Breaking news for our WeHo feral cats and kittens. West Hollywood is launching a LOCAL Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program, a humane and effective practice in preventing multiplying litters. This in turn alleviates the fighting and suffering of our WeHo stray cats.
“The #1 way to save kittens & cats from ending up at a shelter is by ensuring every cat has access to a simple spay or neuter. Fewer litters equals more forever homes for the kitties who need them.” — Jacquie Navratil, Founder of Luxe Paws
Beginning in June, the City of WeHo website will have online applications in order to borrow a humane trap and to receive a free spay/neuter voucher for the Amanda Foundation. Their Veterinarian will be available by appointment on Monday’s.
The main qualification for this service is that the cats must live in West Hollywood.
“In West Hollywood, we have always cared about animals and their well-being. Who knows, maybe some of those trapped kittens could become domesticated and find a new home here? As the City staff liaison for the Trap-Neuter-Return program, I am excited to provide support for our volunteer trappers.” — Eugene Alper, Code Enforcement Supervisor
“This is landmark for West Hollywood to set the tone on feral cat control and care and be a model for other cities to follow,” says former West Hollywood Mayor Paul Koretz. Under Koretz’s direction in the early 90’s West Hollywood was declared an Animal Cruelty Free City, had an Animal Task Force, and outlawed cat declawing. “The TNR Voucher program will be one more of many animal welfare precedents that West Hollywood has put forward since those early years.”
Paul Koretz, is a former California Assemblyman and a Los Angeles and West Hollywood City Councilman, an animal-welfare advocate who authored legislation banning cruelty against cats, dogs, and elephants. “It’s really exciting that West Hollywood has been so pro animal. And has done all these things to fight animal cruelty, over the many years. And this is just one more example of West Hollywood leading the way.”
West Hollywood Community Cats Facebook Group
There’s quite a long tale to the origin story that led to WeHo TNR. Suffice to say, over a ten year tale of many tails involving many neighbors, and organizations like Fix Nation and Stray Cat Alliance.
To make a long story short of how we got here, let’s begin at the conclusion – ultimately/finally, on May 16th, 2022, Council approved expanding the Trap, Neuter, Return Program to include establishing a partnership with the Amanda Foundation to develop a TNR voucher program for community cats in West Hollywood.
Now that deserves a TREAT!
On a personal note (Mj Godges) I’d like to give a purrfect thanks to our City Council, City staff and the many helpful WeHo citizens that we have met along the way, and those doing the work before us, including Carole The Cat Lady (Ellis) and, the initial inspiration for our community cat crusaders – a calico cat (we later named Janey) nursing her kittens in our front yard in 2011. Janey taught us the importance of TNR and caring for other community cats that roam our yards and dark corners, searching for food and shelter. Janey was our first TNR, along with her kittens that were adopted. She trapped our hearts, ignored our dogs while stealthy claiming our yard as her home, up to the day she died peacefully in our presence in her yard on a sunny May afternoon in 2021.
To learn more about the new Voucher TNR program and how together we can “fix” this, join WeHo’s TNR launch meeting Sunday, May 21st, 2 PM at the Aquatics Recreation Center, Doheny Room.
Panel of PAWfessionals: Jacquie Navratil, founder of Luxe Paws, a community-based volunteer team dedicated to reducing the number of homeless cats on the street; Teri Austin, President of the Amanda Foundation; Nathan Kehn the Cat Lady; Paul Koretz, former elected official and animal-welfare advocate who authored legislation banning cruelty against cats, dogs, and elephants, and Renee Sotile & Mj Godges, West Hollywood residents and advocates for the City’s Community Cats program. Join our new West Hollywood Community Cats Facebook Group
Calling All Cat Crusaders 🐈⬛
Cats are a non-native species here, and though not all non-natives are an issue to native wildlife and flora, cats are. Feral cats are not ‘wild and free’ living a carefree lifestyle, they are predators. Likewise, they die at a much more frequent rate than cats living indoors with humans full time, and their life expectancy as a feral cat is essentially 1-3 years maximum on average. Capture and release is not cruelty free, and it’s not solving any problems, it’s instead creating a false narrative of animal welfare and putting advocates for animal welfare at odds with one another.… Read more »
L.A. IS HOME TO AN ESTIMATED 3 MILLION HOMELESS CATS AND JUST 4.9 MILLION PEOPLE. MANY PEOPLE SEE STRAYS, BUT AREN’T AWARE THAT 1 FEMALE CAT CAN HAVE 12-16 KITTENS PER YEAR. KITTENS ARE GOING INTO HEAT AS YOUNG AS 5-6 MONTHS OLD, SO HALF A DOZEN CATS WILL QUICKLY BLOSSOM INTO 20 OR MORE IN JUST 12 MONTHS. SO WHAT’S THE MOST HUMANE WAY TO CONTROL THE POPULATION OF HOMELESS CATS & WHY NOT JUST TRY TO ADOPT THEM ALL OUT? A MAJORITY OF THE “HOMELESS CATS’ HAVEN’T BEEN SOCIALIZED WITH HUMANS, THEY’RE WILD OR ‘FERAL’ AND IF THEY’RE… Read more »
Why all the CAPS????? I’ve never seen a cat just walking around. Maybe there’s a few. Hardly a full-time issue for someone.
I agree. They are our “toys” not legit wildlife.
So this program is dependent upon the residents to trap the cats? Must be a more comprehensive and timely effort able to be organized. Well meaning but not well thought out.
Often TNR is done by residents when a feral shows up in their yard. They get to know the cats schedule and get them comfortable with the trap. TNR is a process and a community effort.
Unfortunately this does NOTHING to protect the native birds who will be killed by these feral cats because, sadly, I think they should be euthanized.
🤨 always gotta be someone like you to spoil the broth
So you love cats not people or the environment?
In 2008, wildlife advocates sued the city, halted the existing TNR program, and demanded an environmental assessment of the cat population’s effect on local wildlife. Recognizing the potential damage, a judge agreed with the advocates and issued an injunction. The city then conducted a 3 year study, determined that the TNR program would not further harm wildlife populations, and brought the proposal to the city council. The vote was unanimous.
https://www.comfortedkitty.com/city-of-los-angeles-reinstates-trap-neuter-release-program/