FERAL FRIDAY

Our Feral Friday Spay & Neuter Program supports local colony caregivers and their efforts towards a sound Trap-Neuter-Return process. TNR is the most humane and effective approach to control the feral cat population. The cats, who typically live together in a group called a colony, are trapped and brought to a veterinary clinic. They’re then spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies and ear tipped. After they’ve recovered from their surgeries, the cats are returned back to their original territory where a caretaker provides regular food and shelter. When foster or permanent homes are available, young kittens and friendly adults are removed and placed for adoption.

WHY THIS PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT

Because the cats can no longer reproduce, the colony has the potential to decline in size over time. Spaying and neutering also greatly reduce nuisance behavior. Once the cats are fixed, fighting, yowling and other noise associated with mating stops almost entirely. The foul odor caused by unaltered males spraying to mark territory disappears and the cats, no longer driven to mate, roam much less and become less visible. The cats themselves are healthier and less likely to spread feline diseases. Meanwhile, rodent control is maintained by the cats’ continued presence.

Like all methods, TNR is most effective when performed well. On a colony level, this means achieving and maintaining a sterilization rate as close to 100% as possible and being diligent about the cats’ long-term care. On a community level, TNR best reduces cat populations and nuisance complaints when resources, including trappers, spay/neuter surgeries and outreach, are targeted at sections of the community with high cat populations.

Another significant advantage to TNR is that nothing else works. For decades, the normal practice of animal control was to trap and remove cats with the outcome usually being euthanasia. The current overpopulation of free-roaming cats in the U.S. speaks loudly about the failure of that approach. There are many reasons why trying to eradicate cats from the environment doesn’t work: there are too many cats and not enough animal control resources, removing one set of cats from a location where food and shelter is available creates a vacuum for a new set of cats to fill, the people who feed and care for the cats resist their capture, and the public is against euthanasia. Other efforts, like feeding bans or laws regulating cat owners, have also failed to make any difference.

FEE STRUCTURE

Participation Fee of $15.00 per cat is required at time services are rendered.

All feral cats served through the SNIP CLINIC Feral Friday Program will receive a sedated examination, spay or neuter procedure, tattoo, rabies vaccination, surgical tip of the left ear and 24 hour pain medication.

*Additional cost may apply if the cat presents as crypt orchid or has an umbilical hernia. 

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

You may elect additional services per feral cat on the morning of your appointment.

• FVRCP (Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia): $15
• FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) $20,  FeLV/FIV Test: $20
• Revolution (Treatment for ear mites, fleas, hookworms, roundworms and heartworms): $20

TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT

To schedule your appointment(s), please email clinic@snipidaho.org.

PRIOR TO APPOINTMENT

Please remove all food or water at midnight the night before surgery. If animal does not fast, he or she may vomit during surgery which may serious complications such as aspiration pneumonia, infection, and death.

Each cat must arrive in it’s own live humane trap. Patient care is of the upmost importance to us. Feral cats who arrive in a regular pet carrier, crate or box, will need rescheduled.

This is for the safety of the cat, our Veterinary Care Team and DVM. Feral cats presents unique challenges. A feral’s temperament typically require special handling techniques to avoid injury to staff and the patient. Our surgical technicians use special tools to hold a feral cat in place while the sedation injection is given through the cage. These tools only work with live humane traps.

Additionally, in order for feral cats to properly recover from surgery they will need to remain in the trap, alone to prevent opening of the surgical incision site and further complications.

INTAKE PROCEDURES

• Please arrive at 8:00 AM sharp for intake.
• Upon arrival, stand masked in line, 6 feet apart until you reach the staff attendant.
• The attendant will greet you at the door with intake paperwork and an assigned number.
• You will then return to your vehicle to complete intake paperwork.
• Numbers will be placed inside the clinic window. When your number is posted, please bring the completed intake paperwork and your pet to the door.
• At that time, a veterinary technician will accept your properly live humanely trapped feral cat(s) to escort them to the back for their intake exam.
• Additionally, the attendant will confirm the services you have selected, answer any questions, and remind you of our discharge time.
• Once your feral cat(s) have been processed, you are free to go.
• If you have any questions throughout the day you are welcome to contact us via phone at (208) 576-7660 or by email at clinic@snipidhao.org.
• Should questions or concerns arise on our end, we will also contact you through the phone number and email provided on your intake paperwork.
• All payments are to be paid by credit or debit cards at time services rendered.

DISCHARGE PROCEDURES

• All feral cats are discharged at 2:30 pm.
• Upon arrival, stand masked in line, 6 feet apart until you reach the staff attendant.
• The attendant will greet you at the door, explain detailed discharge instructions while a veterinary technician escorts your feral cat(s) to the front.

AFTERCARE

• Follow the post-surgery instructions provided at discharge until time to release the cat.
• The cat should not be confined in the trap for more than 24 hours after surgery.
• If more time is needed, we suggest that you set-up a large wire cage that includes a litterbox.
• Offer only small amounts of food and water after the cat is fully awake, but not before.

RETURN THE CAT TO IT’S COLONY

• It is essential for its survival that the cat is returned to the location it was trapped.
• Feral cats live in colonies where they are established and have a consistent food source.
• It is not advisable to relocate cats at any time.
• If relocating is your only option, we advise you to contact us so we can refer you to an organization that could best assist you with the process