All cats are intelligent, sentient beings that, like all creatures, deserve to be healthy and happy. Feral cats are the offspring of abandoned or neglected unsterilized cats. The kittens of these unsterilized cats grow up without human contact and develop an extreme wariness of people.
The number one documented cause of death for all cats in the United States is euthanasia in animal shelters. Mandatory cat licensing and leash laws have proven to be a license to kill, and have resulted in an increase in the number of cats killed in county shelters/animal control facilities. Virtually all feral cats that enter an animal control facility are killed and their bodies are either dumped in the county landfill or incinerated, all at the taxpayers expense.
Through Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR), cats are sterilized and vaccinated, halting the endless cycle of breeding and keeping them healthier, because caretakers feed them daily and monitor their health. Feral cats are then allowed to live their lives in the only home they have ever known, outdoors.
Counties that have implemented a Trap/Neuter/Return program have seen significant decreases in animal intake and euthanasia along with significant increases in cat adoptions at their shelters. Also, it costs taxpayers much less money to neuter and vaccinate a cat, than it does to euthanize him/her and dispose of his/her body.
Please sign below to help stop the unnecessary and costly killing of cats in Collier County! Help us change the current Collier County Ordinance to allow community wide Trap/Neuter/Return and to not penalize citizens simply because they are trying to solve a problem by sterilizing and caring for feral cats.
