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Colonies of feral cats have called the city in the park home for more than a decade. However, feral cats are not house pets, few are friendly and they don’t want to play with your children.
Though feral cats are non-domesticated and unadoptable, they are being successfully spayed and neutered through the Farmers Branch Adoption Center’s Trap-Neuter-Return program (TNR) because of the efforts of local cat fosters and TNR participants, the Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center and Operation Kindness.
“Fortunately, Farmers Branch has a robust trap-neuter-return program,” said Tyler Winckler, the animal services manager at the Farmers Branch Animal Adoption Center.
As of 2023, the TNR program is fully protected by the law in Texas. Prior to the increase in awareness of the more-humane way of handling the feral cats, the catch-kill model was the norm.
“The catch-kill model is an ineffective means of population control,” Winckler said. “TNR is the proven model.”
The first step is to trap the cat using a basic box trap, which presents no danger or harm to feral cats.
“We loan out traps through our trap loan program,” Winckler said. “Citizens can trap those animals, bring them to us or we can send an officer to pick them up.”
The next step is to neuter or spay the feral cat that was trapped to prevent them from having their own litters.
“Operation Kindness is able to perform all those surgeries for us at no-cost,” Winckler said.
Operation Kindness began their partnership with the Farmers Branch Adoption Center in July 2021, as part of their community initiative.
“We reached out to them,” said David Maldonado, the senior manager of lifesaving programs at Operation Kindness. “Farmers Branch is one of our 12 shelter partners.”
Since Spring 2023, “we are their medical services whenever we go. We are there twice a month,” he said. Operation Kindness has a team of veterinarians that perform all the spay and neuter surgeries, along with tending to other medical services for the TNR program.
The adoption center has a surgery suite that allows veterinarians to operate, though there is no veterinarian on staff.
“A lot of shelters… just don’t have the resources,” said Maldonado. “Other shelters don’t have surgery suites at all.”
The Operation Kindness team completes 20-30 various surgeries, on both feral and domesticated cats and kittens, each time the veterinarians visit the adoption center.
The final step is to return the cat back to the area of the city it calls home.
“I am extremely happy that Farmers Branch does have a TNR program that allows us to return those feral cats back to the community where they came from,” Winckler said.
Upon completion of the TNR program, the feral cats are gifted with a gentle ear clipping, which allows for easy identification of the feral cats.
“The TNR program has been great for residents to utilize at the shelter,” Amy McCoppin, animal welfare enthusiast and TNR program user, said.
McCoppin donated to the adoption center for more than 10 years and has participated in the TNR program for two years.
“The thing is that the Farmers Branch animal shelter is giving (the cats) the best opportunity, their way… in the end if you do use TNR and utilize the services you can (be) successful,” she said.
McCoppin takes care of a feral cat colony of 10 at her family car lot outside of the city.
“We haven’t had a litter in over four years,” McCoppin said.
She began getting the colony fixed eight years ago. However, a new unfixed, feral cat wandered into McCoppin’s colony and presented the colony with its first litter of kittens.
“I went to go trap it, I couldn’t, and now it’s had babies,” McCoppin said.
Failures to trap feral cats are common.
“I think my house cats are pathetic… too defenseless,” McCoppin said with a laugh. “But my feral cats… are smart… they all have their own personalities.”
They even alert her when people visit the car lot.
“It took me a few years to get my colony under control. Once I did have them all fixed (it was) no more kittens. Now it’s manageable,” McCoppin said.
As awareness for the city’s TNR program grows, cat colonies are being targeted and trapped so that they may be fixed and returned safely.
“To have a successful colony, which means willingly feeding these cats, you need to also be spaying and neutering,” McCoppin said.
There are many misconceptions and biases that surround feral cats. Some people might associate the word feral with aggressive since the cats are wild and unsocialized, McCoppin said. However, few show direct aggression to people. On the other hand, strays are usually abandoned house cats who are familiar with people.
“Feral does not mean foul,” McCoppin said. “A feral cat, to me, would be a cat that has always been outside, has never interacted with humans, and is just living a cat life.”
Community cats, as Operation Kindness call them, may be viewed as a “nuisance or hindrance,” said Maldonado. “We’re trying to move away from the word feral because it gives the (idea) that these animals are going to go out and attack people.”
The adoption center confirms that it is safe to be “providing food and resources to those animals,” said Winckler. They just might not express their gratitude with a brush against your leg.
Their behavioral traits are similar to a housecat, but their instincts are heightened. They tend to be cautious and unwilling to interact with people and can be observed traveling alone or with a colony of others. They are most active at night.
They vary in size and build, similar to a housecat, but they appear more lean and muscular as a result of their active lifestyle and need to hunt for food.
As for appearance, the community cats that have been successfully TNRed can be identified by an ear-tipping. Feral cats typically appear rougher around the edges, ungroomed; claws can be long and their coats can be matted. They may have scars in places from their encounters with the wildlife and other cats.
They can be “kind of mangy looking sometimes,” Alex Wofford, local kitten foster mom and TNR program user, said.
Wofford has had fewer interactions with feral cats and more with motherless kittens that come through the foster.
“The whole reason we started… is to help the shelter out,” Wofford said.
The adoption center nears capacity during the busy summer, so urges for participation in the TNR program are growing.
“The city will do this for free, and they are very happy to work with you to get it done,” Wofford said. “There’s no cost on your end. There’s no downside.”
Wofford said getting started is easy and takes a week.
“You set the trap out … not on a rainy night … and wait for a cat,” she said.
Sometimes the trap might catch a cat that has been ear-tipped. It is safe to release those cats back to their home.
“There is a ton in the Farmers Branch area,” Krissy Sarine-Van Brunt, founder of Just Because and a local kitten foster mom, said. “The ferals are basically never going to be socialized… they have never been around people.”
Efforts have been made to try and socialize feral kittens at the adoption center.
“They did have some feral kittens there that they’re trying to socialize… it takes a long time to socialize, if they come around,” Sarine Van-Brunt said. “I’m glad they’re doing that and (that) people are encouraged to do more trapping.”
The adoption center has been steadily raising awareness about its TNR program. From 2022 to May 2024, the adoption center completed 319 feral cat TNRs, with the help of community members and Operation Kindness.
“It’s amazing the amount of people that come in,” Winckler said. “We need more community support.”
Operation Kindness also sees how many community members participate in their TNR programs.
“Farmers Branch helps the trappers in the community,” Maldonado said.
Besides the TNR program, support can be offered in various ways.
“Coming into the shelter, fostering for us, volunteering, adopting if you’re able to, donations, talking to your neighbors,”Winkler said. “It can be a daunting task.”
