It was just another day in Highland Park when an unexpected visitor stepped onto Megan Morris’ porch in search of a meal.
Morris was happy to oblige, which encouraged a return appearance. Before long, she was the daily meal ticket for a feral cat.
After a few more mewling mouths joined the cries for nourishment, Morris realized she’d soon have kittens on her hands if she didn’t spray and neuter her dinner guests. But how to catch the skittish felines?
Fortunately, Morris’ nearest neighbor offered a solution to her dilemma.
“A neighbor who had done trap, neuter and return for years loaned me a humane trap, and then I purchased a couple of my own,” Morris recalls. “Once I had stabilized my colony, I started noticing other colonies of cats in my neighborhood.”
While some people advocate trapping and killing feral cats to end their alleged suffering, Morris says feral cats are simply felines who live outside and are not socialized to humans. Rather than being vicious and dangerous, feral cats tend to form colonies that are content to reside near a source of food, she adds.
In an attempt to advocate for a compassionate solution, Morris asked a few of her neighbors if she could trap, neuter and return (TNR) the cats they were feeding. Each person agreed, and in 2019 a nonprofit was born.
A better, healthier life
To lend credibility to her endeavor, Morris named it Chattanooga Feral Cat Alliance (abbreviated “CHAFCA” to avoid stepping on the toes of organizations that use “CFCA”) and attended Causeway’s Co.Starters program to learn how to launch a nonprofit. CHAFCA received its 501(c)(3) status in 2022.
By this time, Morris was receiving TNR requests from outside Highland Park. Seeing that she had more requests than she could tackle during her time off from work, Morris recruited a friend, Evelyn Greter, to lend a hand.
Today, the pair labors together to humanely reduce the local overpopulation of feral and community cats (a community cat also lives outside but might be friendly to humans) through TNR services and education.
TNR, Morris explains, is the process of compassionately trapping a feral or community cat and then bringing it to a clinic where it’s spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies and “ear-tipped” – the universal sign for a fixed cat. Once recovered, the cats are returned to where they were trapped.
McKamey Animal Clinic provides CHAFCA with four surgeries each Wednesday, which covers only a fraction of the TNR requests Morris and Greter receive, so the pair focuses on neighborhoods in Chattanooga’s urban core, which is where they live – and which is crawling with cat colonies, says Morris.
Nevertheless, Morris says every cat they help to live a better, healthier life is a CHAFCA success story.
“Male cats who are neutered no longer wander miles looking for a mate, which means they’re less likely to be run over or attacked by predators,” says Morris. “They also stop fighting other male cats – which is great for the cats as well as the caretaker, who no longer has to hear them yelling at each other.”
Meanwhile, female cats who are spayed no longer place their lives in peril by giving birth and no longer have to struggle to keep kittens alive outside, Morris adds. They’re also no longer at risk for uterine and ovarian cancers.
“We’ve had many caretakers tell us it’s a relief to no longer have kittens being born and dying at their colonies after we’ve completed TNR for them,” Morris notes.
Worth the time, effort
Morris estimates that 75% of kittens born outside will die before they’re 6 months old due to starvation, disease, predators and harsh weather, so TNR is “an all-around win” for the cats as well as the humans who feed them.
“If you feed it, fix it,” Morris pleads.
Since CHAFCA does not charge for its services and operates largely on donations, Morris and Geter are grateful for every step people take to assist with their mission. This includes having their own cats spayed and neutered.
“Even if you think your cat will step outside for only a brief moment, it’s crucial to have them spayed or neutered before allowing this,” Morris urges. “Female cats can get pregnant as young as 4 months old and male cats will wander if not neutered.”
Caretakers should also have any kittens they’re planning to rehome spayed or neutered first, Morris continues.
“We provide TNR for a lot of cats that were given away as kittens. After they grew up, their caretakers put them outside and they reproduced. Spaying or neutering from the get-go will save every local TNR and rescue organization a lot of heartache.”
As well as time, effort and money, all of which are precious commodities at CHAFCA.
Learn more about Chattanooga Feral Cat Alliance and make a donation to the organization at chafca.org.