Currently, the Union County Ordinance does not have any ordinances that cover stray or feral cat removal.
AEO will not respond to lost cats or cat complaints because of this. If you see a deceased cat, please give dispatch a call if you do not know the owner.
What to do if you find Feral Kittens:
Even though you might want to immediately take care of a kitten that is found without a mother, experts advise to NOT remove the kitten from the area in which it is found. Mother cats often relocate or go hunting for food and leave kittens behind. If you remove the kitten, the mother will not be able to find it again. If you decide to act, you are now responsible for the kitten’s health and well-being.
Trap- Spay- Neuter-Release (TNR)
TNR is an effective way of managing feral cat populations in an area, however, TNR programs are extremely hard to successfully fund.
TNR requires volunteers to not only set up traps but routinely check on them and transport the cats once they’ve been caught. Cats are extremely smart. Once they escape from a live trap they will not return to it.
Domestic cats are considered property in Oregon. If a domestic cat is trapped and you do not release it, it could be considered Theft 1, which is a felony.
Once caught, the cat will need to be taken to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered. The local shelters want to control the population or make sure disease is not spread. Most feral cats also come with health issues that would have to be addressed by the vet and possibly be held until the issue clears up. Veterinarians may do low-cost, however, there is never “no cost” associated with their help.
Many citizens believe removing the cat population permanently will make the issue go away. However, that is not the case. Unless an entire community can potentially catch EVERY feral cat, then the cat population being removed from a specific area gives more food to those who move in. There have been many studies conducted on feral cat eradication and the best practice is to “maintain” a population, as opposed to “removing” a population.
Returning cats who are no longer able to reproduce will maintain the current population, food source and eventually lessen the population in that area.
Most areas that have successful TNR programs have maintained the program for more than ten years. Local counties with the program in place have spent more than $20,000 a year to maintain a successful program.
If your neighborhood would like to do a TNR program, there is local help. Blue Mountain Humane Association has rentable live traps and expertise on how to successfully complete TNR in smaller areas. Several neighborhoods have, in the past, been able to cut down on the cat population. However, TNR would need to be done in that same area every year to every two years, to see a decline in the feral cat population.
If you are interested in TNR, here are some helpful sites to visit: