Does anyone have experience with TNR?

I recently read about about a Trap-Neuter-Return program on a university that was organized by students and quite successful.

The article can be found here:

link removed

It struck me to thinking about some of the stray cats at my university. I've only seen a handful but I'm sure there are more than the ones I've been able to spot. I know there is a low-cost spay/neuter clinic nearby and I work at a vet's office so I would get discounts on the surgeries there as well.

I have virtually no experience with a TNR program and was wondering if anyone here does and would like to share their experience. I am debating if I should just buy or borrow a trap, set it up around campus, and alter any cats I capture and set them loose again where I found them.

I am slightly concerned about what the university will think about this, and if I could get in trouble, and who I should go to for permission to do this.

I am also concerned about funding - this would all be out of my own pocket and as a student, I don't exactly have lots of extra funds.

My last concern is if I accidentally trap someone's pets. The two cats I encountered today I'm pretty sure are feral (no collar, fear of me, hissing, knew exactly where to run and hide when I approached) and obviously if I trapped a cat with a collar I would let it go. (Even though the university is nearby a low-income area and they cat's owner would probably appreciate a free spay/neuter).

So I guess I'm just asking for general advice about this project and asking people to share their general experiences implementing a program like this of their own.

Thanks

Well I'm not in the USA but the company I work for have really large grounds, and for some reason a few cats made this area their home, at first they were treated as a pest but I'm happy to say this change when a study was done how to run the company more environmental friendly, now they do the pest control most of the time, keeping the vermin under control. We have a "Trap-Neuter-Return program" to keep them under control. We also trap them every three month's sow a vet can have a look if they are still in good condition, we had a clean bill of health for them every time sow far, it is a program that is working very good for us.

First step is to call your spay/neuter clinic and ask how something like this is set up. They will probably refer you to a local No Kill cat rescue group. Then working with the group, you gather up people to help trap and then the cats are transported to the clinic all at one time for the spay/neuter. It has to be coordinated so that the clinic can handle the number of cats. IN my experience the rescue groups have provided the traps.

The vet hospital I work for has traps people can borrow, and the low-cost spay/neuter clinic around here has a "no appointment" policy for less than 3 feral cats (more than 3 they ask that you call ahead). You basically just show up in the morning, drop off the cat, and pick the cat up at the end of the day. It's unclear if the cat recovers at the clinic of if I would need to take the cat home for a day or two to recover.

I was thinking about going to the administration and asking if I could start a "club". Then I could start recruiting people and may even get university funds.

So far I have only seen a handful of cats, so I'm not sure if this is going to be a large-scale operation or not.