Although some shelters go to great lengths to get their animals ready for adoption, most do not have the space or time to provide behaviorally-challenged animals the extensive care they need. For animals with large behavior problems, arriving at a shelter may be an automatic death sentence.

This is especially true for those animals who are too aggressive to be properly cared for. Not only are they unfit for adoption, but they are also a liability to the shelter itself. Even no-kill shelters may kill a dog who is too aggressive to be handled and adopted.

Feral cats pose a considerable dilemma. Although they may be too aggressive to be placed into an adoptive home, they are also capable of living ‘wild’ in their own environment without posing a significant human risk. Instead of killing these cats, organizations such as Alley Cat Allies are dedicated to saving these animals’ lives.

Organizations save these cats by using a TNR program. TNR means ‘trap, neuter, return’ and the programs do exactly that. Volunteers catch feral cats via humane traps; then they transport the cats to facilities where they are spayed or neutered. After the surgery is complete, the cats are replaced back into their original territory to prevent recolonization by more, unaltered cats. Feral cat colonies may be taken care of by volunteers called ‘caregivers.’ Caregivers provide the colony with food and water, shelter, ongoing health care, as well as neighborly advice to the surrounding humans.

Recently, we became aware of a feral cat living under a shed in a neighbor’s backyard. She was caring for two eight week-old kittens. They were becoming more bold, leaving the shed for longer periods of time. We quickly set-out to capture the kittens and mother in order to spay and neuter. We planned to re-home the kittens while releasing the mother back into the same territory.

We were able lure one kitten, whom we call Tony, with a dangling toy. But the neighbors soon discovered the two other residents under their shed and blocked its entrance. The mother and second kitten have been roaming the streets since, making it virtually impossible for us to capture either.

Tony has been nursed back to health and grown dramatically. The Jaeger Fund is currently fostering Tony and preparing him for adoption. To learn more about his little kitten life, visit Tony’s Twitter feed.