Community Cats & Trapping

What are community cats?

“Community cats” is a term used to describe outdoor, free-roaming cats who are unowned. These cats do the best they can to survive, facing many hardships but many manage to lead a good existence, especially here in California with our temperate climate. Many compassionate people provide daily food and water for these cats.

The Community Cat Program (CCP) has proven to be a humane and effective method of managing community cat populations. With the CCP, an unsocialized cat is humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, then returned to the location where trapped. It breaks the breeding cycle while allowing the cat to live out its natural life in its original territory.

Removing untamed cats from a location can be ineffective as it opens a territorial void and can allow more unaltered cats to move in, starting the breeding cycle all over again.

How can I learn to coexist with community cats?

While many people sympathize with community cats’ struggle for survival, they are understandably not happy to find cat droppings in their yard. Fortunately, there are many humane ways to deter them and live in harmony.

1. Cats are sensitive to smell and dislike many scents. Choose one or more of the following and scatter it around in the areas you wish to keep the cats out of: coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, cayenne pepper, orange/lemon peelings, rags soaked with perfume, citronella, eucalyptus, lemongrass or dried rue (an herb sold in health food stores).

2. Push wooden chopsticks or 10-inch plant stakes into flower beds every 8 inches to prevent cats from digging or scratching.

3. Spray cat repellent (there are several types available at pet supply stores) around the perimeter of your yard and along the top of the fences.

4. Obtain an "ultrasonic" cat repellent.

5. Install a motion-activated sprinkler (also referred to as scare crow sprinklers). It surprises critters with a sudden burst of water, noise and movement, and will keep them away from the area.

How can I trap community cats?

Unsocial stray cats four months and of age and up, from Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Mountain View or Santa Clara who are not reclaimed by an owner and do not qualify for adoption are eligible to be released to a rescue group who will return the cat to where it was trapped. In order to safely capture an unsocialized cat and have him altered for under SVACA's Community Cat Program, you will need to utilize a humane cat trap and follow the humane trapping guidelines listed below. SVACA loans humane traps (see below) and the CCP service is performed at no cost to you. If you have questions or concerns about community cats in one of the cities SVACA serves, please contact us at staff@svaca.com.

What should I do if I find kittens in the community?

• Under 5 weeks: Kittens will be uncoordinated, their eyes may be closed if they are under 2 weeks of age, if open, the eyes are a light blue color. Ears may be folded, not yet erect. These kittens should be kept with mom, as they are still nursing. If the situation is unsafe for kittens and mom, try to trap mom and keep her with her kittens. If they look clean and healthy, it may be best to wait a few weeks before intervening.
• 5 to 8 weeks: Kittens are mobile, playful and coordinated, at 5 weeks, starting to wean, by 8 weeks, fairly independent. The socialization window for this age is important and dependent on eventual adoption. This is a perfect age for kittens to be brought to your local shelter and put into foster care or be adopted at 8 weeks.
• 8 to 12 weeks: Kittens at this age are active and eating on their own, though may still be supplemented by mom. The window of socialization is closing at this point, though with some effort, kittens may be successfully socialized.
• Kittens over 12 weeks: They typically weigh 3 pounds or more and are independent of mom at this age. They are more difficult to socialize and have likely missed the window for taming. At this age, the best outcome may be sterilization and then return to their community (Community Cat Program).

Trapping Guidelines

Traps can be borrowed from our office and used for up to two weeks; a $100 refundable deposit is required. The trap user must agree to the following guidelines.

• To set this trap only when you are able to monitor it at regular intervals with time between checks not to exceed 30 minutes. 
• To place this trap on your property only, unless otherwise discussed with SVACA. Agree to place this trap in a safe inconspicuous location.
• To place this trap on a smooth, upgraded surface in a location that is protected from extreme weather conditions (direct sun, cold, rain, etc.), public view and other animals. 
• Line the bottom of the trap with an old towel or newspaper. 
• Once the animal is contained in the trap, place an old towel, blanket or sheet over the trap to calm the animal. 
• SVACA is currently accepting trapped community cats with an appointment. Please contact SVACA to book an appointment or for more details.
• To immediately notify SVACA if you have inadvertently trapped wildlife in order to request assistance with the release of the animal from where trapped.
• Agree to release SVACA and the employees of the same from any responsibility or claim arising from the use of this trap.

Appointment for Spay and Neuter Services for Community Cats

If there is a cat you know without a guardian or an unmanaged colony of outdoor cats in your neighborhood in Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, or Mountain View, please use the Community Cat Spay and Neuter Form to request spay and neuter services. If you qualify for the program, we will contact you to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact us at staff@svaca.com.

More Information

For more information about feral cats and humane trapping, visit Cat Resource Center, Alley Cat Allies, ASPCA, Homeless Cat Network and Humane Society Silicon Valley. You may also want to read For Community Cats a Change is Gonna Come by Dr. Kate Hurley, DVM who is the program director of the Koret Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California-Davis and Rethinking the Animal Shelter's Role in Free-Roaming Cat Management, co-written by Dr. Kate Hurley, DVM and Dr. Julie K. Levy, DVM, a professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida.

Suburban Cat Project

SVACA is committed to giving outdoor cats who aren’t suited for indoor life a chance at a safe and forever home through our Suburban Cat Project. Do you have an enclosed backyard, shed, barn, horse stable or live on a rural property? We may have the perfect cat for you! Learn more about the project here.