A.T.S.S. also assist local residents with low-cost spaying and neutering. C.A.T.S.S. can assist local residents with spaying and neutering of feral cats for home and business owners who will manage the colony.
Through our Foster Home Program, C.A.T.S.S. offers many adoptable tame cats and kittens. Some are fostered with dogs and children.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a national grass roots movement in which stray and feral cats already living outdoors in cities, towns, and rural areas are humanely trapped, then evaluated, vaccinated, and spayed or neutered by veterinarians. When possible, kittens and tame cats are adopted into good homes. As a general rule, feral cats are not suitable for adoption, and relocating them to another area is extremely difficult. Therefore, healthy adult cats too wild to be adopted are allowed to recuperate from their surgery for a day or two,and are then returned to their familiar habitat under the regular care of volunteers.
Feral cats tend to live in tribes, or colonies. They can be found in parks, backyards, alleyways, warehouses, jails, college campuses, parking lots, train stations ; wherever there are people and a food source. The TNR method involves trapping all or most of the cats in a colony, neutering them, returning the wild adults back to their territory, and then providing them with regular food and warm, dry shelter. The now neutered colony will no longer have litters of kittens, so the population size stabilizes and declines over time.
Each spayed or neutered cat is ear-tipped while under anesthesia, at the same time the sterilization is performed. This involves removing about 1/4 inch from the top of the left ear (enough to be noticeable after fur grows back), and is an accepted and universally recognized method of identifying sterilized animals. Feral cats may interact with a variety of caretakers, vets, and animal control people during their lives. Ear-tipping provides a clear marking that ensures that feral cats that have already been sterilized are not re-trapped and unnecessarily transported.
In most cases, feral cats taken to animal shelters are killed. Besides being inhumane, trap-and-remove is only a temporary solution. It creates a void that unaltered cats will eventually fill, starting the breeding cycle all over again. In contrast, TNR is widely recognized as the most humane and effective strategy for reducing feral cat populations. TNR can eliminate much of the nuisance behavior often associated with ferals. Once neutered, the cats stop fighting, howling, and mating. Altered males no longer spray to mark their territory, so the strong odor often associated with their colonies is reduced or even disappears. The quieter, stable colony still maintains its natural rodent control, a real plus in many urban areas, and keeps new, unneutered cats from moving into their territory.
CATSS, Inc. works with homeless cat populations in the greater Oberlin area. A partial list of our activities:
- identify feral cat colonies that need attentionHow You Can Help
Join the growing movement of enlightened and compassionate care for feral cats. There are lots of ways you can assist. Contact C.A.T.S.S. for additional information on volunteer opportunities. Join CATSS on Facebook. WE ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF FOSTER HOMES! You can also provide us with essential financial support. All contributions are tax-deductible. Join us!
Click here for the certificate!
