Dear editor:

I want to thank Bethlehem, Easton, Palmer Township, Nazareth Boro and Phillipsburg for taking a step in the right direction with starting a TNR program. However, TNR, alone, is not enough. You need a TNR-Plus program that will help people and the homeless felines.

TNR means the rescue group doing the trapping, traps the feline, gets them neutered or spayed, rabies and distemper vaccinations, worm and flea treatments and returned to the colony then walks away. This means the feline is on its own to get food. The feline becomes like foxes, coyotes, and any other predator searching for food. This leads to complaints about the felines hunting. Just like other predators they need to eat. They hunt or dumpster dive to survive.

TNR-Plus does all of that but goes much further then TNR. With THR-Plus the felines are fed, given fresh water, and cared for on a daily basis. Unlike us, other rescues make money from the felines they can adopt out. But it costs extra money to maintain the colony. We make no money from adoptions, and we still maintain all of our colonies. By maintaining the colonies, the felines have no need to hunt or dumpster dive. Therefor, all of you are heading in the right direction. Now you must continue in the right direction and have the colonies maintained. We have implemented this in all of our colonies with an amazing success rate. Come and join us and do the right thing.

Pastor Larry Vandever

The Coalition for Feral Cats of Lehigh Valley