title: Modeling Interventions in the Owned Cat Population to Decrease Numbers, Knox County, TN.
abstract: To find management strategies for controlling the owned cat population in Knox County, TN, the authors formulated a mathematical model using biological properties of such nonhuman animals and spay actions on certain age classes. They constructed this discrete-time model to predict the future owned cat population in this county and to evaluate intervention strategies to surgically sterilize some proportion of the population. Using the predicted population size and the number of surgeries for specific scenarios, they showed that focusing on specific age classes can be an effective feature in spay programs.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mathematics , Middle Tennessee State University , Murfreesboro , TN , USA.
authors.forename: Evan P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.affiliation: b Department of Mathematics and the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis , University of Tennessee , Knoxville , TN , USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lenhart
authors.affiliation: c Mathematics and Computer Science, Fisk University , Nashville , TN , USA.
authors.forename: Ejebagom J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Ojogbo
authors.affiliation: d Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture , Plum Island Animal Disease Center , Greenport , NY , USA.
authors.forename: Steven I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Rekant
authors.affiliation: e Schuyler Veterinary Clinic , Schuyler , NE , USA.
authors.forename: Janelle R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.affiliation: f Knoxville , TN , USA.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weimer
authors.affiliation: g Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences , University of Tennessee , Knoxville , TN , USA.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: New
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010052:Ovariectomy / Q000662:veterinary*; D011155:Population Control / Q000379:methods; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013714:Tennessee
keywords: Owned cat population; mathematical model; spay strategies