Have you found a litter of stray kittens? Did a feral cat move onto your property? Are you overrun with outdoor cats and don't know what to do? This website will guide you through the process of how to help these cats. 

IMPORTANT: We do not lend traps in the fall/winter months when the weather gets below freezing. This is to ensure the safety of the cats who are caught in the traps. This section will be updated with the date we will stop lending traps. Please be advised that this will likely be in early to mid November 2024. 

STEP 1. Watch this video to learn the general process of TNR-ing feral cats. 

STEP 2. Decide if you are going to return the cats to the location you found them, or if you are going to find new homes for them. Look at this page to see a list of local rescues and contact them to see if they have space for the cats. 

• IMPORTANT: KCFOA does not have space for the thousands of stray cats in Kittitas County. We cannot take in the cats that you TNR. You need to make arrangements for the cats before beginning the TNR process. 

STEP 3. Count the number of cats that you will need to TNR. It is important to know if you have 1 cat, 5 cats, or 20 cats. 

STEP 4. Make spay/neuter appointments for these cats at a local veterinary or spay & neuter clinic. A complete list of nearby clinics is listed on this webpage. Appointments are usually several weeks out. 

STEP 5. 1-2 weeks before the clinic, start acclimating the cats to the traps. Contact KCFOA to borrow trapping equipment if you need it. Watch this video for a refresher on how to TNR stray cats. 

STEP 6. A day or two before the clinic, begin trapping the cats. Make sure you have a safe place to hold them before the clinic. 

STEP 7. Transfer the cats to the clinic and bring them home afterwards. Follow the clinic's instructions on how to care for the cats - remember, they just had surgery and need to recover. 

STEP 8. Release the cats back on their property, or rehome them. 

Question: Why doesn't KCFOA rehome the cats? 

Answer: There are literally thousands of feral cats in Kittitas County. We do not have the space, facility, or the volunteers to take in this amount of animals.  Therefore, the cats must be returned to the location they were found. 

Question: Why does KCFOA recommend TNR? 

Answer: Feral cats are wild animals. Unless they are very young (6 weeks old or younger), they generally cannot be tamed and therefore cannot be "adopted" to be a house pet. Traditional animal shelters do not accept feral cats for this reason. If a person brings a feral cat to a shelter, it will usually be euthanized. Because KCFOA does not believe in euthanasia of otherwise healthy animals, we strongly encourage spaying and neutering of these cats so that they cannot reproduce. Therefore, TNR is the only option that reduces animal populations while avoiding euthanasia.