What is the Vacuum Effect?

The vacuum effect is a term that describes what happens when a population of animals inhabiting a particular area is removed from that area. Once the animals are gone from that spot, the region attracts more of the same animals to occupy the territory. This is a common phenomenon that happens with free roaming or community cats, and a huge reason why catch and kill programs are not effective in reducing cat populations. 

Thankfully, more and more municipalities are catching on to the benefits of trap, neuter, vaccinate and return programs for community cats. By returning spayed or neutered cats to the habitat they came from, we are able to prevent unaltered cats from coming in and breeding, thus stopping the cycle of overpopulation.

We love our community cats – that’s why we are dedicated to the idea of trap, neuter, vaccinate and return (TNVR). We want these cats to continue living their lives outdoors, without spreading disease or breeding more generations of cats that have the potential to overwhelm their local ecosystem.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can support community cats in your neighborhood, we encourage you to come out to our trapping seminar on Saturday, October 26 at the SPCA of Texas’ Myron K. Martin Spay/Neuter & Wellness Clinic at 2400 Lone Star Drive in Dallas. We will have traps available to loan as well that day.

If you’re already an experienced trapper, we have a spay/neuter event happening on October 31! Bring one free roaming cat per trap to the SPCA of Texas’ Myron K. Martin Spay/Neuter & Wellness Clinic at 7:30 a.m. to receive a spay/neuter surgery, ear tip and rabies vaccine for each cat you bring. The first 100 cats in line are FREE!