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Council hears proposal to allow trap-neuter-return for community cats; staff outlines contract and fundraising updates with humane society
Summary
Staff outlined proposed animal services ordinance changes that would allow trap-neuter-return (TNR) for unowned community cats, presented intake and cost data from the Humane Society of Scott County, and described ongoing negotiations for a post-2026 contract. The Humane Society said TNR is substantially less expensive per cat than impoundment.
Teigen (assistant to the city administrator) and Erica Gunn, executive director of the Humane Society of Scott County, updated the council on animal services and proposed ordinance changes on Nov. 4. Teigen said the city's current contract with the humane society covers services through June 30, 2026 and pays the organization $800,000 annually plus a vehicle and fuel; negotiations for an agreement after that date are ongoing. "Our preference would be a 3 year agreement, but if we need just 1 additional year ... we're amenable to 1 more 1 year," Teigen said.
Erica Gunn described the organization's experience with cat intakes and the rationale for a community-cat trap-neuter-return (TNR) program. "For our intake in fiscal year 2025, we brought in over 2,300 cats and kittens," Gunn said. "From Davenport, that was about 1,600 of those." She said most were strays rather than owner surrenders and that those intakes drive shelter costs.
Gunn explained TNR: cats are trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, ear-tipped at the vet and returned to where they were trapped. She provided comparative cost figures in the presentation: an average cost of care per day in the shelter of about $23 per animal and an estimated TNR cost of about $76 per cat (including staff time and veterinary services). Gunn said a mandatory three-day stray hold for cats without identification carries an estimated shelter-hold cost of about $69 per cat; she argued that TNR is both more humane and more cost-effective.
Staff described steps already taken to improve financial stability, including reducing impound hold periods (from seven to three days for some strays), increasing claim fees, requiring microchips for impounded animals, and expanding licensing options. Teigen said the city provided a $50,000 fundraising investment that led to a development audit and feasibility study and that the humane society has seen increased fundraising revenue and staffing realignment as a result.
Staff said ordinance redlines will appear on the first cycle in November and that the Humane Society and a volunteer group (Cats in Action) will host a community information session at Figgy on Nov. 18 to explain the program and volunteer opportunities. No ordinance was adopted at the Nov. 4 meeting.
