Community Cat 101 – TNVR Trainings with BISSELL and Operation Catnip
August 29th, 2024
By Beth Gammie, Director of Field Services
BISSELL Pet Foundation (BPF) invited me to put on an all-day Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) training to shelter staff, animal control officers, rescues, veterinarians, techs, and others in Lafayette, Louisiana on August 29. BPF has taken a lead in supporting shelters around the country, and is a huge supporter of spay/neuter nationwide. BPF knows about our Coastal Cats TNVR deployments on the hurricane-prone Gulf Coast – since its inception as a RedRover Responders Community Program, they have funded four of them because they know the value of the work.
Audrey Garrison joined me in putting on this training. She is the Executive Director for Operation Catnip in Gainesville, Florida, and our steady partner in RedRover’s TNVRs.
We both welcomed the chance to talk about TNVR – we are both so passionate about spaying/neutering outdoor free-roaming community cats. With over 40 participants in person, and more watching the training online, we connected with the folks who can benefit the most from TNVRs.
We started with Community Cat 101 – all the ins and outs of free-roaming cats, and that rather than being “strays” and unwanted, we explained that the community is these cats’ homes. Many of these cats are loved by their caregivers, and as long as they have a food source, they can live good lives. From there we shared information on the benefits of TNVRs to the shelter, animal control agencies, and the community.
Participants received a comprehensive training in how to humanely trap cats – how to physically use a trap, where to set them, how to track the cat’s location throughout the process so he or she is returned home, and how to humanely shelter cats in traps during the process. We talked about our experience with Coastal Cats TNVRs, and other ways a shelter could support this work in their community. Audrey took participants through how they can use and configure a private veterinary clinic, turning it into a high-volume surgery space. We concluded with safe and humane handling of cats, and kitten-shelter diversion programs.
TNVRs are the only way to humanely prevent and solve cat overpopulation; the needs are huge, and it was a privilege to talk with a nice group of committed animal welfare professionals in Louisiana.
