07/29/2026
Kitten season is in full swing!
✨️Spaying and neutering is one of the most effective ways to protect cats and reduce the number of homeless kittens in our community. ✨️
🐈⬛️Unaltered cats can reproduce quickly, especially during warmer months. This often leads to kittens being born outdoors without reliable food, shelter, veterinary care, or protection from predators and traffic.
Local shelters and rescues may also become overwhelmed when there are more cats than available foster or adoptive homes.
Spaying and neutering can:
• Prevent unwanted litters
• Reduce roaming, spraying, fighting, and mating-related behaviors
• Lower the risk of certain infections and reproductive cancers
• Reduce injuries and diseases spread through fighting
• Help cats live safer and healthier lives
Here at BCJ Cat Rescue, we work primarily with feral cats and feral cat colonies.
🐈 What is a feral cat colony?
A feral cat colony is a group of outdoor cats living near a dependable source of food and shelter. Some may be truly feral and afraid of people, while others may be lost, abandoned, or previously owned cats that have joined the colony.
Simply removing cats from an established colony usually does not solve the problem. When food and shelter remain available, new unaltered cats may move into the area and continue reproducing.
That is why many communities use Trap-Neuter-Return, or TNR:
🔵Cats are humanely trapped.
🔵They are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and checked for medical concerns.
🔵Friendly cats and young kittens may be placed in foster or adoptive homes.
🔵Healthy feral cats are returned to their familiar outdoor territory.
🔵Caregivers continue providing food, water, shelter, and monitoring.
🔵Cats who have completed a TNR program are often ear-tipped, meaning a small portion of one ear is removed while they are safely under anesthesia. This is a universal visual sign that the cat has already been altered.
🔵TNR helps stabilize colony populations, prevents new litters, reduces mating behaviors, and allows caregivers to identify sick or injured cats more easily.
If you see outdoor cats in your neighborhood, please do not harm, relocate, or immediately remove them.
Contact a local rescue, shelter, community-cat organization, or TNR volunteer for guidance.
Every spay and neuter appointment prevents future suffering and helps create a healthier community for both cats and people. ❤️