TNR Programs Feral cats are the descendants of domesticated cats that were abandoned by their owners or that strayed into wild areas from their homes. When the domesticated cats mated, their offspring were never handled by or associated with humans, thus making their kittens feral.
Adult feral cats, that were never socialized with humans, can rarely be socialized. Feral kittens can sometimes be socialized to live with humans. The ideal time for capture is between six and eight weeks old. Taming at this age may only take a couple of days. Older kittens can be tamed - but it takes longer. Also, an older kitten may only bond with the person working with them, which can make adoption difficult, but not impossible.
The feral cat problem is a human one not a feline one. Persons that abandon or dump cats and kittens, refuse to spay and neuter their outside cats, and do not take the necessary precautions to tag and vaccinate their pet, create a problem that communities and animal shelters must address.
Some advocate culling feral cat populations by hunting, arguing that it is the most cost-effective method of population control. However, a proposal in Wisconsin to legalize the hunting of feral cats in an attempt to reduce their population (April 2005) was blocked by the state's lawmakers. South Dakota and Minnesota allow wild cats to be shot. The U.S. spends over $50 million a year to shelter some of these cats.
Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, presented as a humane method of feral cat population control, are facilitated by many volunteers and organizations in the United States. These organizations trap feral cats, sterilize them through neutering, and provide inoculation against rabies and other viruses and sometimes long-lasting flea treatments before releasing them. Frequently, attending veterinarians notch the tip off one ear during spay/neuter surgery to mark the individual as being previously caught. Volunteers often continue to feed and give care to these cats throughout their lives. Many animal care experts believe that it is prohibitively difficult if not often impossible to domesticate and adopt a feral cat unless it is trapped and socialized before six weeks of age. However there is some evidence that many people have adopted and domesticated adult feral cats successfully. Source: Wikopedia.com
For more information please visit these sites:
Alley Cat Allies
Neighborhood Cats - The Feral Cat Experts
Slope Street Cats - Brooklyn, NYBest Friends Animal Society
PAWS Chicago - step by step directions for establishing a TNR program
Humanity for Cats