Community Cats

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)

“Community cat” is an umbrella term that refers to any member of the Felis catus species who is unowned and lives outdoors. Both feral and stray cats are community cats.

WCHS provides spay/neuter and vaccines to community cats who are successfully living outdoors in our community.

If you are aware of a community cat(s) in need of spay and neuter, please give us a call at 802-254-2232.

We will work with you to create the best plan for you and the cat(s).

We do not house community cats. Please do not trap and bring cats to the WCHS without creating a plan with staff first.

Placing wild, free-roaming cats in cages is terrifying for the cats and dangerous to staff and volunteers. Simply removing them leads to the vacuum effect, which is why we support TNR.

For more information on the benefits of TNR, check out Alley Cat Allies or The Community Cats Podcast.

Community Cat - Frequently Asked Questions

  • From Alley Cat Allies: “Feral, stray, and pet cats are all members of the same species; they are all domestic cats. But stray cats and feral cats are also different from each other in a very important way—in their relationship to and interactions with people.”

    Check out the “cat socialization continuum.”

  • There are no leash laws for cats, which means they are allowed, by law, to roam freely. If the cat appears healthy, we recommend you leave it alone and don’t feed it. It will likely return to its home when it’s ready.

    Studies have shown that cats are often “owned” by more than one cat parent, spending days with one family and nights with another. Cats do as they please, which is part of why we love them!

    If you would like to discover if the cat has an owner, you can get a break-away or paper collar at the shelter and put it on the cat with a message: “Is this your cat? Please call xxx-xxxx”. This will allow you to communicate directly with the cat’s owner and rest assured the cat is being cared for.

    If the cat is visibly unwell (e.g., wounded, severely underweight, losing fur), call your town’s Animal Control Officer (ACO). If they can not help, call the shelter at 802-254-2232.

    Ideally, an ACO will trap and transport the cat to a veterinarian for evaluation.

    Cats can carry rabies and cat bites and scratches are prone to serious infection.

  • We do not recommend feeding cats outside. Cats are opportunists and will happily eat any food you put out and will return to your yard for food even if they already have a home. Cat food outside can also attract insects and other wildlife.

  • Cats are well adapted to live in the cold as long as they have access to food, water and shelter. Community cats are more like wild animals than domesticated pets. They know where to hide and how to find food and water and they are stressed by confinement.

    Some community cats eventually “come in from the cold” and adapt to living inside, but it takes a lot of time and patience, and the outcome varies from cat to cat.

    Cats are individuals, and some never adapt to a life indoors.

  • WCHS follows an international policy of ear-tipping the left ear of cats (see photo above) while they are under anesthesia for their spay/neuter surgeries. This makes it easy to know right away if cats in a colony are altered. This prevents the stress of being trapped over and over for a surgery they have already had!

  • Trapping and euthanizing community cats is unlikely to get rid of a colony of cats. Studies have shown it creates a vacuum effect that invites new cats to move into the vacant area and the property owner will have to start over with spay and neuter.

    Moving cats to a new location is very stressful and often leads to illness, injury or death as the cats battle for territory and have to find new places for food, water and shelter.