Meg Callaghan makes several serious errors in her assessment of feral cats (“Callaghan: Solutions should soon be reached to ease feral cat issue facing city of Syracuse,” 11/12/2013).

Attempting to remove cats from our neighborhoods has failed for more than a century. Cats have lived among us for hundreds of years and they are part of the American landscape. They lead healthy lives outdoors and live as long as house cats. They are not homeless; the outdoors is their home. When Callaghan calls for trapping cats as a “creative” solution, she fails to mention that virtually 100 percent of feral cats trapped by animal control are killed in shelters.

As someone who graduated from Syracuse University and called Syracuse home for 25 years, I understand that the city needs to take steps to stabilize the population of feral cats. But catching and killing them is not the answer — for decades we have done that with no results.

The only humane and effective program for managing feral cat colonies is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). Cats who undergo TNR are humanely trapped, neutered, vaccinated and returned to their outdoor homes. The population stabilizes immediately because there are no new kittens, and gradually decreases through natural attrition.

Urban areas like New York City and Atlantic City and many others have implemented TNR with great success. More than 350 local governments across the country have also embraced TNR. This is a model program Syracuse would do well to adopt in order to create a safe community for its cats and a compassionate one for its residents.

Aileen Walden
Programs Director
Alley Cat Allies