Published on:  
Dec 30, 2015

How do we work with farmers who want nothing to do with Return to Field programs?

Dear Million Cat Challenge, We get a lot of old farmers that like to trap dozens of feral cats and bring them to the shelter or they threaten to shoot them. They want nothing to do with a Return to Field program. What's the best approach?
It’s always important to get to the bottom of why people have more cats than they can handle. Most farms like to have some cats around to control rodents, but they can be quickly overwhelmed if the cats are not neutered. We’ve handled these cases by making a visit to the farm and learning about the history of the problem. We can usually negotiate a compromise in which they will agree to try TNR if we do the work and promise to come back if it’s not working out for them. Sometimes we can help be removing kittens are friendly cats for adoption, which reduces the population immediately. They are usually more willing to work with us if they know we’ll stay with the situation until everyone is satisfied. Since TNR is so successful at reducing nuisance behavior and controlling the cat population explosion, the situation usually resolves itself once the cats are neutered.