The standard protocol for feral cats entering Animal Shelter’s for years has been for the shelters to get them altered, return the feral cats to the field in a barn cat program or euthanize them.

If Animal Shelters didn't have the housing available for feral cats and there was a high demand from the public to take the feral cats in from the (Citizens or Animal Control) then Animal Shelters would have to euthanize the feral cats that were currently being housed to make room for the incoming feral cats.

The new trend (below link) in Animal Sheltering regarding feral cats is to spay & neuter them, return them to the field, not long-term house them and to not euthanize them.   

Intake of Free Roaming Cats

There are several reasons & benefits on why Animal Shelters are changing protocol.  The first reason is that feral cats take up valuable kennel space in the Animal Shelters that could be used for domesticated kittens & cats.  The second reason is the associated cost for housing feral cats is costly.  The third reason is when Animal Shelters house feral cats the chance of spreading diseases to other domesticated & feral cats is high and the fourth reason is there is a significant potential risk of injury to staff members who have to clean the feral cats housing on a daily basis.

Out in the field there is what community cat experts call the "vacuum effect" in the feral cat colony areas.  The "vacuum effect" is where cats from other territories move into the empty or depleted colony areas due to trapping & removal and start to populate the unoccupied territories.  If feral cats are spayed or neutered and returned to their existing feral cat colony areas the other feral cats from nearby territories won't move in.

On July 1, 2020, Animal Care Services implemented the practice of spaying & neutering, returning feral cats to the field and not long term housing feral cats in the animal shelter.  Citizens will have to make arrangements with Animal Care Services staff to schedule a surgery date, citizens will be instructed to capture feral cat(s) in a humane trap, transport the feral cat(s) to the Animal Shelter Clinic on the scheduled surgery date and return later that afternoon to pick & transport them back their original locations.

If there are citizens that have a problem with a feral cat colony around their premises they need to contact Animal Care Services as soon as possible.  Animal Care Services will contact the Feral Cat Sponsoring Organization and start working on resolving any issues or problems the citizens may have.  The immediate disbandment of a feral cat colony is not likely to happen due to a citizen’s complaint.  The process of resolving the situation will take time, resources and a coordinated effort from the Feral Cat Sponsoring Organization & Animal Care Services.  

If conditions at a feral cat colony warrant an immediate disbandment due to animal or human health concerns then Animal Care Services, the Feral Cat Sponsoring Organization, Public Health & Animal Control will meet and discuss a plan of action.

Feral cats have roamed free throughout communities for thousands of years and it wasn't until 1947 when kitty litter was created that cats started being kept indoors.  The geographical area that Mendocino County is in allows feral cats to thrive outdoors.  Spaying & neutering is proven to be the best method of reducing the feral cat population and is a much better humane action to take instead of long term housing them in an animal shelter environment costing the tax payers thousands of dollars, getting sick in the animal shelter, cross contaminating healthy adoptable cats in an animal shelter and eventually euthanizing them.

Feral Cat News

Position change from the National Animal Control Academy regarding the impounding of Feral Cats into Animal Shelters.  You can read the article at the below link. 

Animal Control Intake of Free Roaming Cats