TNR Chicago | Trap Neuter Return Information & Education

Feral cat colony caretakers who are practicing TNR must register their colonies with a Sponsor Oganization to be in compliance with the Cook County Managed Care of Feral Cats Ordinance.    In order to register your colony, you must comply with these steps:

1. Read the Cook County Feral Cats Ordinance , as registered colonies are subject to the terms of the ordinance.
2. Fill out the Feral Cat Colony Caretaker Application  and mail/fax it to the Sponsor Organization closest  to your colony. 
3. Continue to practice responsible colony management, including TNR.

On behalf of their registered caretakers, a Sponsor Organization will:

• provide TNR educational resources and services.
• report to the county.
• help resolve any complaints over the conduct of a feral cat colony caretaker or of cats within the colony. 
• assist in finding an alternate caretaker in the event that the caretaker can no longer care for his/her cats.

Here is the list of Sponsor Organizations:

Sponsors also CatVando NFP Corp.
CatVando.blogspot.com

Feral Feline Project
feralfelineproject.googlepages.com

P.A.C.T.
www.pacthumanesociety.org

PAWS Chicago
www.pawschicago.org

Tree House Humane Society
www.treehouseanimals.org

Triple R Pets
www.triplerpets.org

If you manage a feral cat colony in Cook County and would like to register your colony with the county and a sponsoring organization, please fill out this application. Registered colonies are subject to the terms and conditions that are detailed in the Cook County Feral Cat Ordinance. Benefits include TNR educational resources and services and assistance finding an alternate caretaker in the event that the caretaker can no longer care for his/her cats. Sponsors also help resolve any complaints over the conduct of a feral cat colony caretaker or of cats within the colony.

• Download the form:
• Feral Cat Colony Caretaker Application (Word Doc)
• Feral Cat Colony Caretaker Application (PDF)

You can also download and print this article (with additional TNR Faqs) if you so desire. Click here for the Word Doc. Click here for the PDF.

Where can I get a humane trap? 

You can borrow a trap from Tree House or, if you plan on tackling a large colony, you may want to consider buying your own trap. At Tree House we use Tru-Catch traps and Tomahawk traps. Good sites to order these and other traps include www.animal-care.com and www.animal-traps.com. We recommend buying traps with two doors, a trap door and a release door, to facilitate baiting the trap and using it for recovery. Our most popular trap is the Tru-Catch 30 LTD Light Duty Deluxe because it is relatively lighter weight and still sturdy, with two doors. Please call Tree House at 773.784.5488, ext. 0, for more information about our trap-lending service. 

How do I safely and humanely trap a feral cat?

You should familiarize yourself with the trap and test it before attempting to use it. If you rent the trap from Tree House, we will show you how to use it when you pick it up. It is important to NEVE R leave a set trap unattended for more than 20-30 minutes at a time. Ideally, you should watch the trap from a comfortable distance. When the trap is sprung, quickly move the cat in the covered trap to a safe area indoors. 

1.  Trap-Setting Instructions for Tru-Catch Traps (brown): Locate the two rings on either side of the front door. Using both hands, lift both rings all the way up, and then lift up the front door as far as it will go. Locate the bar that runs the length of the trap. Notice that it ends by the front door with an L-shape. While still holding the door all the way open, lift the bottom of the L-shaped rod so that the rod rotates and props open the front door. 
   1. Trap-Setting Instructions for Tomahawk Traps (silver): Open the trap by lifting the wire handle that secures the trap door. While holding the wire handle up, push the spring mechanism in and pull the door up until it is parallel with the ground. Put your hand under the door to hold it up, and pull the arm that runs the length of the trap downward and toward the open door. Place the small hook at the end of the arm closest to the open door in the notch to set the trap. 
2. When the trap is set, the trip plate will be slanted upwards. When the cat walks into the trap, he must step on the trip plate to cause the door to shut behind him. 
3. Trap Rehearsal Feeding (Optional): If you plan ahead, you can feed the cat inside the unset trap so he gets used to going into the trap. Sometimes this is not necessary, but with trap-wary cats or when timing is important, trap-rehearsals can help guarantee success. Also, if you need to trap a group of cats, trap-rehearsals will help all the cats have positive associations with the traps, and make trapping an entire group more effective. With some traps you can fully remove the back door for the rehearsal stage. For example, most of our silver Tomahawk traps have a fully removable back door. With other traps you can use a plastic zip tie, twist-ties, twine or cable to secure the back door in an upright position. This may be easier and slightly safer than securing the front door. Start by placing food at the open-door entrance, before the open door. Each day, move the food a couple of inches inside the trap until the food is all the way inside, at the closed end of the trap. When you are ready to do your actual trapping, be sure that the back door is in-place and secure, and you are opening the front door. You can rotate the trap so that the cat feels he is entering the same way as in the rehearsals. Remember to remove your ties, test and set the trap for the actual trapping. 
4. If trapping in a public place, we recommend placing signage on the trap to alert others of your good intentions.
5. It is a good idea to cover the trap with an old sheet, blanket or towel. This will help the cat to feel safe and will prevent him from trying to snatch food through the outside. Tuck the cover underneath the trap to prevent the wind from causing it to flap and scare the cat. Line the trap floor with newspaper or a towel. Cats don’t like the feeling of wire mesh between their toes. 
6. Bait the trap: Put the trap as close as possible to where the cat is accustomed to eating. Put the food at the opening of the trap the first day, and gradually move the food plate back a little each day until it’s behind the trip plate. If you do not have multiple days to train the cat in this manner, put a very tiny amount of food at the beginning and middle of the trap, to make the cat want more and go towards the back of the trap to eat the food. You can also drip tuna juice or sardine oil along the newspaper that lines the trap, and the appealing smell will help to motivate the cat. 
7. Timing & Testing: Plan to trap the night before or early the morning of your spay/neuter appointment. Be sure to use just enough to get him to go to the back of the trap, since the cat is not supposed to eat after midnight the night before the surgery. Test the trap away from the cat(s). Make sure that the newspaper, towel or food plate does not prevent the trip plate from functioning or the door from closing.
8. When the cat is trapped, immediately move the cat to a safe, quiet, indoor environment, keeping the trap covered. Try to remain calm, and watch your hands and fingers. The sheet you have over the trap, and using the trap handle, will help to protect you from injury. You may also wear heavy gloves to further protect hands. 

Click here to view all of the TNR Faqs or use the search box to find exactly what you are looking for.

So you’ve identified that your community has a feral cat problem, and have found the solution of TNR to help.  The next step to get help is to educate and spread the word in your community.  We have written a sample letter that you can send out to your neighbors, local businesses, and your local government to ask for support of your TNR project.  This letter is brief, and gets to the point, showing that TNR is a humane solution that will help solve the problem in your area.

You can download, customize, and print the letter.  We have it available for you in two different formats:

Word Document

Adobe PDF

It depends on the ordinances in your community. In Cook County reasonable efforts should be made to re-trap the cat for another three-year rabies vaccination every three years. At Tree House we give a three-year rabies vaccination, which is the most beneficial for a feral cat that may never be back for a booster. As far as the “distemper” FV RCP vaccination, it does provide significant protection for a year even if only given once.