Feral Cat Trapping (Trap, Neuter, Return)

It is estimated that in the UK alone there are over a million feral and stray cats and within London over a thousand. Many people may not be aware of their presence as they naturally choose to avoid human contact, but over-population is a key issue and The Mayhew works to address this with a Trap, Neuter and Return programme.

On receiving reports of stray or feral felines in an area, The Mayhew Animal Welfare Officer's will use either manual, or automatic traps to secure the cats in the area and then return them to The Mayhew veterinary clinic for a full health check and neutering.

The Mayhew will then re-home any stray cats but the feral cats will be returned to their local habitat. It is impossible to re-home feral cats due to their lack of socialisation with people, they have no desire to be domesticated and will have chosen their location for an access to food, warmth and security.

To ensure that feral cats do not get repeatedly trapped for neutering, animal welfare groups use an internationally recognised marking system: Ear Tipping. Whilst the cat is being neutered, a 6-10mm piece is also cut off the tip of the cat's left ear. This causes the animal no pain or discomfort and prevents continual re-entrapment.

When feral kittens are located with a Queen, if they're young enough the AWO's will bring them back to The Mayhew to be socialised in the hope they can be rehomed.