The University of Florida is preparing to start a study on the impact of
intensive trap-neuter-return of stray and feral cats on the number of cats
that end up at animal control. We have selected the area of Alachua County,
Florida with the largest number of cat admissions to the shelter and will
focus on sterilizing cats in that area for two years.

We are recruiting for a Master's student to participate in the project who
will analyze the data as the thesis for their degree. This individual must
be highly motivated, be a great team-player, be comfortable working with
various aspects of the community, and pay exquisite attention to detail. We
anticipate that the student would arrive in Gainesville early in 2006 to
help launch the project as a temporary employee, with the expectation that
they would join the graduate school in the summer or fall, with graduation
planned for spring of 2008. Tuition, fees, and a stipend will be paid. More
information about admission to the graduate school can be found at
http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/cvmadmissions/?reqPage=orgs/msvms#Small

Please contact me for more information about the program if you are
interested. Please cross-post.

A summary of the project follows.

Maddie's Fund Taps Operation Catnip Model to Test Effectiveness of
Trap-Neuter-Return

Many shelters, including Alachua County Animal Services, report that a
substantial number of the cats euthanized in their facilities are not
adoptable because they are feral. Feral cat sterilization projects like
Operation Catnip are frequently promoted as a method for reducing the
homeless cat population and the resulting burden on animal control
facilities.

Operation Catnip volunteers can be very proud of their accomplishment of
sterilizing more than 14,000 cats since 1998 and preventing the birth of
more than 6,000 homeless kittens each year. That alone is a huge
accomplishment for cat welfare. However, we suspect that since the effort is
diluted over the entire county, the impact on cat overpopulation as
reflected by the number of cat admissions to the animal shelter is minimal.
Surprisingly, despite two decades of growth of trap-neuter-return (TNR)
programs, no information exists about the effect of TNR on shelter
admissions.

That knowledge gap is about to be filled. Maddie's Fund has accepted a
proposal to study the effect of intensive TNR on an area with historically
high cat admissions to the shelter. The research team is composed of UF
veterinarians Drs. Julie Levy and Natalie Isaza and shelter director Ray
Sim. Together, the team has researched shelter statistics and identified a
neighborhood in downtown Gainesville with disproportionately high cat
admissions to the shelter. Over the past 6 years, zip code 32601 contributed
22% of the cat admissions to the animal shelter, even though it comprised
only 8% of the county's human population and 0.5% of the county's land mass.

Beginning in January and continuing for a two-year time frame, the team will
concentrate on controlling the cat population in this zip code through
increased TNR, adoption of friendly kittens, and complaint mediation. To
reach the goal of sterilizing 55% of the stray cat population in the area,
an additional 1,000 cats from this neighborhood must be sterilized each
year. If successful, the shelter should witness a decrease in complaints
about cats and fewer cat admissions from the area, particularly of kittens.

Such an undertaking is a formidable task. It will require an increase in
surgical capacity and trap inventory, and the coordinated efforts of a team
of trappers, surgeons, community organizers, and data managers. In
recognition of the immense challenge ahead, Maddie's Fund had agreed to fund
the research project over two years, an unprecedented investment in
understanding the complicated issue of feral cat control.

Mary T.
Pet Network, Inc.
http://www.petnetwork.petfinder.org