TNRM

Aloha, I have been involved with TNRM since late 2013. I help with the colony at a Windward park and the population there is about 100. Another woman has been managing that population by herself for the last 18 years! In late 2013, I contacted the state employee/manager at the park to discuss a state van running over and killing a cat. The state employee/manager was extremely hostile toward the cats and blamed the caretakers for the existence of the population, even though it is due to people dumping them at the park and this was explained to her. I am a state employee myself and was shocked at how this state employee spoke to me. I also had to deal with bullying by an anti-TNRM person on the Hawaiian Humane Society's Facebook page. I got permission from neighbors to do TNRM on my road and had about 50% of the feral cats neutered when another neighbor told me he wanted me to stop feeding and neutering the cats because, even though they weren't his cats, they control the rat population at his house. This man was very intimidating and now I feel uncomfortable driving down my own street! I am SHOCKED and DISAPPOINTED at the significant anti-cat sentiment here in Hawaii and the displaced anger placed on colony caretakers. Providing TNRM for feral cat colonies requires paying for the food and sterilizations out of pocket and a significant amount of volunteered time. Colony caretakers should not be made to feel unsafe or that they are doing something wrong! And yet we are. The public needs to be educated about the fact that a) this is a problem created by people that needs to be mitigated/resolved by people and b) colony caretakers are helping prevent the expansion of feral cat populations. In my opinion, this would be best achieved through regular Public Service Announcements.

I am originally from MA and found the attached FERAL CAT FEEDING STATION APPLICATION on the Braintree, MA website. Apparently they have a more formal system where colony caretakers, property owners and veterinarians enter into an agreement to do TNRM. I feel something like this should be required at all the state and county parks - which seem to have significant feral cat colonies - and other areas that need it as well. It would provide a framework around which this work can be done and lend some MUCH NEEDED legitimacy to the feral cat colonies and the people providing TNRM. I believe this issue will require a concerted effort and I am willing to help.



FeralCatFeedingStationApplication.pdf (91.5 KB)FeralCatFeedingStationApplication.pdf (91.5 KB)