With an entire country of frightened or feral cats needing to be sterilized, Kotor Kitties quickly determined the need to obtain a large number of traps and develop a formal TNR program to teach the skills of colony care and management and trapping techniques to decrease the stress on cats and increase the safety for both cats and human trappers. It circulated around the country as needed, frequently disappearing for periods when not needed, until someone posted a need for it and it would resurface. When Kotor Kitties began, in 2018, there was only one known trap in all of Montenegro. After a brief recovery (normally in 24-48 hours), the cat is returned to the place where it was trapped: they are safest and happiest when they return to their familiar territory and the “colony” of cats they are used to.

TNR is the process where a cat is purposely trapped to be sterilized or neutered.

Instead, we use humane traps to keep both cats and humans safe during the process. They can’t be safely scooped into a carrier for a trip to the vet for spay or neuter. If you corner one of these cats, your hand or leg may be left in bloody shreds as the frightened kitty tries to escape. Sometimes they are happy to come close to you if you have food, but many of them hide in the shadows, and come out mostly at night. Most of us have seen them at some time: the cats living outdoors who have no desire to be petted or cuddled.