Educating Others
They might know Garfield and Grumpy Cat, but even a big cat lover might not know about community cats. That’s okay: YOU can teach them all about these wonderful felines and convert them to community cat lovers! But even if they aren’t cat lovers and never will be, educating your neighbors about community cats will help them understand that Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) not only improves cats’ lives, but also the community—and that’s something everyone can get behind.
Whether you’re currently conducting TNR and caring for community cats, or if you just want to help get the word out—education is a key part of helping cats and your community.
We’ve got the materials and information you’ll need to learn and teach others about community cats and TNR:
The Basics
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- All about Community Cats (Web page | Video | PDF | Order online) – Provides a quick and easy overview of community cats.
- How to Live with Cats in Your Neighborhood (Web page | Order online) – The best resource for helping people and cats coexist, includes simple solutions to common complaints about community cats.
- Trap-Neuter-Return for Community Cats: The Basics (Web page | Order online) – A quick summary of the essential steps of TNR. This will help explain to others what you’re doing.
More about Community Cats
- Community Cats and the Public—A Healthy Relationship – Community cats are not a public health threat.
- Community Cat Health Analysis: Living Healthy Lives Outdoors – Community cats live healthy lives in their outdoor homes.
- The Natural History of the Cat – Cats have been living outdoors, alongside people, for thousands of years!
- Biology and Behavior of the Cat – Cats have a place in our natural ecosystems.
- Discover what Americans Really Think is Humane for Cats – A national poll shows that people want humane approaches to community cats.
More about Trap-Neuter-Return
- Why Trap-Neuter-Return Community Cats? The Case for TNR – Explains why everyone—cat lovers and non-cat lovers alike—should embrace TNR as the only humane, effective approach to community cats.
- The Vacuum Effect: Why Catch and Kill Doesn’t Work – Catching and killing cats is a cruel and never-ending cycle that doesn’t work because of a well-documented phenomenon called The Vacuum Effect.
- Research Supporting Trap-Neuter-Return – Scientific studies and research show that Trap-Neuter-Return works.
- How to Help Community Cats: A Step-by-Step Guide to Trap-Neuter-Return – Your step-by-step guide on how to conduct TNR, from planning to completion. You can also watch and share our videos “What is Trap-Neuter-Return” and “How-to: Trap-Neuter-Return.”
Tools You Can Use
- How to Help Community Cats Workshop – Learn how to host a workshop that educates people about community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return.
- Webinars – Consider hosting a screening of our webinars for your friends, and other members of your community. Our webinars cover a variety of topics including “Helping Cats in Your Community.”
- Sample Community Relations Materials – Explain Trap-Neuter-Return and the work you are doing on behalf of cats using our sample letters, postcard, flyer, and newsletter article.
- “Please Don’t Call Animal Control” Doorhanger – Hand out to introduce the concept of community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return and why neighbors should not call animal control to remove cats. (There’s also a “We’re Helping Outdoor Cats” doorhanger to announce your TNR effort.)
- Coloring pages – Print our coloring pages and share with advocates who are young—or young at heart!
Be sure to check out the educational and outreach items available in our online shop—it’s a convenient way to share information about community cats and Trap-Neuter-Return.