The Summerlee Report calls for systemic change, data-driven strategies, and a renewed focus on spay/neuter to finally turn the tide on cat overpopulation.
This article was chock full of good ideas for coping with the overpopulation of feral breeding cats in underserved communities. I enjoyed the positive viewpoint and encouraging statistics. Good job!
The surcharge idea on adoptions and cat food is an excellent idea for steady funding of effective programs.
What ever each of us can do to help in this effort will not go unrewarded.
Hi Miranda, thank you for the kind words and thoughtful feedback! I’m especially glad you picked up on the importance of steady, reliable funding—it's such a crucial piece that often gets overlooked. You're absolutely right: every effort counts, and together we can finally start to turn the tide.
TNR has always focused on surgery. The Summerlee Report insists we widen the frame: pair high‑volume spay/neuter with adoption of socialized cats, sterilization for owned outdoor pets, pet‑retention support, public education on indoor living, and anti‑abandonment campaigns. Only by attacking the root causes—new arrivals from abandonment or lax pet‑care—can communities stop colony sizes from rebounding."
However, why are dogs not included? There are plenty of stray/homeless ones who get pregnant. Was this an oversight, or am I not reading it correctly?
Still, this is especially helpful now in NYC since the City Council issued their response to the Mayor's budget - asking for $1.5M to fund TNR but only for not for-profit rescues. It misses the point, as I wrote in my recent Substack Why Doesn't the NYC Council get it?https://animalsmatter.substack.com/p/why-doesnt-the-nyc-council-get-it
I passed it on to a Council Member who is on the Budget Committee and she said it was very helpful.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your thoughtful comment—and for sharing your article as well. You're right: dogs are a critical part of the broader conversation about community animals. The Summerlee report specifically focused on free-roaming cats because of their overwhelming numbers and unique management challenges, but the need for integrated solutions absolutely extends to dogs too. I'm glad to hear you're helping move the conversation forward in NYC—your advocacy is making a real difference.
Ed, am I missing something? The success of Key Largo?
Simple math: 249 fewer cats over a 14year timeframe is equal to about $1700 per "successful" cat.
Sure that is "only $127" per cat per year in an area which is bordered by water on two sides.
Sounds like success but hardly sustainable. I'm sure if looked at closely, most of these other locations could be described as successes when the numbers are likewise manipulated, and no thought is given to analysis.
CSUN, twenty years to reduce the count from seventy-five to six. That is slower than the natural death rate of cats in any location. I had surgery teams which could easily S/N seventy-five cats in one day.
Don't get me wrong, you know I am a firm believer in S/N but hidden in these numbers are social issues which reduce the impact of surgery and the funding allocated. When will they be addressed??
Thanks for weighing in. You're right that TNR alone isn't fast or cheap—and that's exactly the point the Summerlee report makes. It's not just about sterilization anymore; it's about integrating TNR into broader strategies: adoption, community engagement, robust tracking, and permanent funding mechanisms. Key Largo and CSUN show what's possible with long-term commitment, but they also reveal the gaps—especially around social issues you mention, like access, equity, and education. The new blueprint argues we won't get real, scalable success until we address all of it, not just surgeries. Appreciate your insights, as always! (There's a link to the Summerlee report at the bottom of the article.)
When I lived in the countryside with many farms, the barn cats did a wonderful job keeping the population of mice, voles and even rats in check. Hawks and coyotes did their part keeping the cats in check.
Now, I live in a feral-cat-free suburb that has become overrun with rodents. Several resident Red Tailed Hawks used to help keep the rodent population down but the town panicked and started putting out rat poison boxes and now all the hawks have died. Three years into this town project and, once again, a nesting season has arrived but not a single hawk has been spotted.
Two reasons for the failure of the Cordoba TNR project, and thousands of others, are embedded in your very first sentence: "Before dawn one April morning in Córdoba, Spain, volunteers laid out feeding stations across 225 cat colonies and prepared to count every whisker."
Feeding stations are not a necessary or useful part of any TNR project, including to count cats, which is no more difficult than counting deer, raccoons, coyotes, any bird species, or any other sort of wildlife.
It is not necessary, or useful, to "count every whisker." Animals exist in relatively easily predictable ratios to food & cover availability, & this can be accurately assessed by people who know the species in question from a combination of line transects with area counts in places where relatively high concentrations of the species can be observed.
Part of any line transect to count wildlife is assessing the food availability for the species. This includes assessing food contributions made by humans, whether deliberately (feeders) or accidentally (disposal of food waste). Knowing the food availability sets an approximate upper limit for the carrying capacity of the habitat, unless nitwits jack it up by putting ever-increasing amounts of food out for the animal population they are ostensibly trying to control through TNR.
The "vacuum effect" people talk about occurs not primarily because diminishing numbers of cats lures in more cats to consume a relatively static food supply, but because feeders increase the available food supply by putting food out for cats who already had an adequate food supply in the form of rodents and food waste, or would not have been there at all.
If an unfed cat population diminishes through TNR, and no feeding is introduced, the habitat will be taken over by hawks, owls, eagles, foxes, coyotes, snakes, & other native wildlife capable of making a living from the same rodent prey base.
If feeding is introduced, or increased, however, a food source particularly attractive to cats will bring in more cats ahead of the wildlife.
I explained all of these ecological basics in each of the first three articles describing TNR for national audiences in 1992. They should not still be holy mysteries 33 years later, if reducing feral cat populations remained genuinely the goal of most TNR practitioners, instead of keeping "colonies" of outdoor cats, who without feeding would disperse to the natural carrying capacity of the habitat, at population densities in most habitats comparable to those of hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, & lynx.
Hi Merritt and Beth, thanks for weighing in—your ecological perspective is always appreciated. You're absolutely right that feeding practices are a point of serious debate and deserve more critical scrutiny in both fieldwork and program design. It’s exactly why I advocated for a more inclusive peer review process in the article—one that draws on a wider range of field experience and expertise. Merritt, your input would certainly have added value to this conversation.
I love cats and have had one to four for the past thirty five years. One of my neighbors feeds the strays in the neighborhood. At one point my sister described my front yard as rippling with cats. The strays pooped in my yard, ate the birds and lizards, and climbed in my open windows to spray in the house and fight with my cats. I found homes for two of the female cats. Another neighbor took two of the males and paid for them to be neutered. I got screens for all of my windows. One by one, the outdoor abandoned cats were either run over or eaten by coyotes. People continue to abandon their pets, and my neighbor feeds them, but fortunately the number of dumped felines is much smaller. My yard is no longer a litter box. There are plenty of birds and lizards in my yard again. Education is definitely needed for people who think cats can survive in the wild on their own...
This article was chock full of good ideas for coping with the overpopulation of feral breeding cats in underserved communities. I enjoyed the positive viewpoint and encouraging statistics. Good job!
The surcharge idea on adoptions and cat food is an excellent idea for steady funding of effective programs.
What ever each of us can do to help in this effort will not go unrewarded.
Hi Miranda, thank you for the kind words and thoughtful feedback! I’m especially glad you picked up on the importance of steady, reliable funding—it's such a crucial piece that often gets overlooked. You're absolutely right: every effort counts, and together we can finally start to turn the tide.
I like this: "Integration: Filling the Gaps
TNR has always focused on surgery. The Summerlee Report insists we widen the frame: pair high‑volume spay/neuter with adoption of socialized cats, sterilization for owned outdoor pets, pet‑retention support, public education on indoor living, and anti‑abandonment campaigns. Only by attacking the root causes—new arrivals from abandonment or lax pet‑care—can communities stop colony sizes from rebounding."
However, why are dogs not included? There are plenty of stray/homeless ones who get pregnant. Was this an oversight, or am I not reading it correctly?
Still, this is especially helpful now in NYC since the City Council issued their response to the Mayor's budget - asking for $1.5M to fund TNR but only for not for-profit rescues. It misses the point, as I wrote in my recent Substack Why Doesn't the NYC Council get it?https://animalsmatter.substack.com/p/why-doesnt-the-nyc-council-get-it
I passed it on to a Council Member who is on the Budget Committee and she said it was very helpful.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your thoughtful comment—and for sharing your article as well. You're right: dogs are a critical part of the broader conversation about community animals. The Summerlee report specifically focused on free-roaming cats because of their overwhelming numbers and unique management challenges, but the need for integrated solutions absolutely extends to dogs too. I'm glad to hear you're helping move the conversation forward in NYC—your advocacy is making a real difference.
Ed, am I missing something? The success of Key Largo?
Simple math: 249 fewer cats over a 14year timeframe is equal to about $1700 per "successful" cat.
Sure that is "only $127" per cat per year in an area which is bordered by water on two sides.
Sounds like success but hardly sustainable. I'm sure if looked at closely, most of these other locations could be described as successes when the numbers are likewise manipulated, and no thought is given to analysis.
CSUN, twenty years to reduce the count from seventy-five to six. That is slower than the natural death rate of cats in any location. I had surgery teams which could easily S/N seventy-five cats in one day.
Don't get me wrong, you know I am a firm believer in S/N but hidden in these numbers are social issues which reduce the impact of surgery and the funding allocated. When will they be addressed??
Hi Allan,
Thanks for weighing in. You're right that TNR alone isn't fast or cheap—and that's exactly the point the Summerlee report makes. It's not just about sterilization anymore; it's about integrating TNR into broader strategies: adoption, community engagement, robust tracking, and permanent funding mechanisms. Key Largo and CSUN show what's possible with long-term commitment, but they also reveal the gaps—especially around social issues you mention, like access, equity, and education. The new blueprint argues we won't get real, scalable success until we address all of it, not just surgeries. Appreciate your insights, as always! (There's a link to the Summerlee report at the bottom of the article.)
Can you please speak to/identify the social issues you mention in the last paragraph? Thanks.
When I lived in the countryside with many farms, the barn cats did a wonderful job keeping the population of mice, voles and even rats in check. Hawks and coyotes did their part keeping the cats in check.
Now, I live in a feral-cat-free suburb that has become overrun with rodents. Several resident Red Tailed Hawks used to help keep the rodent population down but the town panicked and started putting out rat poison boxes and now all the hawks have died. Three years into this town project and, once again, a nesting season has arrived but not a single hawk has been spotted.
It’s human overpopulation you should be concerned with - leave cats alone
Two reasons for the failure of the Cordoba TNR project, and thousands of others, are embedded in your very first sentence: "Before dawn one April morning in Córdoba, Spain, volunteers laid out feeding stations across 225 cat colonies and prepared to count every whisker."
Feeding stations are not a necessary or useful part of any TNR project, including to count cats, which is no more difficult than counting deer, raccoons, coyotes, any bird species, or any other sort of wildlife.
It is not necessary, or useful, to "count every whisker." Animals exist in relatively easily predictable ratios to food & cover availability, & this can be accurately assessed by people who know the species in question from a combination of line transects with area counts in places where relatively high concentrations of the species can be observed.
Part of any line transect to count wildlife is assessing the food availability for the species. This includes assessing food contributions made by humans, whether deliberately (feeders) or accidentally (disposal of food waste). Knowing the food availability sets an approximate upper limit for the carrying capacity of the habitat, unless nitwits jack it up by putting ever-increasing amounts of food out for the animal population they are ostensibly trying to control through TNR.
The "vacuum effect" people talk about occurs not primarily because diminishing numbers of cats lures in more cats to consume a relatively static food supply, but because feeders increase the available food supply by putting food out for cats who already had an adequate food supply in the form of rodents and food waste, or would not have been there at all.
If an unfed cat population diminishes through TNR, and no feeding is introduced, the habitat will be taken over by hawks, owls, eagles, foxes, coyotes, snakes, & other native wildlife capable of making a living from the same rodent prey base.
If feeding is introduced, or increased, however, a food source particularly attractive to cats will bring in more cats ahead of the wildlife.
I explained all of these ecological basics in each of the first three articles describing TNR for national audiences in 1992. They should not still be holy mysteries 33 years later, if reducing feral cat populations remained genuinely the goal of most TNR practitioners, instead of keeping "colonies" of outdoor cats, who without feeding would disperse to the natural carrying capacity of the habitat, at population densities in most habitats comparable to those of hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, & lynx.
Hi Merritt and Beth, thanks for weighing in—your ecological perspective is always appreciated. You're absolutely right that feeding practices are a point of serious debate and deserve more critical scrutiny in both fieldwork and program design. It’s exactly why I advocated for a more inclusive peer review process in the article—one that draws on a wider range of field experience and expertise. Merritt, your input would certainly have added value to this conversation.
There are many:
Cats as an introduced species
Environmental impacts
Are "colonies" a realistic approach, how large, who is responsible, who pays the on-going costs
Rabies
Not everyone wants cats in public spaces, who decides
Knowledgeable engaged elected officials who do more than have knee jerk reactions to problems
Functioning programs, not two-year BF, HSUS, Matties fund cycles.
Trust
Is there a difference between a hoarder and a colony?
Is it humane?
I love cats and have had one to four for the past thirty five years. One of my neighbors feeds the strays in the neighborhood. At one point my sister described my front yard as rippling with cats. The strays pooped in my yard, ate the birds and lizards, and climbed in my open windows to spray in the house and fight with my cats. I found homes for two of the female cats. Another neighbor took two of the males and paid for them to be neutered. I got screens for all of my windows. One by one, the outdoor abandoned cats were either run over or eaten by coyotes. People continue to abandon their pets, and my neighbor feeds them, but fortunately the number of dumped felines is much smaller. My yard is no longer a litter box. There are plenty of birds and lizards in my yard again. Education is definitely needed for people who think cats can survive in the wild on their own...