Hana Almony, Sara Aoki, Cassidy Castro, Christopher Kelty, Greg Seright, Niaz Sassounian, Sophia Toubian

Every city has feral cats, but Los Angeles has taken it to the next level. Over the last ten years, LA has been a key site in the controversy over trap-neuter-return, the practice of catching feral cats, sterlizing them, and then returning them to live on the streets. It’s a huge risk to bird life as well as a disease and nuisance problem. On the other hand… awwwwww!

In 2023-24 two students followed the process of TNR in detail, working with trappers, visiting multiple colonies around the city, and doing comparative ethnographic observations in places ranging from storage lockers in the Valley to Grand Park downtown, to the edge of a Freeway, to an auto glass repair shop. They found a complex practice that brings trappers into contact with feeders, cat lovers, unhoused people, angry residents, over-zealous no-kill advocates, veterinarians and animal services. Their observations and their podcast capture some of the subtleties of the practice, and the very different meanings of “feral cat” and “colony” across the city.

Listen to a sample of the upcoming podcast!

Listen to a sample of the upcoming podcast!