TulsaPets Magazine January 2021

32 TulsaPets • January/February 2021 Outsiders TNR Addressing the need for Trap, Neuter, Return in rural communities WRITTEN BY: Lauren Cavagnolo F or anyone who has ever wanted to help a stray cat and lives outside of Tulsa city limits, it doesn’t take long to realize there are few options for helping these cats in need. While some suburban areas have their own animal shelters, most rural areas have little to no resources for these homeless animals who can rapidly reproduce. That’s where Outsiders TNR steps in. TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, Return. Sometimes the “R” is confused with release, but it’s an import- ant distinction to make, said Kelly Hines, vice president of the organization. “Some people think it stands for Trap, Neu- ter, Release. Those are very different. We are not just trapping these cats, getting them fixed and releasing them to a different spot or somewhere else,” Hines explained. “We are getting them fixed and taking them back to their home where they originated.” TNR is the most humane way to address the overpopulation problem of feral cats. While T-Town TNR serves Tulsa City limits, there was an unmet need for those living in rural and suburban communities who needed help getting feral cats fixed. Hines, along with Amanda Jackson and Coty Vincent, recognized this. They began working on their own, many times with their own funds to support that need. The first big return the group did together was 30 cats, which garnered a lot of attention on Facebook and prompted calls from other areas such as Porter, Catoosa and Coweta. “That was the triggering point to make a group that will reach out to the county areas and these people in the rural areas that don’t get the help they deserve to have,” Jackson said. “A lot of these people don’t have the money to fix the cats; a lot of them don’t have the money to feed the cats so that was the reason we founded Outsiders TNR.” As a group, they have decided to stick to a 30-mile radius from the outer limits of Tulsa, but Jackson, who serves as president of the group, added that they make decisions on a case-by-case basis or will sometimes use their personal time to trap and return individually, apart from the organization. The group also works with area shelters to help place unsocialized cats as barn cats, further reducing the euthanasia rate of feral cats. Outsiders TNR officially received its 501(c) (3) status in October but formed and has been working together for more than a year now. They have since added a fourth member, Laura May Chapman, and have returned about 200 cats and placed 75 barn cats as of printing. “For a 501(c)(3), you have to designate titles, but we really operate as a team,” Hines said. “It’s a good mix of personalities and backgrounds, and we are really trying to focus on ‘We do TNR. We are not a rescue; we do not take in cats.’ There are other groups that do that. There is no other group that does what we do.” Trapping cats who are oftentimes less than The four founders from left to right: Kelly Hines, Amanda Jackson, Coty Vincent and Laura May Chapman