Humane Society Of Austin & Travis County

The ahs feral cat program provides free sterilizations and vaccinations for feral cats in travis county and surrounding counties in central texas. The humane trap-neuter-return (tnr) method provides education on trapping feral cats and trap rental to volunteers. Spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccinations, deworming, and ear tipping for any feral cats they trap are free of charge. After recovering from surgery, the feral cat is returned to its colony by the volunteer. The ahs tnr clinic was the first high volume spay/neuter clinic specifically for feral cats in central texas. The primary goal of the program is to improve the lives of feral cats and reduce the homeless cat population. Since the program's inception in 2007, we have served over 85,000 cats, averaging at least 5,000 cats per year in the last five years. By sterilizing and vaccinating feral cats, we improve their health and reduce the spread of common feline diseases between feral and free-roaming cats and abate the exponential growth of the homeless cat population. Ahs launched a unique partnership with the austin animal center (aac) in 2011 to save the lives of stray cats that would previously have been euthanized. Modeled after the feral freedom program in jacksonville, florida, qualifying stray cats surrendered at aac are transported to ahs, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, and ear tipped for identification and then returned by ahs staff back into their territories to live out their lives.