By fixing and caring for cats in your neighborhood, you are taking a step towards ending the homeless cat overpopulation in Indianapolis as well as improving their lives. Congratulations for taking responsibility, acting humanely, and taking a positive action instead of doing nothing at all.
Becoming a Community Cat Caretaker
What is a community cat? It’s a cat that has been fixed, vaccinated and eartipped then released back into the area from which it was found. They are the unowned stray or feral (unsocialized) cats who live outdoors in our neighborhoods with or without a particular caretaker.
Community cats may be temporarily brought inside a colony caretaker’s residence, for their protection, in the event of severe environmental conditions or medical necessity.
Community Cat Care Guidelines
Make reasonable attempts to fix (trap-neuter-return) all the cats in the colony. Cats need to be fixed, have a rabies vaccination, eartip for ID and returned to their familiar outdoor home.
Provide adequate food and water for the cats on a daily basis. Feed cats in the morning if possible and do not leave food out overnight. Doing so can attract wildlife.
Provide adequate shelter for the number of cats in the colony if they do not have an established shelter area.
Make reasonable attempts to ensure that any community cats that are injured or ill receive prompt medical treatment.
Maintain records of spay/neuter and rabies vaccinations for cats you monitor.
Make efforts to place tame colony cats and kittens with adoption groups as resources allow.
Be a good steward for the cats. Help cats and people co-exist by readily addressing or educating others in regard to any concerns or conflicts they may have about the cats. Help community cats maintain a good image and their good neighbor status. Download this brochure to help neighbors better understand outside cats.
Fixing the cats/Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) coupled with proper feeding, shelter and on-going health monitoring stops the unchecked breeding of the cats, improves their lives and allows the colony to diminish naturally over time. Failure to properly care for community cats can exclude you from our program.
