Crisis looms for 100 feral cats occupying Denver apartment complex

This feral cat colony at Cedar Run Apartments, Denver has been established for a long time and they appear to be accepted by the the majority of residents. Things appear to be stable with no need for change but the administrators of the complex have decided to get rid of them by:

• Stopping residents feeding them at feeding stations. They intend to remove the stations.
• Relocation the colony
• Bricking up access points under the buildings where the cats have made dens.

Some residents (and non-residents?) are very concerned. Relocation of feral cat colonies don't work well or at all as colonies have their home range with which they are intimately familiar.

Removing the feeding stations and bricking up the basement area will lead to potential starvation and exposure to the elements. All harmful actions when there is a much better alternative namely TNR.

I would expect the animal advocates to lobby the administrators to take a more humane view and instigate TNR. I would hope that they also consult with the residents to gauge their mood on the matter.

This story is very typical of many apartment complexes not only in the US but in other countries. The landlords of these apartment blocks perceive feral cats as very negative to the ambience of the place and want rid of them. They feel that they spread disease. But these fears are often ill-founded.

It may also be very possible that the presence of the cats deters rats and other pests. They should factor that into their decision making process.

Get some volunteers to help. There are many TNR volunteers in the US who'd be willing to start a TNR program. Done properly and the colony population will stabilise and decline in the medium-to-long-term. 

The cats will be 'managed' which will please management and the animal advocates and those sensitive to the sentience of the cats will be satisfied too.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.