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Highlands reviews TNR program: staff tallies 405 cats, urges coordination on trapping and funding
Summary
Town staff and the Mammoth County SPCA presented ten years of TNR data — 405 cats handled, a roughly 37% adoption rate and a 5% euthanasia rate — and told residents to coordinate trapping because surgery slots and municipal funding are limited.
Town of Highlands officials and Mammoth County SPCA staff reviewed the town’s trap‑neuter‑return (TNR) program at a public meeting on May 14, presenting program statistics, ordinance requirements and guidance for caretakers.
A staff member told residents the program has processed 405 cats since its 2016 relaunch, with 148 adopted (about 37%), 19 euthanized (about 5%) and roughly 239 returned to colonies (about 60%). "We have had over 400 cats come through this program," the staff member said, adding the first year, 2016, accounted for an unusually large intake.
The presentation stressed paperwork and procedure: anyone who traps off their own property must provide written permission from the property owner; caretakers must complete a registration form and an annual census that records ear‑tips, spay/neuter status and vaccinations; and feeding is restricted to specified daytime hours in the ordinance.
On funding, staff described the unit cost for TNR services as "about $75, maybe a little more," and said the program’s cost is split with partner towns and the SPCA. Staff explained that the town typically signs a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a minimum of 100 cats at a time and that a 100‑cat MOU equates to roughly $3,750 in town budgeted support under the current arrangement.
Staff urged caretakers to coordinate scheduling before trapping because surgery capacity is limited. "We only have so many surgery spots and then the cat either has to try to be retrapped," a staff member said. Officials said the SPCA now runs surgeries multiple days a week, which has changed how the program schedules intake since before the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The meeting closed with staff saying they will work with caretakers on enforcement of feeding times and property permissions, and that the DPW superintendent holds detailed expense records for recent emergency responses; staff pledged to keep residents informed and to continue coordinating rescue efforts and clinic capacity.
The council did not take any formal votes at the meeting; staff encouraged residents to email the program address or take business cards to arrange trapping and paperwork.
