|
This report is about the TNR project carried out by two cat caretakers who are members of KARA, Jinkyung and Yuni, in May 2009. They performed the TNR near Jamshil, in the Songpa district of Seoul, one in the Seokchun-dong area and the other in the Sumjeon-dong area.
The TNR areas are here, south of Lotte World seen at the top.
Songpa district (image courtesy of Wikipedia)
1. BACKGROUND OF THE TNR
Seoul City Council has enacted the Policy of Control and Protection of Feral/Stray Cats, and as a consequence the Songpa District Office put together a TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) program. It designated a veterinary clinic to provide services of rescue, surgery, and release of stray cats within the Songpa district. Anyone can call the Songpa District office for information and fill out an application form for TNR. They will then be referred to the designated veterinary clinic.
The two KARA caretakers in Seokchun-dong and Samjun-dong have been able to take advantage of the TNR program supported by the Songpa District Office by trapping, neutering, and releasing the stray cats they have been feeding. In the process, they have been analysing the most effective methods for the cats to benefit from the TNR program.
The date chosen for the TNR action, the month of May, 2009 was significant. There is a high rate of stray cats being in heat, pregnant, and giving birth from March to May. Therefore, it was decided to conduct the TNR before the end of May in order to prevent more pregnancies among stray cats.
Jinkyung's protective feeding method, a tray under her car.
2. DETAILS OF THE TNR
One caretaker, Jinkyung, has two years of TNR experience, and she led the way in making plans and organizing the trapping, transport, surgery, release, and the post surgical care of the cats. She placed top priority on the safety of the cats.
a) Sumjun-dong Cat Colony
Caretaker: Jinkyung
Jinkyung has long lived in the Jamshil area and has championed the rights of stray cats in her neighborhood and on KARA's websites. She keeps working to persuade government officials to humanely control the cat population.
Jinkyung picked up the traps from the veterinarian’s office, laid the traps, stayed up all night long, intermittently checking the traps so that she could quickly calm any trapped cats down. She is so sensitive to each and every cats’ welfare that she talks soothingly to the cats, visits the vet’s office to ensure that the cats are getting the best treatment, and continues to feed the cats after they have been released near her pharmacy.
She names the cats in her neighborhood and they respond to her. She is their beacon of hope and life. And she has influenced other people into feeding stray cats in their neighborhood, too.
Timeline of Sumjun-dong TNR
*May 4, borrowed two traps from veterinary clinics.
*Nightfall, 9:30 pm. Traps are all set up.
*9:45 pm. After waiting for food, a black stray cow cat (Jane cat-Chulyangi, 4 weeks pregnant) is caught.
*May 5, 5:30 am, a stray cow cat (Tom cat) is captured.
*May 5, 11 am, the two cats above are taken to the veterinarians.
*May 5, at lunch time; noon, surgery is completed.
*May 5, at night time, food is left at the trap site to verify if there are other cats around.
*May 6, at 8 pm the yellow cow cat (male) is released after making sure that he had eaten his food, at the site of capture.
*May 7, around 11 am the pregnant, cow cat, Chulyangi, is turned over to me to care for all day, in order to ensure her security and relaxation. The next day, on May 8th, after checking to see if she had eaten her food, she is released at the site of capture.
*May 7, at night time two more new traps are set-up.
*May 8, between the hours 5-7 am the black cow cat (male) is captured.
*May 8, at 10 am she is transported to the veterinary clinic.
*May 8, at 9:30 pm, a pregnant, black nursing cat (Chulyangi) returns to eat food.
*May 9, 7 am, a black cow cat (male) is released.
b) Seokchun-dong Cat Colony
Caretaker: Yuni
Yuni was influenced by Jinkyung to manage her own TNR. She has always been an advocate for animals and has been leaving food for cats in her neighborhood for a long time. Yuni has written of her experiences doing this TNR in which she provides further background to the TNR exercise and the cats involved. Read about Yuni's TNR experiences here.
Timeline of Seokchun-dong TNR
*On May 9, about 5 pm, a 6 month old gray tabby cat is trapped.
*Three traps were set-up and the 6 month old cat is transported to the veterinary clinic.
*The 6 month old cat is small and anesthesia was administered to determine her gender and then for possible spaying, but her nipples were enlarged and Jinkyung determined that she was a nursing cat and so a shot was given to counteract the effects of the anesthesia and do nothing more.
*May 9, approximately from 8 pm to 10 pm, two fraternal cats (black cow cat and an orange tabby) and another orange tabby are successfully captured. And, a very people friendly grey and white striped chubby tabby is lured with food, caught by hand and put in a cage.
*May 10, around 5 am, after confirming that the effects of the anesthesia had completely worn off, the 6 month old nursing cat is set free.
*May 10, at 10 am, four cats are transported to the veterinary clinic.
*May 10, from 10 am to 12 pm, the two orange tabby cats and one cow cat "batman" are verified as being males, and all three cats go into surgery and are neutered. The one other chubby cat was already neutered (he must have been raised by humans and then abandoned), so only eartipping was done.
*May 10, around 8 pm, after observing the chubby male cat having had his food, a bowel movement, and grooming himself, he was released.
*May 11, around 6 am, the three male cats are released at their trapping site.
3. MONITORING
a) Sumjeon-dong
The pregnant cat who underwent a difficult spay and abortion surgery (female, Chulyangi) was released on May 8, early in the morning, and she returned that very night at the same site.
It has been determined from the missing food normally left for the two male cats that were trapped that they have returned. It was not possible to witness their return and to observe them due to the early morning hours.
Besides the recently neutered cats, an orange tabby and a yellow cow cat were seen twice about 10 pm.
b) Seokchun-dong
The nursing cat was a big worry, and to a lessor extent the two brothers, and the orange tabby as well as for the chubby tabby cat. But all of them were seen again.
Other than the recently neutered three male cats, a big boss-type orange and white cat and two or three other cats have been seen around the area.
4. RESULTS & COMMENTS
Some of the findings in this TNR exercise confirm the requirements KARA is already aware of for a successful TNR, as summarized here.
It should be noted that there were no difficulties in trapping the cats that were fed regularly. Also, such cats with had good relations with their caretakers returned to their regular routines faster after their neuter/spay surgeries.
After worrying so much over Cholyang the cat, who had undergone a very traumatic and difficult spay and abortion, it was a deeply moving experience, to see her return and wait that very night, on the day she was released, for food.
At Seokchun-dong, the four cats released did not return for a day or two, most likely because of their traumatic memories of being trapped and neutered, but eventually they came back to be cared for by the caretaker they were used to.
Among the TNR cats of Samjeon-dong, one cat had a small tumor on his nose and several scars from fights. The fact that they could not be treated was emotionally upsetting for Jinkyung, but she had to settle for neutering, administering anti-biotics, and then, releasing him.
Regrettably, on May 11, there was nowhere adequate to accommodate the three male cats for further rest and recuperation. They had to be released out into the rain. The capacity of the animal clinic and of the caretaker's residence were limited. Thus, the fundamental rules for releasing the neutered cats could not be kept. Measures will be taken in order to prevent this happening again.
As of May 23, however, the caretakers were proud to report that only one cat from the eight has not returned.
5. FUTURE PLANS
In September 2009, another TNR will be initiated in the Sumjeon-dong and Seokchun-dong areas for the stray cats at that time and the nursing mom will be neutered at this time, when she is no longer nursing and she can get post-surgical care and observation.
|
