Local trap, neuter, return group helps communities with cat populations
By David Slone
Times-Union
PIERCETON – Kosciusko Community TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) sees three different types of cats: former pet cats, neighborhood cats and feral cats.
“We have the cats that used to be somebody’s pet and due to circumstances they’ve just dumped them. So they’re very friendly, they’ll come up to you, they want a home, they want to live inside,” said Kosciusko Community TNR President Lursen, but due to unfortunate circumstances, those cats now live on the streets. Those cats have no ability to fend for themselves.
“Then we have the neighborhood cats. They were born in the neighborhood. People have been kind to them since they were born. They just kind of hang out. Many times, they have three or four homes that feed them all different times because they’re all very healthy and have been fed well,” she said.
The third type of cats are the feral ones.
“They’ve never interacted with people. They’ve probably been generations of feral cats. They come out at night. They come early in the mornings. They come to feeding stations, but they don’t want to be touched. They don’t want a home, they don’t want to live inside, they just would like some extra food to make their lives a little easier,” she said.
Kosciusko Community TNR was one of the organizations with a table set up Saturday at the birthday bash for the Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County.
Lursen said along with Kosciusko County, TNR also encompasses the surrounding areas of Whitley, Allen and outlying counties.
“We go out and help individuals who have a cat population of either neighborhood cats or feral cats. They reach out to us. We go in, we assess their situation, we find out how many cats they have, we get them an appointment and then we help them to trap them successfully,” she explained. “So we go and deliver traps to them about a week to 10 days before their trapping scheduled date. They trap-train, which means they zip open the traps and feed them out of the traps so that they get used to going into the traps.”
After all the cats get used to eating out of the traps, TNR will go in and help trap them. “And then we help pick up, deliver them to surgery, then we bring them back that same day and then they release them about 24 to 48 hours after surgery, depending on the condition of the cat colony,” Lursen said.
Kosciusko Community TNR was founded in 2021. Lursen said they started out with small numbers, but they’ve continued to grow.
“In the last three years that I’ve been involved, I can honestly document that we’re up to about 2,200 cats that we have trapped and neutered. Last year was close to 800. This year we’re already on track to probably exceed that number to 800, 900, maybe even 1,000,” she said.
At any large housing addition, Lursen said you’ll find a cat issue.
“Any trailer parks. Any time at apartment complexes where there’s turnover of people, you’re going to find more concentration,” she said.
In areas where there are low-income residents, they want to feed the cats, but they can’t really have them spayed or neutered because of the cost so a lot of times they don’t, resulting in a large population of cats.
“So all of the trailer parks in our county. We are working with the manager at Whispering Pines trailer park, and we’re trapping those areas to try to get that to stop, but there’s some other trailer parks that are notorious for having large numbers,” Lursen said.
“Because another thing that will happen is they’ll move, and the area that they’re moving to doesn’t take cats so the cats get left behind.”
Lursen advised people that there are resources available to get their cat(s) spayed or neutered.
“If the obstacle of getting it spayed and neutered is the cost, please reach out to us, and we have ways to help with that,” she said.
If someone gets two cats – a male and a female – and are feeding them, in a year’s time they could have 30 cats.
“Those two cats can produce that many. There’s not many people in our county that can afford to have 30 cats spayed and neutered alone. That’s where we come in. We’re here to help. We have grants, private donations. We will work with you,” she said. “To date, we have never turned anybody away because of financial restraints. We will help them.”
Her last piece of advice is to have your cat spayed or neutered.
“Be responsible. It’s a cat problem, but it’s a cat problem that’s been instigated by a people problem and the cats are the ones that are suffering,” Lursen said.
To get in touch with Kosciusko Community TNR, visit their Facebook page under Kosciusko Community TNR; call them at 341-400-6369; or email kosciuskotnr@gmail.com.
“If you reach out on Facebook, we’ll send you a form that you can complete and then we’ll get you on the calendar, get you scheduled and come out and see how we can help,” Lursen said.
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