Photo taken from the Rhodes Minnis Cat Sanctuary in the UK

One potential alternative to TNR proposed by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is the creation of cat sanctuaries. Cat sanctuaries are facilities that house a number of cats taken in from the streets in large, open areas. Cat sanctuaries are an attractive alternative in reducing feral cat populations because they keep cats safe and sheltered, provide them with regular veterinary care, prevent them from hunting wildlife, and reduce risks to cat and human health (Winter, 2004). A number of such facilities already exist across North America, Europe, and other parts of the world.

While this method of mitigating stray cat prevalence is the best in terms of the animals’ welfare, ABC acknowledges that TNR is a necessary practice in areas like parks, beaches, and other areas where cat colonies threaten wild populations (Winter, 2004). This method may provide excellent welfare for the cats it houses, but it is currently not an adequate service in removing large quantities of cats off the streets. This is due to the fact that the extensive services they provide their animals require many resources, and they just don’t have the funding to accommodate a large volume of cats (yet).