What it is and what it is not
It is a Meow Metrics feature for local governments, under “Documents and Reports”. It starts from your colony data and from shared base texts, prepared and reviewed by the Zoometrics team, and gives you a working document to organize the municipality’s TNR (trap-neuter-return) program.
It does not replace the program each local government approves, and it is not an “official plan”. Nor is it legal advice or a substitute for the report of the local government’s technical and legal services, and it is not an official document until the competent body approves it. It is a starting point that the local government reviews and makes its own.
What does the plan include?
| Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Purpose, scope and term | What the plan sets out to do, in which municipality and for how many years |
| Legal framework | Spain’s national rules of reference, with a summary of each cited provision and its text in Annex A |
| Assessment | The starting point according to the records: colonies with and without a census, colonies with no recent records or with no caregiver and, when recorded, the health reports filed |
| Territory | A grid map (optional) and the colonies grouped into no census, below the sterilization target and at the target |
| Goals | The plan’s goals and their year-by-year timeline |
| Measures | Measures chosen with fixed rules from the municipality’s data and answers, each with what is done, who is in charge, how it is done and how it is measured |
| Costs | The approximate cost of the sterilizations and where that cost comes from |
| Resources | How many people, groups and associations work together on the platform (the number only) |
| Local context | A section written by the local government itself |
| Monitoring | Outcome, activity and management indicators, with their source and frequency |
| Changes | What has changed since the reference version |
| Approval | The people who sign, with their name and position |
| Annexes | A: cited provisions. B: approximate projection and assumptions. C: additional indicators. D: details of each measure |
When you download it, there is also an operational annex with the details of each colony, only for the colonies the person downloading can see. It is for the team’s internal use.
How is it prepared?
- You review the data. Before generating the draft, the platform shows what has changed since the previous version and which data may be out of date, so you can correct them.
- You answer the questionnaire. You answer what you know about how the program works today. “I don’t know” is a valid answer: the plan adds a task in year 1 to check it.
- You choose the time frame and the costs. You set how many years the plan covers and, if you wish, the annual budget and the cost of each sterilization. The budget is only used to work out in how many years the target would be reached; it is not a budget commitment. If you do not enter the cost, the plan uses the one from the municipality’s records or a platform reference, and says where it comes from.
- You review the text. You see the draft with your answers and can edit the sections that allow it or add the local context. The text does not accept phone numbers, email addresses or ID numbers.
- You approve it. The draft carries the “DRAFT” mark. When it is approved, one or more people sign it with their name and position, and it becomes an approved version that no longer changes. Every later change is saved as a new version, with the differences shown.
Does it use artificial intelligence?
No. The figures come from the data recorded on the platform, and the legal framework and the measures from fixed texts and fixed rules. Each section states how it was obtained. What belongs to your municipality is its data, its answers to the questionnaire and the local context you add.
Does it include a population projection?
Yes, as an annex, when the data allow it. Annex B contains an approximate projection of how the cat population might change, always with a range and never with a single figure, together with its assumptions and its level of reliability. No goal or measure of the plan is built on it. The calculation is Zoometrics’ own.
It is a projection, not a prediction, and it assumes that caregivers keep caring for the colonies. If they stop, the real outcome will be different.
What about the location of the colonies?
The plan’s map does not mark the exact location of each colony: it divides the municipality into a grid and draws a single point for each square where there is at least one colony. Colony data stay private and only the people authorized by the local government can see them.
Which rules does it cite?
The plan cites Spain’s national rules of reference, such as Spain’s Law 7/2023, with a summary of each provision and its text in Annex A. It is not an exhaustive list of the applicable rules.
Where to start if you do not have a census yet
The plan starts from the recorded data, so the more complete the census, the more useful it will be.
- If you keep it on paper or in loose sheets, the free census data template helps you organize it.
- If you already have a census, you send it to us and we enter it into Meow Metrics, or we give you a template to fill in.
- To see how a colony might change, the cat colony calculator is free and needs no sign-up. It is a projection, not a prediction, and it assumes that the current care of the colonies continues.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Meow Metrics community cat management plan?
It is a feature for local governments that drafts the management plan for the municipality’s community cat colonies from the data it already records in Meow Metrics. The local government team reviews it, edits it, approves it and downloads it in Word or PDF.
Does the management plan use artificial intelligence?
No. It is built with fixed rules from the municipality’s data and from base texts prepared and reviewed by the Zoometrics team. Each section states how it was obtained.
Is it an official plan?
Not until the competent body of the local government approves it. It is not legal advice and does not replace the report of the local government’s technical and legal services: it is a starting point that the local government reviews and makes its own.
What data do you need to generate the plan?
The data the municipality already records in Meow Metrics. You also choose the plan’s time frame and, if you wish, the annual budget and the cost of each sterilization, and answer a questionnaire in which “I don’t know” is a valid answer.
Can associations use the management plan?
No. The management plan is only for local governments. Associations and rescues work with Meow Metrics for associations, which does not include this feature.
Can I first see how a colony might change?
Yes. The cat colony calculator projects how a colony might change with and without TNR, free and with no sign-up. It is a projection, not a prediction, and it assumes that the current care of the colonies continues.
