What is a Feral Cat Colony? - A feral cat colony is a group of free roaming cats living in a specific geographic area near a food source. They are found worldwide. An estimated 80 to 100 million of them live in the United States.

What is the Vacuum Effect? - Feral cats establish territories based on availability of food sources. In Las Vegas Valley and outlying areas, the food source is usually mice and rats. When cats are removed from this environment, more cats quickly move in to take advantage of the territory. The vacuum effect has been documented around the world. A caretaker who provides food and water does not attract the cats.

What is a Managed Colony? - One where all the cats have been trapped, vaccinated and neutered and are cared for by a colony manager. Once neutered, fighting and howling are reduced, there is no more breeding. The healthy colony is a non-toxic sustainable solution to the rodent problem. Sustainable because the process is easy, low on manpower and money. Since cats transmit none of the diseases that rodents carry, TNR protects public health by reducing the numbers of feral cats and the number of rodents. In communities where TNR is widely embraced, feral cat numbers have dropped and animal shelters have saved money.

What are the duties of Caregiver of a Managed Colony? - To watch over a TNR colony and provide food and water long term. To keep a census of the cats and trap, or have trapped, newcomers. A properly managed colony is a healthy, stable colony in which no kittens are born.

Gaining Community Support and Managing Complaints - Caregivers deal with neighborhood complaints about the colony. Educating neighbors about the advantage of the colony and ideally gaining community cooperation is one of the Caregivers' chief tasks besides providing food and water to the colony.